Focus on: Sanders

If you're looking to boost sales of pneumatic sanders, you can really go two different directions.

1. Secondary markets such as marine, RV, cabinet making and aviation all use sanding equipment.
2. You may also want to look deeper within the body shop, as body technicians and painters engage in different sanding applications, which usually require different sanding tools.

"Generally speaking, sanding is sanding," says Glen Bresnahan, national sales manager for Hutchins Mfg. "Whether it's wood, fiberglass, metal or paint, the operator is still doing the same thing. I'd say 80 percent of the sanding tools used in some of these secondary markets are the same as those used by body shops."

However, demand for a certain type of sander may vary by market. For example, Ernie Torkilsen, president of Viking Industries, says a collision shop's primary demand has shifted from straight-line sanders to orbital sanders, though straight-line sanders still have their place. In the marine industry, however, Viking's straight-line sander is a big seller, as it's an ideal tool for cleaning the bottom of a boat.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Even within the collision repair environment, different types of sanders are used for different tasks. Years ago the typical collision technician had a single sander, according to Bresnahan. As vehicles and their finishes became more sophisticated, the need for more specific sanding equipment evolved. Shorter quarter panels called for shorter sanders, as did the growing trend toward panel replacement.

"When replacing a quarter panel, the body tech doesn't need to fill the entire panel with body filler and sand it down," Bresnahan explains. "He only needs to put a little bit of body filler on two or three seams. Instead of sanding 3', he's only sanding 10 inches."

"Sanding in body shops is getting more complicated all the time," adds Gary Swanson, vice president of sales for National Detroit. "There's no such thing as one tool that will do everything."

First of all, the sanders a body tech uses typically differ from those used by the painter. Secondly, both the body man and painter will each have two or three sanders to help them do their jobs more productively. For instance, the refinish technician will need different tools for sanding primer and removing defects after clearcoat has been applied. Body men will likely need different tools for sanding large sections and doing detail work.

Matching Tool To Application

When calling on collision repair shops, it's important to visit with both the body techs and painters to determine their specific sanding needs. Then you can match the right tool to the application. Bill Koslowski, vice president/automotive aftermarket for Dynabrade, offers the following rundown of typical uses for specific types of sanders.

Random orbital sanders (or dual action, DA)

• Very popular, versatile sanders for body men and painters that are ideal for shaping, fine finishing, spot repairs, sanding filler, feather-edging, removing paint, clearcoat repair, sanding primer and scuffing when used with a non-woven nylon scuff pad.
• 10,000-12,000 RPM with a non-repeatable random motion.
• Different orbit patterns are available, such as 3/16" for body men and 3/32" for painters.
• Offered in palm-grip and long-handle models.
• Available with 3" to 11" pads, with 6" pads being the most popular.

Mud Hog sanders

• Slow, gear-driven sanders primarily used for leveling body filler and putties, but can also be used for paint removal.
• The most popular size is 8".

Jitterbug sanders

• The sandpaper vibrates in little circles, hence this sander's name.
• Jitterbugs are losing popularity to random orbital sanders, but these rectangular-pad tools are still used for finish sanding, blending, blocking and feather-edging.

In-Line sanders (or straight-line)

• The back-and-forth motion is good for leveling body filler.
• They're also used for material removal and blending stainless steel. Both coated abrasive and non-woven nylon attachments for scuffing can be used.

Wet sanders

• These sanders use film-back and other fine waterproof abrasives for ultra-fine results on clearcoat prior to buffing.
• They're available in random orbital and jitterbug styles.
• Benefits include the elimination of sanding dust and minimization of abrasive loading.
• Models are available that use a water faucet, garden hose, portable pump tank, or they can siphon water out of a bucket.

Detail sanders

• Usually featuring a jitterbug action, these smaller sanders have odd-shaped triangular or tear-drop pads. This allows for getting in hard-to-reach areas such as under handles, around mirrors and on window ledges.
• They're also ideal for composite bumper repair.
• Use either a coated abrasive or non-woven nylon pad for scuffing.

Denibbing sanders

• Usually random orbital models with small 1-1/4" discs to confine sanding to a smaller area.
• Use micro-fine abrasives for removing the inevitable dust nibs found after painting.

Dust-free sanding

There's another type of sander that's becoming more commonly used in body shops. Widely accepted in Europe for many years, dust-free sanding is now gaining popularity in the U.S. Swanson says it's more popular in the industrial market right now, but body shops are rapidly catching on.

"It makes a lot of sense," he says. "Technicians don't want to breathe that dust, and they certainly don't want that dust getting into the paint."

National Detroit offers dust collection for most of its sanders, with the majority needing to be hooked up to a shop's existing central vacuum system. Recently, National Detroit has also released a self-generated vacuum for its palm-grip sanders.

Self-generated vacs are an appealing option, especially for shops that don't have a dedicated central vacuum system. Bresnahan explains, "Exhaust air from the sander runs over a small opening that connects to dust ports on the base of the sander. That creates low pressure, sucks the dust up and carries it out with the exhaust of the tool." An attached bag stores the dust.

Hutchins recently teamed up with Norton Abrasives to co-launch Multi-Air, which incorporates a Hutchins self-generated vacuum sander with patented abrasive technology from Norton (see "Playing To Their Strengths" on page 38 of the April 2005 edition of Professional Distributor). "We believe dust-free sanding is the future of our industry," Bresnahan states.

Viking Industries has seen an increase in dust-free usage, though it remains a very small percentage of overall sander sales for the company. "We see the most demand in states with legislation, such as California, Washington, Oregon and Minnesota," Torkilsen points out. Viking's dust-free sanders are offered as self-generated models, or for use with a shop's central vac system.

Viking also sells a mobile dustless collection system where a vacuum line connects to the collection system, along with one or two sanders. "We offer this for smaller shops that don't have a central vac system, but want something different than just throwing all that dust in a bag," Torkilsen relates.

Regardless of the type of sander your customer needs, a high-quality, ergonomically designed tool is essential. Koslowski says a quality sander features low sound levels and low vibration. It's also insulated, well-balanced and comfortable to operate.

A high-quality sander can last a technician's career. Proper maintenance is key, however, which opens the door to selling associated products. "Tool oil is automatic," Bresnahan says. "And you can continue selling pads long after the sander was sold. Sanding pads wear out approximately every six months, so be sure to carry them into every shop you call on. You never know when they'll need replacements."

Sanding is a huge part of body shop operations. Remember that when trying to sell a customer on your higher-priced, higher-quality product. "Labor can be 50 percent of a collision repair, and sanding can be 30 percent of that labor," Koslowski says. "Research also shows that a typical body shop bills out $24 in sanding labor for every dollar spent on abrasive products. Doesn't it make sense to offer quality sanders to your customers?"

It also makes sense to find out what your customer needs to do with that sander. By helping your customer match the proper tool to the application, you can help that customer become more productive. You can win favor in that customer's eyes. And you can maximize sales of this diverse product category.

Gregg Wartgow is the editor of Collision Repair Product News.

Beyond The Body Shop

In addition to collision repair shops, there are numerous markets you can call on to help boost sander sales. Some will be harder to earn business from than others. But armed with the right product and the right product knowledge, you at least have a chance to fight for their sander dollars. Consider the following customer groups within your market area:

• Body shop training facilities like vocational schools, community colleges and prisons
• Paint training facilities
• RV rework facilities
• Motorcycle shops
• Marine businesses
• Woodworking
• Cabinet making
• Sign manufacturing
• Light industrial
• Aviation
• Transit authorities
• Used car dealerships