THE FESTOOL SYSTEM
Festool offers a fully integrated sanding solution for everything from aggressive stock removal to super fine, finish sanding. With a complete line of abrasives in seven different types, and grits ranging from 24 to 4000, Festool has the perfect product to meet your specific application needs. Festool abrasives, with their high tech coatings, provide maximum resistance to clogging and smearing, which means longer lasting abrasives and less reworking for you. Save money by reducing costs. Achieve consistent, high quality results. And, by adding Festool’s portable dust extraction system, you’ll protect your Health, too.
UNIQUE JETSTREAM SYSTEM
Festool Jetstream technology reduces the surface temperature, which is one of many reasons why our abrasives last up to 30% longer. With our patented Jetstream pad design, air flows trough an additional hole in the center of the pad, moving dust to the outer holes where it is vacuumed up. The continuous air flow significantly improves dust extraction, prevents debris accumulation, clogging and increases abrasive life. When sanding dust is removed from the sanding surface, the abrasive wears more evenly and will last longer. Longer abrasive life and more reliable work results mean you spend less time sanding and achieve better results. With Festool’s Jetstream technology and efficient dust extraction, Festool abrasives give you better results and save you both time and money.
| |
8-Hole JetStream |
6-Hole |
| 1. Less dust accumulation: the air flows continuously and removes the dust. |
 |
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| 2. Lower surface temperature: the flowing air cools, which means that temperatures are up to 86° F lower than with competitors. |
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| 3. Less clogging: where there is no dust and heat, nothing can clog. |
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UNIFORM ABRASIVES
Abrasives with uniform dispersion prevent scratches and ensure the best surface quality and finest sanded finish. Festool abrasives mean less reworking and more reliable results.
STICKFIX SYSTEM

With its unique hook-and-loop design, the StickFix System allows quick and efficient abrasive changes. Festool hook-and-loop provides a secure, non-slip bond for better results. Abrasives can be easily removed when desired. You’ll save time when changing abrasives and you’ll also save money by re-using slightly worn abrasives.
TIGHTER TOLERANCES
Festool abrasives conform to tighter tolerances than US CAMI standard abrasives. This produces a more uniform scratch pastern which results in the very best sanded surface possible.
TECHNICAL COMPOSITION
At Festool, we use only top-grade materials for our
abrasives. This ensures the finest sanding results
and extremely long-lasting abrasives.
- StickFix Our unique hook and loop design ensures a secure
hold, fast change and re-use of marginally
worn abrasives. As a result, you’ll get the most
out of your abrasives and reduce replacement
costs.
- Backing Material Festool has different backings to match a broad
range of applications, from rapid material removal
to superior surface quality. Backing materials are:
- Paper Festool uses only top-grade paper of varying
weights to assure high tear resistance, durability
and superior surface quality. Using only high quality
materials assures the best and most reliable
work results; this saves you time and money.
different paper weights we use are:
- b-wt 115 g/m2
- d-wt 165 g/m2
- c-wt 130 g/m2
- e-wt 185 g/m2
- Fabric Festool uses a special x-type woven fabric which
ensures its abrasives are long-lasting when used
under tough conditions and on uneven surfaces.
The fiber increases strength and prevents the
abrasive from tearing at the edges. This backing is
excellent for heavy duty jobs and results in a very
long operational life and considerable cost savings.
- Fiber Festool uses a special elastic fiber mat. This mat
is embedded with abrasive particles. Festool’s
name for this abrasive mat is Vlies. With Vlies, it’s
easier to achieve consistent results on complicated
contours.

- Foam and fiber A foam backing compensates for uneven pressure
to protect the surface and allow you to
achieve perfect results. Foam and fiber works
great on transitions, too. The foam efficiently
adapts to the work piece contour. This produces
reliable work results and high surface qualities.
The special velour on top of the foam assures the
best grit bonding and prevents the edges from
tearing. Like the foam, it is air permeable and
open pored. It extracts almost 100% of the particulate
through the backing and ensures a clear view
of the work piece. You will achieve better, more
reliable work results and less reworking.
- Impregnation We saturate the backing material with a special
solution to fill up the pores. This impregnation
assures the best bonding and prevents the backing
from being penetrated by the bonding. Impregnation
gives the bonding better adhesion and protects
grits from breaking off, especially on the
edges. Impregnation extends the abrasive’s useful
life which help save you money by reducing replacement
costs.
- Base bonding Abrasives must have good bonding to be long
lasting. The base bonding secures the grains to
the backing material and prevents the grits from
breaking off. We use only high quality material to
give our abrasives longer life and this lowers your
replacement costs. For matched bonding, we use
different materials depending on the abrasive.
- Synthetic Resin Synthetic resin guarantees high flexibility and allows
the abrasive to better adapt to the sanding
surface. You will see superior results which means
less reworking and more time savings. The high
strength of synthetic resin prevents the grits from
breaking off and ensures high durability. We utilize
full synthetic resin and synthetic resin combinations
to assure best results and to provide long
operational life.
- Phenolic Resin Phenolic resin is highly heat resistant. It provides a
strong yet flexible bond which prevents scratching
along the edges. This high quality bond prevents
grits from breaking off even under the toughest
conditions. This extends the service life of the
abrasive and saves you money.
- Sanding grit Festool uses high quality silicon carbide or aluminum
oxide. These grits produce the best material
removal rates, highest surface quality and greatest
durability. Every application requires specific efficiencies
which is why we offer a complete system
of abrasives. You save on replacement costs and
achieve better results with less reworking.
- Silicon carbide is almost as hard as a diamond.
The particles are sliver-shaped and have the ability
to cut aggressively on a wide range of materials
while using little pressure. Because it resists heat
well, silicon carbide holds up during demanding
applications. The particles have consistent size
and grading: they provide the best results for high
quality surface finishes and produce consistently
reliable work results.
- Aluminum oxide is hard, sharp, tough and remarkably
durable. The particles are wedgeshaped
which allows the grains to penetrate at a
high cut rate. Aluminum oxide is friable, which
means that as it heats up, it breaks down at a
controlled rate, producing a fresh cutting edge.
Aluminum oxide’s high material removal coupled
with extreme durability saves both time and
money.
- Top bonding Top bonding prevents grits from breaking off and
supports their adhesion to the base bond. Bonding
agents include synthetic and phenolic resins. This
creates greater resistance to tear out and a longer
service life.
- Coating Our abrasives receive a final top coat specific to
their application. These coatings prevent clogging,
smearing and extend the abrasive’s useful life.
This lowers your replacement costs and produces
better results. The bottom line is that you will
spend less time sanding and finish sooner.
BONDING LEVEL

Open leveled means
that the grains are
lightly covered providing
a relief for
swarf just as gullets
on a saw blade clear
the chips. This enables
efficient dust
extraction and prevents the abrasive from clogging
which extends its useful life. That means better results
and savings on replacement costs.
Closed leveled means that the coating
fills the ‘valleys’
between the grains
leaving just the
‘peaks’ exposed.
The grains are better
bonded and highly
stable which prevents them from breaking off. The
abrasive lasts longer under difficult conditions and
you save on replacement costs.
DISPERSION
Festool offers you the perfect abrasive for whatever
your application. Our abrasives range in dispersion
levels to better facilitate a broad range of applications.
The right dispersion level assures the best and
most reliable sanding results as well as providing
high sanding capacity.
- Open-coat means fewer abrasive particles on the
surface. Having more space between the grains
provides clearance for sanding swarf, prevents
clogging and ensures a high material removal rate.
The sparser the grit coating, the greater the material
removal rate and quicker material removal
saves you time.
- With closed-coat abrasives, the concentration of
grains is greater and thus the space between the
grits is smaller. This results in a softer scratch
pattern and a better quality surface. The denser
dispersion provides a better sanded finish and
helps you produce the finest sanded finish possible
- every single time.
- Festool also has some abrasives with a semi -
closed-coat for a combined high removal rate and
good surface quality. These abrasives give you
the best of both worlds.
WHICH FESTOOL ABRASIVES TO USE
| Material |
Type of Sanding |
| |
Abrasive Name |
Heavy Duty Preparation |
Coarse Sanding |
Intermediate Finish |
Fine Finish |
Super Fine Finish |
Comments |
| Wood |
Brilliant 2 |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-400 |
|
finest surface quality |
| Rubin |
P24-60 |
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
|
|
fast removal, fine surface quality |
| Cristal |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very fast removal, aggressive |
| Saphir |
P24-60 |
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very long lasting, high edge resistance |
| Vlies |
A100-280 |
|
|
|
|
scouring, cleaning surfaces |
| Paint |
Brilliant 2 |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-400 |
|
anti-static, fine surface quality |
| Saphir |
P24-60 |
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very long lasting, high edge resistance |
| Cristal |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very fast removal, aggressive |
| Vlies |
A100-280 |
|
|
|
|
scouring, cleaning surfaces |
| Platin 2 |
|
|
|
S400-1000 |
S2000-4000 |
for high gloss finish, to prep for polish |
| Titan 2 |
|
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-1500 |
P3000 |
anti-clogging, fine surfaces ** |
| High Gloss Lacquers |
Platin 2 |
|
|
|
S400-1000 |
S2000-4000 |
for high gloss finish, to prep for polish |
| Brilliant 2 |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-400 |
P3000 |
anti-static, fine surface quality |
| Solid Surface, Corion, Varicor |
Titan 2 |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-1500 |
P3000 |
all purpose, fine finish |
| Platin 2 |
|
|
|
S400-1000 |
S2000-4000 |
for semi or high gloss finish |
| Vlies |
A280 |
|
|
S800 |
|
for satin or semi gloss finish |
| Plastics, GPR, Fiberglass, Composites |
Titan 2 |
|
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-1500 |
P3000 |
anti-clogging, fine surface quality |
| Saphir |
|
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very long lasting, high edge resistance |
| Cristal |
|
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very fast removal, aggressive |
| Platin 2 |
|
|
|
S400-1000 |
S2000-4000 |
super fine finish, high gloss |
| 2-Part Fillers, Epoxy |
Titan 2 |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-400 |
P3000 |
anti-clogging, fine surface quality ** |
| Brilliant 2 |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
P150-180 |
P220-400 |
|
anti-static, fine surface quality |
| Cristal |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very fast removal, aggressive |
| Platin 2 |
|
|
|
|
S2000-4000 |
fine sanding |
| Facades |
Saphir |
P24-60 |
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very long lasting, high edge resistance |
| Cristal |
P40-60 |
P80-120 |
|
|
|
very fast removal, aggressive |
| * check with material manufacturers for additional recommendations ** stearated, for oil based or automotive |
Manufacturers use Different Standards
Abrasives manufacturers use sorting systems to classify grains. Coarser abrasives are sorted by screens that used to size the grain. Common grit sizes refer to the number of particular grains it takes end to end to measure one inch. Smaller abrasives are measured in microns. Even with these grit number classifications, some manufacturers use different grading systems such as Federation of European Producers of Abrasives (FEPA), Coated Abrasives Manufacturers Institute (CAMI) or American National Standards Institute (ANSI). When Festool abrasives are classified to the Federation of European Producers of Abrasives (FEPA)and are designated with a P such as “P220”.
| MICRON |
US CAMI |
FEPA ‘P’
(Festool) |
JAPAN JIS |
| 500 |
36 |
36 |
36 |
| 430 |
40 |
|
|
| 410 |
|
40 |
|
| 350 |
50 |
|
40 |
| 320 |
|
50 |
|
| 300 |
|
|
50 |
| 270 |
60 |
|
|
| 260 |
|
60 |
|
| 250 |
|
|
60 |
| 210 |
|
|
70 |
| 197 |
|
80 |
|
| 192 |
80 |
|
|
| 177 |
|
|
80 |
| 156 |
|
100 |
|
| 149 |
|
|
90 |
| 140 |
100 |
|
|
| 127 |
|
120 |
100 |
| 116 |
120 |
|
|
| 97 |
|
150 |
120 |
| 93 |
150 |
|
|
| 78 |
180 |
180 |
150 |
| 66 |
220 |
220 |
180 |
| 60 |
|
240 |
240 |
| 52 |
240 |
280 |
280 |
| 46 |
|
320 |
320 |
| 42 |
280 |
|
|
| 40 |
|
360 |
360 |
| 35 |
320 |
400 |
400 |
| 30 |
|
500 |
|
| 28 |
360 |
|
500 |
| 25 |
|
600 |
600 |
| 21 |
400 |
800 |
700 |
| 18 |
500 |
1000 |
800 |
| 15 |
600 |
1200 |
1000 |
| 13 |
800 |
1500 |
1200 |
| 10 |
1000 |
2000 |
1500 |
| 8 |
1200 |
2500 |
2000 |
| 7 |
|
|
2500 |
| 6 |
|
|
3000 |