Equipment guide
Festool orbital sander comparison.
Three machines, three jobs. Pick the one that matches the work in front of you.
Festool makes three orbital sanders that sound similar but do very different work. The Rotex 150 is the power player, stripping material fast and switching to a finer finish with the flip of a switch. The ETS is the unsung workhorse, quiet and precise for the surfaces people will touch. The ETS EC adds a brushless motor that runs cooler, smoother, and with the kind of balance that makes long finishing passes feel effortless.
Which one goes in your shop depends on whether you're starting rough or finishing fine. Here's what each one actually does, and which jobs it owns.
The Rotex 150: gear-driven and aggressive
The Rotex 150 is a dual-mode machine that doesn't ask you to choose between power and precision. Flip a switch and the arbor rotates from a fixed gear-driven rotation (for stripping) to a freely floating random orbital motion (for finishing). That flexibility is what makes it exceptional.
In gear mode, the disc rotates in a fixed pattern while the pad itself orbits at 1500 rpm. The motion is aggressive. It removes material fast because the abrasive is always attacking fresh stock; there's no dead zone where the disc just rubs. Shift to random orbital mode and the plate orbits without rotating, which erases the directional scratch pattern and leaves a finish that's indifferent to grain direction.
The trade: the Rotex is heavier and louder than the ETS. Raw power costs weight. If you're doing production work or stripping a deck, that weight is an asset because the sander's mass does some of the work for you. If you're working overhead or doing detail passes on furniture, the extra pounds add up over a four-hour day.
Best for: material removal and prep work. Use it to strip old finishes, sand down rough stock, and get surfaces flat and ready. Finish with it if you want, but it's the wrong tool for the surfaces that define the work. It's equally good at both, which means it's the first pass on almost every project.
The ETS: unforgiving, reliable, silent
The standard ETS is a fixed random orbital sander. No gear drive. No mode switching. It orbits, it cuts, it stops. That simplicity is exactly what makes it work so well for the passes that matter.
Random orbital motion means the abrasive never cuts in the same direction twice. The orbiting pad erases directional scratches from coarser work and leaves a surface that's uniform regardless of wood grain or application direction. On fine grits, this is the motion that disappears. You can feel the surface respond differently under the sander, but you can't see the marks in the final finish.
It's lighter than the Rotex and runs quiet enough that you can think while working. The trade: there's no gear mode for aggressive stripping. The ETS is committed to the finishing work. If you use it on rough stock, you'll spend time waiting for it to do what a Rotex does in half the passes. Use the Rotex first, then hand it off.
Best for: fine furniture, auto-body finishing, and any work where the surface under your hand is the final judge. The ETS doesn't forgive poor technique, which means good technique shows up immediately. It's not the forgiving generalist tool; it's the one that rewards knowing what you're doing.
The ETS EC: brushless and balanced
The ETS EC is the ETS with the motor rebuilt. Brushless instead of brushed means the motor runs cooler, longer, and with less internal friction. That translation matters.
A brushless motor means better airflow through the sander, which improves dust collection to a degree that catches people's attention. Cleaner air means less clogging and longer working intervals. The motor also runs smoother, which translates to less vibration in the tool and a sander that feels more balanced in hand during long passes. After a four-hour finishing session, that balance difference is the difference between a tired hand and one that's fine.
The ETS EC is not twice as good as the ETS for twice the money. It's the same machine with a motor that was redesigned to do the same work with less wear, less heat, and less frustration. It's the version that people put down after the day is done and pick up the next morning without thinking about service or maintenance.
Best for: any shop that's serious about finishing work and plans to use the sander regularly. If you're doing this for a living or as your primary finishing method, the ETS EC is the tool that won't remind you it's working. It just works.
The polishing system: the finishing end
Festool makes a polishing and finishing system built around the random orbital motion. The kit includes a polishing head, compound pads, and the system is designed to work with the ETS and ETS EC. It's abrasive finishing taken one step further: you're not sanding at this point, you're burnishing and refining.
The polishing head mounts on the sander the same way a disc backing pad does. Use it with a specific grit progression of soft pads and finishing compounds, and you end with a surface that doesn't just feel smooth, it reflects light like it's been touched up by hand. It's the premium end of the finishing spectrum, and it lives in shops where the surface quality is the product.
Best for: automotive clear coat, high-end furniture finishing, and any application where the tactile quality of the surface is part of the sale. It's not a necessity for good work, but it's the tool that takes good work into the "keep this forever" category.
Disc and media notes
All three sanders use 5-inch hook-and-loop discs. Festool Granat discs are made for these machines and fit the backing pads perfectly. The hook-and-loop system means grit changes are seconds, not minutes, which matters when you're working through a sequence.
For the polishing system, the pads are proprietary soft-backing designs. They clip on the same way as sanding discs, but they're designed for compound application, not abrasive work. Don't try to use sanding grits with the polishing head; it's engineered for the motion and load of finishing compounds, not the cutting action of abrasive grits.
The real difference: what you're trying to finish
Start with the Rotex if you're starting rough. It's faster, more aggressive, and gets the material removed so the real work can begin. Hand it off to the ETS or ETS EC when the surface is close enough that it needs precision, not power.
Choose the ETS if your shop is modest or you prefer a lightweight tool. It does the finishing work perfectly well and costs less than the EC.
Choose the ETS EC if you plan to use the sander every day or care about the ergonomics of long finishing sessions. The brushless motor, the balance, and the dust collection add up to a tool that feels different in hand. That difference compounds over a career.
The polishing system is optional. It's the elite end of finishing, and many shops never need it. But if you're already investing in the ETS or ETS EC for fine work, the polishing head is the logical next step. It's not just a different tool; it's a different stage of finishing altogether.
