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Air sander buying guide

Updated: 21 October 2026

You have a compressor in the garage, or you are about to buy one, and the amazon.co.uk shelf for an air sander runs from £23.88 to £526.97. This air sander buying guide puts the decisions in a fixed order: the job, the pad, the free-air delivery, the inlet and the dust, and only then the brand. Prices here are the shelf on 19 October 2026, and they move. The twelve listings, the star lines and who each one is for sit on the [air sander comparison](/hub/sanders/air-sander). Products Compared read those listings and public UK sources. There is no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a compressor in the garage, or you are about to buy one, and the amazon.co.uk shelf for an air sander runs from £23.88 to £526.97.

Our top picks

Draper Draper Storm Force 150 mm

Best overall

Draper Draper Storm Force 150 mm
9.1/10about £51.35
View offer
SPTA SPTA mini air sander set

Best value

SPTA SPTA mini air sander set
8.4/10about £25.20
View offer
Festool Festool LEX 3 77/2,5

Rank 3

Festool Festool LEX 3 77/2,5
6.6/10about £526.97
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the job, not the star rating
  2. 2.Check free-air delivery before the price
  3. 3.Inlet, oil and dust
  4. 4.What the listing is allowed to hide

Start with the job, not the star rating

The first split is the surface in front of you. A door, a bonnet or a worktop wants about 150 mm. A smaller panel wants about 125 mm. Spots want 25 mm to 80 mm. A groove wants the 10 mm by 330 mm belt. Fine spot finishing is the Festool LEX 3 77/2,5, a 77 mm pad and a 2.5 mm stroke on Festool's own hose. Amazon's grit-type field is not the orbit. Where a maker states one, about 2.5 mm is finish work and about 5 mm to 8 mm cuts faster. Settle the pad on the 125 mm or 150 mm air sander page, then come back to air.

Check free-air delivery before the price

Tank litres store air. Free-air delivery is what the compressor can keep supplying. Air Supply's rule of thumb is the tool's SCFM multiplied by 1.2, and that page puts many orbital sanders near 7.2 CFM. Treat 7.2 CFM as their rule of thumb, not as a measurement of these twelve tools. Draper states about 3 cfm for the 65084, and a UK review says a 5 cfm compressor at 90 psi held speed for only two or three minutes. Festool states 270 litres per minute and asks for at least 350 litres per minute at 6 bar. The RUNQIN bullet claims 8 cfm, and a UK review ran out of air after about a minute and a half. A £24 price does not mean a light air demand. The arithmetic is on the air sander compressor size page.
Draper Draper Storm Force 150 mm

Testsieger

Draper Draper Storm Force 150 mm
9.1/10about £51.35
View offer

Inlet, oil and dust

The fitting has to match before the CFM figure matters. Draper specifies a 1/4 inch BSP inlet and a hose of at least 3/8 inch, about 10 mm. The Festool needs an IAS 2 or IAS 3 hose. Oil the tool only when the manual requires lubricated air. Drain the tank. Draper's manual caps the 65084 at 6.3 bar. Festool caps the inlet at 6.2 bar. Prefer a listing that names a dust outlet. The Anesty 150 mm claims a siphon hose, and a review says it is not a standard vacuum diameter. Wood-dust limits are 3 mg/m³ for hardwood, 5 mg/m³ for softwood, and 3 mg/m³ for a mixture, over eight hours. Do not blow or dry-sweep the dust. At work, use a class M vacuum.

What the listing is allowed to hide

The Proster 5 inch at £26.99 and the 6 inch at £32.99 say air in the title and Corded Electric in the table. No mains lead is listed. The Festool listing says air powered and also prints AC and 230 volts, with a StickFix pad, oil and a screwdriver, and no cable. Do not buy it as a 13 A sander. Those Proster listings share PST369us-CA and one 4.5 from 46 reviews. Count that line once. Draper declares 85 dB(A) and 6.3 m/s². Festool declares 72 dB(A) and 1.9 m/s². The 6.3 m/s² figure sits above the 5 m/s² A(8) limit value, so an employer has an exposure question. Named bands are on the best air sander page.

Common questions

Do I buy the sander or the compressor first?
Buy against the compressor you already have, or buy the compressor's free-air delivery first if you have none. A sander with no CFM line cannot tell you the tank size. Match flow at about 6 bar, with spare capacity, and treat tank litres as storage.
Is 125 mm or 150 mm the default palm size?
There is no single default. Use about 150 mm when the face is wider than the pad with room to spare, and about 125 mm when a larger pad would leave the edge. A 25 mm to 80 mm kit is for spots.
Does a dust bag count as extraction?
A bag or a short hose is better than no port, and it is not a wood-dust assessment. One Anesty 150 mm review says the hose needs a vacuum adapter. Do not blow the residue clear with the airline.
Why does a listing say corded electric?
On the two Proster palm sanders the title describes an air tool and the table says Corded Electric. No UK plug is named. Trust the inlet on the tool you receive. The Festool line that prints 230 V beside an air-powered field needs the same caution.
Which listings declare noise or vibration?
In this set, only Draper and Festool publish a noise figure and a vibration figure. The other listings declare neither. Those maker numbers are not a hearing test and not a vibration assessment of your working day. Hearing protection is still the practical default at the tool.

Related pages

How to use an air sander

Air sander

125 mm or 150 mm air sander: which pad fits the job

Best air sander 2026: Draper top pick, SPTA mini kit

Air sander compressor size: free air, not tank litres

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Prices, stars and review counts are the stored amazon.co.uk listing figures.

  1. HSE — wood dust (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. HSE WIS23 — wood dust (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. HSE HSG39 — compressed air safety (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. HSE — noise for employers (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. HSE — hand-arm vibration (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. Draper 65084 air sander (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Festool UK LEX 3 77/2,5 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. Air Supply — compressor size (retrieved 21.10.2026)