Electric sanding windowsill, will it break the windows?

tudorfan39

We have old windowsills, proper wood ones, that I’d like the sand down back to the lovely wood. My question is, I’ve just had new pvc windows fitted. Will the vibration of the electric sander (B&Q mouse style) shatter the windows?? 

Thanks 

ThisIsWeird

No.
Perfectly safe to use, with no risk to the windows whatsoever.

CliveOfIndia

As above, you'll be fine.

Do take care, however, not to let the sander come into contact with the PVC frames.  It wouldn't cause any serious structural damage, but it could very well leave some unsightly scratching, which I assume would not fill you with joy if you've just shelled out a lot of money on new windows.

FreeBear

CliveOfIndia said: Do take care, however, not to let the sander come into contact with the PVC frames.  It wouldn't cause any serious structural damage, but it could very well leave some unsightly scratching, which I assume would not fill you with joy if you've just shelled out a lot of money on new windows.

Stick a thin strip of plastic or wood along the frame to protect it from the sander. Use silicone sealant as an adhesive as it will peel off easily when done.

Oh, and wear a good quality dust mask and use an extractor on the sander - Most have a spigot to attach a vacuum cleaner to suck the dust up. When cleaning up afterwards, mist the air with water to get the dust to settle.

tudorfan39

thanks all! Appreciate the extra advice too! Makes sense! 

AlexMac

Do you really need to use a power sander? Window sills are a simple, easy shape to tackle with a sanding block, a couple of different grade  sanding sheets (obviously finishing with fine grade) and a bit of elbow grease?

Grenage

I use an orbital sander for everything.  It won't damage the windows, but as mentioned you need to be careful not to scuff the trim.

If you're going back to wood then you will probably need to remove the pvc frame sealant and reapply.

I connect a wet and dry vac vac to my sander.  I've never had issues with dust.  If anything there is less cleanup.

twopenny

I use a mouse one for everything and have done single glazed window sills and double glazed with no ill effects to either.

Lovely when it's done. You could sit and look at it for hours

Good idea about some temporary beading at the base and then you only have a small bit to hand finish perhaps.

Or does your Mouse have an extension bit to get into smaller places? They have less ooomph than the orbital ones and the extension less than that so should be fine.