Detail sander pads: which pad shape and size fits your sander

01What is a detail sander pad?

A detail sander pad is the pointed backing plate on a detail sander or oscillating multi-tool that carries the abrasive into corners a round disc cannot reach. The point may be a delta (triangle), an iron shape with one long pointed nose, or a small finger on a mouse-style sander. Most current pads hold the paper with hook-and-loop and have dust holes laid out to match the tool's extraction ports.

Two separate interfaces decide whether a pad and its paper fit. The first is between the paper and the pad: outline, size and hole pattern must line up. The second is between the pad and the tool: a dedicated detail sander takes a pad made for that model, while a multi-tool pad clips or bolts onto the tool's accessory mount. A mismatch at either point means the pad does not fit, even when the shapes look alike in a catalogue photo.

02Which pad shapes do detail sanders use?

Detail sanders use five pad shapes in the current fact base: delta, rectangle, a finishing pad with a delta nose, iron-shaped and the mouse body with a detail finger. Each one is tied to a family of tools rather than to a universal size.

• Delta or triangle. Festool's SSH-STF DELTA pad for the DTS 400, DTSC 400 and DS 400 measures 100 x 150 mm, and Bosch's replacement delta pad 2608000211 serves the GDA 280 E and the PDA 180, PDA 180 E and PDA 240 E; Bosch's own product page gives that plate as 93 mm and adds the PSM 160 A to its list. Ryobi's Corner Cat also uses a triangular base; Ryobi sells its paper as 5-1/2 in sheets, and the Ryobi PCL416 is listed by Ryobi with a hook-and-loop triangular base.
• Rectangle. The Festool RTS 400, RTSC 400 and RS 400 take an 80 x 130 mm pad. It is a small orbital pad rather than a pointed one, but it is sold for the same tight-space work.
• Finishing pad with a delta nose. Makita's leaflet for the BO4565 gives a 112 x 190 mm hook-and-loop pad with a triangular nose, taking rectangular sheets plus separate delta papers for the nose.
• Iron-shaped. Bosch's spec sheet for the PSM 100 A multi-sander gives a 104 cm2 sanding surface on an iron-shaped hook-and-loop base.
• Mouse with detail finger. Black+Decker's product page for the MOUSE BDEMS600 lists hook-and-loop paper and a separate detail finger attachment for narrow spots.

Oscillating multi-tools add a sixth group: small triangle pads that bolt or clip onto the multi-tool's blade mount. Those are covered in their own section below because their fit depends on the tool's interface as much as on the pad.

03How reliable are the sizes in the pad table?

The Festool outline sizes, the Festool rectangle's hole count, the Milwaukee pad size and the size of Bosch's AVZ 93 G Starlock pad are confirmed by more than one source; several other cells rest on a single listing. The hole count on the Festool delta pad comes from one retailer and is not confirmed by Festool, so treat it as a starting point and check the pad itself or the maker's part listing before ordering paper in bulk.

Some cells say not confirmed or not stated. The Bosch GDA and PDA plate is marked not confirmed because only one page gives its size: Bosch's own listing for plate 2 608 000 211, which states 93 mm. Black+Decker does not publish the outline of the MOUSE pad on the page read. Makita's BO4565 is covered in the section on Bosch and Makita sizes below rather than in the table. Dedicated DeWalt detail sander pads, and clamp-type detail pads that hold plain paper under a spring bar, are not covered because no source for them was fetched. If your sander is one of those, the steps further down show how to identify the right paper from the tool and its manual.

04Do detail sander pads and papers swap between brands?

Usually not. The triangle on one brand's sander or multi-tool is a different size from another brand's, so a sheet labelled for one tool can overhang or fall short on the next. A common belief is that every multi-tool triangle pad and paper is the same size. The published sizes say otherwise: DeWalt's DWASPTRI3 oscillating-tool paper is 3-1/8 in and Milwaukee's OPEN-LOK triangle pad is 3-1/2 in, while Bosch lists its AVZ 93 G Starlock delta pad at 93 mm corner to corner, with extraction holes, for Starlock and OIS multi-tools.

Paper that is too small leaves bare hook face exposed at the tip, which is the part of a detail pad that does the most work. Paper that is too large hangs past the edge and tears or folds back on itself. Neither is a safety failure in the way an overspeed saw blade is, but both waste abrasive and leave uneven corners.

Dedicated detail sanders follow the same rule. Festool's delta and rectangle pads, Bosch's GDA and PDA pad and Ryobi's Corner Cat base are each listed for named tools only. US and European buyers meet the same issue in different units: Festool and Bosch publish in millimetres, while Ryobi, DeWalt and Milwaukee publish in inches, so a direct comparison needs the actual outline rather than a rounded conversion.

05What size are Bosch and Makita delta pads?

Bosch lists its detail-sander plate and its multi-tool delta pad at the same outline. Bosch's page for plate 2 608 000 211, the hook-and-loop delta plate for the GDA 280 E, PDA 180, PDA 180 E, PDA 240 E and PSM 160 A, gives 93 mm with extraction holes, and the AVZ 93 G Starlock pad is listed at 93 mm. The matching outline does not make the two plates interchangeable: one mounts on the sander, the other on a Starlock or OIS multi-tool. Only Bosch's own page states the sander plate's size, so check it against the old plate before buying paper.

Makita's BO4565 is a finishing sander with a pointed nose rather than a pure delta sander. Makita's leaflet gives its pad as 112 x 190 mm, hook-and-loop, taking rectangular sheets for the body and delta papers for the nose. The same leaflet disagrees with itself on the delta paper: the accessory list gives the same size as the Bosch plate above (93 mm), while the specification table prints a triangle the size of Klingspor's GLS 15 sheet (96 mm). Measure the nose corner to corner before ordering.

Against the inch-sized multi-tool triangles sold in the US, these metric pads sit in between: DeWalt's 3-1/8 in paper is smaller and Milwaukee's 3-1/2 in pad is larger, so neither brand's paper is a clean substitute for Bosch's.

06How do oscillating multi-tool sanding pads attach?

A multi-tool sanding pad attaches to the tool's accessory mount, and the paper attaches to the pad with hook-and-loop. The mount is where cross-brand fit is decided. Milwaukee's 3-1/2 in triangle pad sits on its OPEN-LOK anchor, which Milwaukee calls universal-fit. DeWalt sells its 3-1/8 in paper as universal fit with no adapter, and DeWalt's DeWalt DCS356 takes other brands' accessories through a universal adaptor made of a washer and an adaptor nut.

Bosch and Fein use Starlock. Bosch says base-class Starlock accessories also fit older Bosch OIS tools and OIS-compatible tools from Fein, Makita, Milwaukee and Ridgid. The reverse does not hold: universal-fit and OIS-style accessories do not fit tools that only take Starlock, and Makita's StarlockMax multi-tool manual marks OIS accessories as not usable. StarlockPlus and StarlockMax accessories are coded for higher-power tools and do not go on a base Starlock tool. The full mount matrix, including blades, sits in the guide to Starlock, OIS and universal multi-tool mounts.

07Do detail sander pads have dust extraction holes?

Yes, many do, and the paper's holes must match the pad's. Festool's 80 x 130 mm RTS 400 pad has 12 suction holes, Bosch's AVZ 93 G Starlock delta pad is listed with extraction holes, and Ryobi sells its Corner Cat paper with pre-cut holes. A common belief is that detail pads are too small to extract dust; the published hole patterns show otherwise.

Klingspor publishes hole patterns for detail and small-pad sheets without naming the sanders they fit. Its GLS 15 triangle sheet is 96 mm across, with its suction holes set on a fixed circle, and its rectangular patterns cover several common outlines. The table below lists them as Klingspor gives them. Matching a pattern to your own pad means laying a sheet over the pad and checking every hole lines up with a port.

The same alignment rule applies here as on round discs: centre the sheet and line its holes up with the pad's ports, because extraction only works through holes that meet. Sanding with extraction also extends abrasive life considerably. Round-disc layouts, which follow the same logic at larger sizes, are covered in the guide to random orbital disc sizes and hole layouts.

08Is hook-and-loop the only way detail pads hold paper?

Hook-and-loop is the norm on every pad in the fact base, from Festool's StickFix to Bosch, Black+Decker, Ryobi, Milwaukee and DeWalt. Festool's StickFix lets a sheet be changed and reused, which suits stepping through grits on a single piece of trim.

The hook face on a small pad wears in the same way as on a large one. Discs that will not stay on usually point to a worn or crushed hook face, dust on the pad, poor alignment or worn loop backing on the paper. Clean the hook face first; if clean paper still lets go, the pad needs replacing. Heavy pressure crushes the hooks and builds heat, which matters more on a detail pad because the whole tool's force concentrates on a small tip.

Clamp-type detail sanders, which pinch plain paper under a bar, exist but are not documented in the sources used here, so no sizes are given for them.

09When does a detail pad not fit, or stop working properly?

A detail pad fails to fit whenever the outline, the hole pattern or the tool mount disagrees with the tool. These are the cases the sources on this page describe:

• Paper from another brand's triangle. Sizes differ between DeWalt, Milwaukee and Bosch, so the tip is either bare or overhanging.
• Holes that miss the ports. Dust stays on the work and clogs the paper faster.
• Wrong multi-tool mount. A universal-fit pad will not go on a Starlock-only tool, and a higher-class Starlock pad will not go on a lower-class tool.
• Worn hook face. Paper flies off at the point first; clean, then replace the pad.
• Worn or damaged pad. Festool retailers note that the soft pad and its extraction channels keep the sander cooler and protect pad and abrasive life, so a worn delta pad should be replaced rather than run on.

A pad can also fit and still leave a poor surface. Swirls on flat panels usually come from the larger random orbital sander rather than the detail tool, and the causes are set out in the guide on fixing swirl marks after sanding.

10How do you find the right pad or paper for a sander not listed here?

Five checks, using only the tool, its manual and the old pad, identify which pad and paper a detail sander or multi-tool takes.

1. Disconnect power. Unplug the sander or take the battery out before removing the pad or paper.
2. Note the exact model number. Read it from the tool's nameplate. Pads and paper are listed by model, and similar-looking sanders from one brand can take different pads.
3. Read the pad's part number or measure its outline. Replacement pads usually carry a part number. If not, measure the outline in the units the maker uses, millimetres for most European brands and inches for most US brands.
4. Count and map the dust holes. Trace the pad's holes onto paper and compare the tracing with the hole pattern of the sheets you plan to buy.
5. On a multi-tool, check the mount. Identify whether the tool takes Starlock, StarlockPlus, StarlockMax, OIS or a universal bolt-on mount, and buy a pad made for that mount before choosing paper for the pad.

11Detail pad or random orbital disc: which does the job?

A detail pad suits corners, edges, louvres and inside angles; a round random orbital disc suits open flat surfaces. The pointed tip reaches where a round disc cannot, but the small area removes material slowly on a broad panel. Most furniture and trim jobs use both: the round sander for faces and the detail tool for the corners it leaves behind.

Abrasive for the round sander has its own fit rules on diameter and hole pattern, and the shortlist of hook-and-loop discs for random orbit sanders applies them to specific products. For a multi-tool owner, the sanding pad is one accessory among many on the same mount, so it pays to buy the pad and the blades for the same interface.

12What grit sequence suits a detail pad?

A detail pad follows the same grit sequence as the rest of the surface, so corners should end on the same grit as the faces around them. Klingspor's guidance is to skip no more than one grit in a sequence, and before staining wood most finishers stop at about 180–220 grit, because finer sanding closes the pores and stain takes unevenly. Vacuum or wipe the surface between grits so loose coarse grit is not dragged under the finer sheet.

Grit numbers also differ between US CAMI and European FEPA P-grade marking, which matters when detail paper comes from a European maker such as Festool or Klingspor and round discs come from a US brand. The grit conversion chart for CAMI and P-grades lines the two systems up, and the guide to grit progressions by project sets out full sequences for bare wood, finishes and paint.

13Where do you go next for sanding accessories?

Once the pad and paper match the tool, the remaining choices are grit and abrasive type. All sanding and grinding media are grouped under the sanding and abrasives section, and fit rules for blades, bits, discs and batteries sit together in the tool compatibility guides. To check which accessories a specific tool model accepts, the accessory lookup by tool model searches the same manufacturer data used on this page.

14Questions readers ask