Best Sanders for Doors 2024

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All claims are strictly my personal opinion.

best sander for doors Door sanding can be difficult. From panel ornaments to windows and other intricate details that get in the way of an easy sanding job, you need the right tools to ensure your success. While some of you will have them unmounted and laying down, making it easier, I bet that most of you want to do it with the doors still mounted which is much more practical but can be tricky. In any of the cases, you need a certain type of machine that fits the bill so today we’ll be taking a look at the machines that are, in my opinion, the very best sanders for doors that you can get.

We’ll start with the top choices for doors in general – lightweight, nimble and easy to use one handed – with the #5 being the special trick on how to handle detailed doors.

Top 5 Best Sanders for Doors

These are, in my view, the very best sanders for doors on the market – sorted in no particular order.

Festool 571903 ETS 150/3 EQ Random Orbital Finish Sander
The bigger and more powerful version of the excellent 125 REQ shown below, the ETS 150 is an incredibly versatile sander that has all the quality you’d expect from a Festool machine put into a compact and highly effective package. Even with its large 6″ sanding pad and higher potency, which speeds up work considerably, it still maintains a small and easy to handle size, giving you the best of both worlds.

 Lasts a lifetime of use
 Unbeatable performance
 Large sanding pad speeds up work

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Festool 574993 Random Orbital Sander ETS 125 REQ-Plus
One of the finest one-handed random orbital sanders ever made, the Festool ETS 125 REQ-Plus is a superb choice not only for doors but for everything else as well. Its 5″ disc and compact body make it a beauty to maneuver with just your palm and its incredible potency, performance and super fine stroke deliver absolutely excellent finishing results. It features variable speed and one of the best dust collecting systems on the market too plus it’s built like a tank. Excellent all around and highly recommended.

 Lasts a lifetime of use
 Unbeatable performance
 Compact and easy to handle

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Bosch Random Orbit 5 inch Sander/Polisher ROS20VSC
Striking a fantastic balance between quality and affordability, Bosch’s ROS20VSC is an achievement. It’s incredibly well built, delivers professional performance and even has some features such as excellent dust collection and variable speed that set it apart from the similarly priced competition. As a bonus, it includes its very own carrying case. It’s also lightweight and super nimble, making it perfect for sanding doors vertically.

 Excellent value
Variable speed function
 Outstanding performance

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Makita BO4556 2 Amp Finishing Sander
Super compact and equally as affordable, Makita’s BO4556 is a great little sheet palm sander that’s not only very well built but also has the performance to match. It packs a punch and the square 1/4 sheet sanding pad is a classic for rectangular shaped surfaces such as doors. You can’t go wrong with this one.

 Super compact
 Very affordable
 Great quality and performance

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BLACK+DECKER BDEMS600 Mouse Detail Sander
If you want to ace the details and sand those hard-to-reach places that other sanders can’t get to, then you need this. B+D’s mouse sander is a great machine to use either as the perfect sidekick to the sanders seen previously or even as a stand-alone solution. It’s compact, easy to use, nicely built and the detail finger attachment takes its already awesome usefulness to another level.

 Incredible value
 Sands hard to reach spots
 Essential to achieve a perfect finish

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Side-note: In the case that there’s some even finer detailing on the doors that even the detail finger can’t reach, your best option is to grab a piece of fine sanding paper and go to town manually. It takes more effort but it’s just as effective.


As you can see, sanding doors is a unique task that’s highly dependent on 2 things: place and design. By place I mean where the doors actually are – will you be sanding them where they’re mounted or will they be unattached from the hinges and placed on a desk/floor. This mostly changes the comfort aspect. And secondly, their design. Are they completely flat or do they have detailing such as panels, windows and other ornamentation that makes them uneven? The best sanders for doors are those that can perfectly adapt to the door’s characteristics and reach every little spot so depending on these 2 crucial questions the best options will differ slightly.

I hope I’ve cleared your doubts and that you’ve found your new door-sanding beasts. Thanks as always for reading and good luck!

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