An air-powered sander makes a lot of sense for professionals who do a lot of sanding. With few moving parts, it basically lasts forever, and because there’s no motor on the tool, you can sand all day with less fatigue. But you rarely see them in home shops because these air hogs need a large compressor (15 to 20 cfm at 90 psi) to drive them nonstop.

Mirka has taken the best of an air-powered sander and put it into a new line of compact electric random-orbit sanders (CEROS). The CEROS is lightweight, responsive, has very few wear parts, and makes very little noise and vibration, all thanks to a low-voltage brushless motor. Power and speed are controlled by a paddle switch on top of the tool, like that on an air sander, and the switch is very comfortable to use.

Although it’s designed for use with Mirka’s Abranet abrasive disks, I also tried it with less-expensive hook-and-loop disks, and it worked well. The sander is virtually dust-free when hooked up to a vacuum, even with the regular hook-and-loop disks.

I looked at the 5-in. model (550CV), but Mirka also sells two 6-in. models. The brushless motor and transformer design increase the cost of the tool, but take it from a 30-year veteran of air sanders: This tool is fantastic and should last for decades.

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