Just about to start decorating the whole house so we have lots of already painted skirting boards and door frames to sand down a little to smooth and then re paint. I was looking at getting a small detail sander but wondered if a multi tool would be better as it would be used for other things later on. Are the multi tools as good as sanding skirting boards and door frames as a detailed sander? We already have a orbital sander for larger areas. Any advice would be much appreciated. I don’t mind spending money to get decent tools.

IME, yes – multi tools are brilliant. Very versatile.

Saxton blades multitool was recommended I think by deadlydarcy. It’s been brilliant.

Sanding skirting though… Grim.

Yep multi tool over a detail sander every time.

I’ve got a Makita multitool. It’s dope. So handy for various things.  Wouldn’t want to do too much sanding with one though.

Always a tendency to put all your pressure through the small toe of the delta and the Velcro can melt. Be mindful of that though and they’re ok.

Mine has an attachment for dust extraction too which is important.

I say get both, the multi tool is superb for lots of fiddly things but if I had a lot of sanding to do I would buy yourself a dedicated sander. I am lucky that I have an excellent indy hire shop nearby with excellent rates but it is worth checking hire costs out too. While the multi tool is indispensable, it has never been as good at certain tasks as a dedicated tool.

Good multi tool blades can also be expensive, cheap ones often last one job and are shot ime.

What exactly do those multitools do and how many jobs can you use them for? Hard to tell by looking at them.

Plunge cut through floorboards.

Trim door bottoms while on

Sand.

Flush cut wooden slithers between floorboards.

Cut rubber backed foormat.

Removed grout.

Various notching.

Cut backbox holes in plasterboard (like in one go).

Hacksaw copper and brass.

Makita cordless one would be ace but spends!

I asked this a while back and ended up with a multi tool after the advice given, best thing I have bought ever, so useful for diy jobs and I have taken on jobs that I just wouldn’t have known how to do without it. But I did just buy a palm sander simply because it was cheap and a better tool for the job and I wouldn’t want to do all the doors and skirting prep with the multi tool or by hand.
Being able to plunge cut without resorting to a floorboard saw is a revelation.

Agree with MrSmith- multitools are ace but they’re also multi, a specific tool will often be better. I love my multitool but I wouldn’t give up my ancient wee mouse sander, even if just for the ergonomics of it.

(weird thing to say, but, using the sander feels a lot like sanding with a block or even by hand, everything about it feels familiar and obvious… Using the multitool feels a bit like sanding with a little bit of paper on a really long thin block, it still works great but it’s never quite as natural to me, it takes a bit of care to do things that my hands normally know how to do by themselves)