Tools, Sharpening and Power Machinery - Sander for exterior paint prep

I am in the prep stage for repainting the exterior of my 2-story house. The last paint job about 6 years ago must not have been applied properly because I have extensive peeling and blistering. Pressure washing and scraping are only accomplishing so much. I have determined that I'm going to have to do some significant sanding (the task is almost overwhelming!). The clerk in the paint store recommended a Makita 5" round sander, but I'm not sure if he meant the disc sander or the random-orbit sander. The latter seems to be too small and week for the job I have ahead. The disc seemes to be more aggressive, but I'm wondering if it will be too rough for my wood lap board siding. If anyone has any sander/sanding recommendations, I would greatly appreciate them.

Well, Wayne, Porter-Cable makes a power paint remover that is probably what you're looking for, but it runs about $200+, so you might want to check all the tool rental places in your area to see what they have. I think you'd go insane in short order using a sander of any kind.

Here's a link to see what the P-C tool looks like:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/hi/B0000222YQ/pictures/14/104-3361453-1427936#more-pictures

Wow, thanks for the tip! I've never seen this tool before. From the pictures on the link, it looks made-to-order for my wood siding. I'll check out rentals first, but even a purchase may be worth the price of my sanity it it does the job! Thanks!

If your tool rental place doesn't have a like-item and you decide to buy one, you might try feeling out the rental place to see if they would want to add one to their tool inventory; maybe you could get them to buy it from you when you're done for like a hundred and a half. That way they would get a great deal on a tool and you wouldn't have a $200+ tool sitting around waiting for your next house painting, which could be years.