Drywall sanding

[bepjrfan]

Guys,

Looking at getting a Porter Cable Drywall sander. Going to remodel the entire house next year as well as mud and tape my shop, so thinking this will be a great addition to the tool fleet. Have any of you used one? Thoughts on it?

As far as vac's go, don't really want to use my festool vac with this and ruin it. I do have a small shop vac that can hook up to it, just concerned how fast it would fill up. Have any of you used a dust deputy with this to keep the drywall dust out of the vac?

 

[csp]

I used one many years ago and they're great. I rented one and at that time PC had their own vacuum to be used with the sander. All of the dust went into bags, so it didn't clog a filter that you'd have to clean out or replace. I would think that the Festool vac would work fine without being ruined as there's also a Festool drywall sander.

 

[manwithtools]

You will burn up a standard shop vac in a heart beat with drywall dust. Get the proper bags and use the Festool, they are made for this application.

 

[jdsac]

PC sander works great- can also use it on the outside to sand the chipped areas to prep
for paint

 

[jdsac]

PC sander works great- can also use it on the outside on wood siding to sand the chipped areas to prep for paint

 

[nadogail]

LMHO, all sanders are very handy, those with dust control are handier.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Damp sponge. No dust. I haven't sanded in years.

Tommy

 

[The Cobbler]

power drywall sanders are a godsend. wish I would have bought mine years before I did

 

[Higgins]

Guys,

Looking at getting a Porter Cable Drywall sander. Going to remodel the entire house next year as well as mud and tape my shop, so thinking this will be a great addition to the tool fleet. Have any of you used one? Thoughts on it?

As far as vac's go, don't really want to use my festool vac with this and ruin it. I do have a small shop vac that can hook up to it, just concerned how fast it would fill up. Have any of you used a dust deputy with this to keep the drywall dust out of the vac?

Many yrs. ago I purchased the PC sanding system. The most important part is there DW vacuum as it has a 2 stage filter, and the dust is collected in there own bag! Well worth the $$$, have used it over 20 yrs. and numerous houses and garages!!

AL

 

[Kaizen]

Most important part of a drywall sanding job is applying it correctly. After many ugly attempts I’ve got it down so all I need is a few passes with a sand pole.
Use 3 size knives and 3 applications. One with each 6”, 8”, 12”.
Do that right and your power sander will be done a room in short order.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[spudley]

Most important part of a drywall sanding job is applying it correctly. After many ugly attempts I’ve got it down so all I need is a few passes with a sand pole.
Use 3 size knives and 3 applications. One with each 6”, 8”, 12”.
Do that right and your power sander will be done a room in short order.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dffay]

Kaizen called it— the less you need and apply, the less you need to remove. Diluted Topping compound used during the last two of three passes with the drywall knives really helps. It’s not as thick as true Joint compound and floated correctly, it’s great to work with.
Sanding, though sometimes necessary, gets old really quickly.
The damp sponge thing is also great advice.

 

[cd7782]

I agree, best bet is to take your time and mud it correctly the first time. Your options are to have a crappy mud job and sand a lot or have a good mud job and sand a little. If your doing it all yourself its a no brainer, learn to mud correctly up front... I could count on one had the dry wall crews I have ever seen use them. One reason is they are not light and you have to apply constant pressure. As a result they still give your shoulders a work out. With a good finish job a sanding pole would be preferred for me. When it comes to the mess, you are always going to have to cover everything if its a remodel anyway because with or without the orbital at minimum a light coat of dust is going to settle on everything in the room. With normal sanding, the majority of dust will fall straight down to the base of the wall and is easily vacuumed with a shop vac, or caught by a plastic runner if is a remodel. As far as sanding quality, if your not careful they will put circular swirls in the tape/but joint that can show through when painted. The only time our company bothered to use them is when there is was really really heavy sanding involved such as sanding down a stomp ceiling flat (pray to god you never have to..) or maybe heavy glue residue after pulling wall paper. Sometimes we used them after doing serious dry wall repair on mold remediation jobs because there was a lot of quick set durabond used on torn paper, large holes and small patches. In those cases many times it would have been about as quick to just tear out whole sheets and go back new... Lastly, if you do choose to get one, ours were grey and black Porta-Cable brand and they didn't hold up very well. I remember we always had to use duct tape to secure some of the hoses and seemed like little stuff started breaking and falling apart all too quickly considering the price tag.

 

[Bretny]

Most important part of a drywall sanding job is applying it correctly. After many ugly attempts I’ve got it down so all I need is a few passes with a sand pole.
Use 3 size knives and 3 applications. One with each 6”, 8”, 12”.
Do that right and your power sander will be done a room in short order.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's the truth!

I made the mistake of letting my father spackle and I was to sand the next day. Well I'm pretty sure he applied the spackle with a shovel. I do my own drywall work now never used a power sander and never felt the need to...becids that one time.

A few thin coats that are thinned with water work best for me. But hey by the time your finished with your whole house you will be a pro and also know you never want to spackle ever again.

 

[Justind97]

I’m actually surprised none of you have mentioned a Dust Deputy. Works amazingly well when sucking up drywall dust. 90% of the dust ends up in the bucket.

I have not ventured into the electric sanders as of yet, however, I have found sandpaper that is foam backed. Comes in a 30’ roll. Mounts onto a standard Richard pole sander. (1 -10” piece lasts about 1000sqft) I found it at the local hardware store, however, anywhere that supplies drywall materials should have it.

 

[MushCreek]

I screwed up when I drywalled our attached garage. I was in a hurry, as it had to be fire-taped to pass final inspection. I laid the stuff on too thick, and have been putting off sanding it. I have a PC drywall sander; I just need to man up and get 'er done. I've never been able to get the hang of drywall finishing, and usually avoid it when I can. Once I get the compound knocked down with the sander, I'm just going to use a textured paint. As long as the walls are semi-smooth and all one color, close enough. The attached garage is just used for the wife's car and the BBQ gear, so it's not a showplace.