Drywall Tools

[adamcohen]

Ok, I have to sand some drywall. anyone have an opinion about any of the hand sander vaccume systems - Magna MT800 Sand & Kleen Hand Sander System - or something similar?

[RicodJour]

Yep. They work fine if you have to sand. Definitely a lot cleaner than the dust cloud usually created by sanding.

I just tried this tool

a friend's house the other night. It sanded well, but the dust pick up was less than stellar. Probably due to the undersized vacuum.

I always tell people that there should be little or no sanding to be done when you're done with the spackling. Plasterers don't sand and they still get a great finish. More technique and less technology does the trick.

R

[adamcohen]

Hey,

Thanks for the info. They actually didn't ahve it so i went the old fashioned route. I'm still getting better so my first coat was rough. the 2nd was better, and i'll put up a third and then hand sand it to get it nice and smooth.

I'll get better, but the first porject is tough to do a ceiling.

[Larry Bud]

Let's be honest, us weekend DIYers are going to have to sand nearly everything. We tape and mud once in a great while, maybe once in our lives, and little skill is picked up in doing so.

[kevin]

Also try the sponge smoothing method when possible. I balked at the suggestion in preference of "traditional" sanding for at least a few projects, before finally trying it out one day. Now I use sponge and water for almost all my drywall. The sandpaper only comes out for very occational situations.

[RicodJour]

Good man!

R

[RicodJour]

As another poster mentioned, the "traditional" method is to sand. The "traditional" method of getting water is to take a bucket down to the stream or well and carry it back to the house. Things change.

One of the most annoying things about spackling, in my mind the most annoying, is sanding. The dust gets everywhere, it clogs vacuum filters and is a general pain in the ass. Sanding is pretty much unavoidable on large jobs because of the speed. On smaller jobs, usually the realm of DIYers, sanding can be cut way back if not totally eliminated. All of the home shows, and most nearly all of the web sites, show the same "traditional" method of spackling. They build in the sanding operation automatically.

Most people would be better served by several little adjustments in the standard spackling procedures which would set them up for minimal sanding, and that sanding can almost always be replaced entirely by using a damp sponge.

R

[WConner]

Our biggest mistake with our first drywall job was putting the joint compound on too thick. Thin coats and sponge sanding helps a lot.

Walt Conner

[adamcohen]

Hey All!

thanks for the info. I've got 2 layers, and other than where seams come together particularly, I'm doing ok. the fist coat was rough,

2nd coat is much better and the 3rd coat is going on well, although I'm not really doing it the "traditional way" as i'm sticking mostly with a smaller trowel. I'm getting pretty good at getting rid of the ridges but the seams don't look lumpy or too bad. I'm happy with it, but some spots might take a 4th coat, but I'm not sure.. we'll see.

[Ben]

I did a search for that same question and found and bought a thing called Know Dust made by bagkeeper after all the dry wall work was done I am using it in my work shop works great on fine sanding dust. good luck