Drywall Screws nasty greasy drywall screws... any reason not to use the gold ones?

[RockHound]

As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall screws. Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over my fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws. The last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is an

800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at Grabber. He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try the gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction work every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice to use the black screws so this is what I've always done. Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?

[krw]

When you say "gold", I assume you're talking about the yellow zinc plated screws. I don't see a reason, other than cost.

[Nova]

I've been using Fastenal brand drywall screws when are green in color. I haven't had any that were oily. a 1500 count case is under $50.

[Max]

My favorite supplier for screws:

[George W Frost]

One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and bolts the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit their performance

[Max]

"George W Frost" wrote

I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the wood.

Max

[RockHound]

On Sun, 1 May 2011 15:34:13 -0700, [e-mail] wrote

Yes i do mean yellow zink and I can get them for roughly the same price as the black ones. Thanks.

[RockHound]

On Sun, 1 May 2011 16:56:20 -0700, Nova wrote (in article ):

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That's a little steep for me. For $50 I can get 25 lbs (about 8000 screws) of either black or gold. Thanks.

[Morgans]

"Max" wrote

I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the wood.

**************************************** Enough oil will bleed through cover mud compound, and make it impossible for latex paint to cover the bleeding oil. You would have to use oil kilz stain block before finishing the wall.

The obvious solution is to wash the screws if you have them already, and can't return.

Otherwise, let your wallet dictate the quality of the supplier. Don't buy them until the oil problem is solved.

Damn made in China syndrome. It gets worse all the time.

-- Jim in NC

[RockHound]

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:04:01 -0700, Max wrote (in article ):

Thanks Max, It looks like they only cary the fine thread screws for metal framing? Also the cost is about 2 X what i pay locally for either black or gold screws.

[RockHound]

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:16:35 -0700, George W Frost wrote (in article ):

I agree that for the mechanical fastening of the drywall panels to the framing the oil does not inhibit their performance in any way. If however you include user friendliness as part of a product's performance then the oil is a pretty serious flaw. Also in drywall work it is very important that the mud adhere tightly to the screw heads so could also be another flaw there. Thanks.

[RockHound]

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:20:21 -0700, Max wrote (in article ):

Yes, not good. Also when handling these screws unless you wash your hands quite frequently there will be dark greasy fingerprints all over the work.

[J. Clarke]

Personally I think I'd want to find out whether the oil is normal or not. Have you thought about sending a box of oily screws to the manufacturer and asking if the oil on them was normal? If it isn't then it's getting on them in transit somewhere and I suspect they'd be happy to help you find out where and apply some pressure from above to get the problem addressed.

[RockHound]

On Sun, 1 May 2011 20:15:40 -0700, Morgans wrote (in article ):

Yes! I'm finding that even with the "quality" hardware suppliers the stuff is all coming from China or Taiwan. I cant find the standard black drywall screws in bulk from *anyone* that are not all friggen greasy. The gold screws are about the same price and seem much dryer. Thanks.

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------------------- I'll submit that the cost of fasteners for a project gets lost in the wash.

My guess is that a 5% savings on the cost of basic materials more than cover the cost of fasteners for the project.

There was a time I worked in the fastener capital of the USA, Cleveland, OH.

SFWIW, most of my fastener manufacturing customers had closed up shop and moved off shore by the mid 1980's.

Lew

[steve robinson]

Isnt it to prevent rusting of the tin once pierced by the screw , causing the screw to loose grip .

Probably not such an issue in the USA (oh by the way thanks for wacking bin laden) but in many countries it is , in production its unlikely they will know the intended market so they all get done.

Plus these are generally shipped by sea so it possibly prevents corosion build up on the screw itself