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Dust Free Drywall Sander Advice

JFink | Posted in Tools for Home Building on October 27, 2008 04:45am

Hi everybody – I’m not up to speed on dust-free vac attachments for sanding drywall, but I need to shop for one soon. A bit of research tells me that the prices vary wildly from a couple of hundred to over a thousand. I know that the best is probably one of the most expensive, but I also know that I bought a costco ladder instead of the original “gorrilla” ladder and I absolutely love it for the $99…and many on here do as well.

Anybody have any suggestions for low price drywall sanders that still get the job done nicely?

Justin Fink – FHB Editorial

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Replies

  1. User avater
    basswood | Oct 27, 2008 05:32pm | #1

    Here is a deal for you:

    http://rmn.craigslist.org/tls/885660448.html

    I really like the "dust free" joint compound, the stuff works surprisingly well.

  2. JulianTracy | Oct 27, 2008 05:33pm | #2

    Find a used Porter Cable unit. Handy as heck even to give a tooth to an existing painted wall prior to painting.

    I've seen them used on CL for between $100 - 250.

    Other than that, the water bucket in-between thingy from Home Depot certainly is dust-free and is only $43, but it's a boat load more work.

    I've had my PC Drywall sander for about 10 years - very handy.

    JT

  3. AitchKay | Oct 27, 2008 05:43pm | #3

    I made my own over 20 years ago when I couldn't find one commercially. I used adhesive paper for simplicity. Not the most durable paper, but it worked fine.

    The key to the system is an excellent vacuum that uses disposable bags. I bought a Wap, and have never regretted it. The Festo and the Fein are noisier and not as powerful, but they're both pretty good.

    I bought a hollow-handled, perforated-pad sanding pole at HD once. Around $30, IIRC. I use it sometimes. It's lighter, and uses the more-durable sanding screen. The air and dust flow nicely through the screen, but screen leaves grooves when you sand parallel with the pad. In the field, you can hold it at a bias, but in inside corners you have to go parallel.

    So I still use my home-made unit a lot.

    A useful accessory is a flexible-blade 4" drywall knife with adhesive sandpaper on the blade. Put different grits on both faces, and sand the edges of the paper smooth every time you put on new paper. Great for detail work in corners. Just hold your vac-powered pad under it to catch the dust.

    For tight spots like an inside corner next to a door casing, narrower sandpaper-faced putty knives are useful, too.

    AitchKay

  4. User avater
    PaulBinCT | Oct 27, 2008 08:28pm | #4

    Heyya Justin...

    For smallish jobs, HD and other places sell a setup that holds a sanding screen and plugs into your shop vac.  I use it often and it works quite well.  For larger jobs I also have the PC sander and it is fabulous as well as giving you a good upper body workout.

    If your job falls into the latter category, shoot me an email and you're welcome to borrow it, I use it only occasionally and not in the forseeable future.  As you know I'm in Newtown all the time and can arrange to drop it off...

    Paul

    PaulB

    http://www.makeabettertomorrow.com

    http://www.finecontracting.com

    (btw, that CL deal is fabulous unless the stuff is beat all to hell, thats the same vac I have as well as the sander, makes a great combo and I bet the original cost was about a grand...)



    Edited 10/27/2008 1:30 pm ET by PaulBinCT

  5. User avater
    FatRoman | Oct 27, 2008 09:03pm | #5

    These guys had some samples at JLC. Took some of the 5" ones home and they worked pretty well. They don't require anything more than a sander with a dust port and a shop vac.

    http://www.simplemanproducts.com/sandpads.html

    'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb

    View Image

  6. [email protected] | Oct 27, 2008 10:22pm | #6

    I've got one of the Porter Cable sanders, and really like it.  It does a great job on the drywall,and to scuff up existing paint before a refinish.  I plan to try it on exterior siding next spring. 

    And, with grits available from 36 to 200, it doubles as a floor sander. 

  7. YesMaam27577 | Oct 27, 2008 11:42pm | #7

    Depends on how much sanding you will be doing. I do little, but enough that dust control became an issue.

    So I put a HEPA filter in my shop vac, and a cheapo screen sander from one of the big box stores on the end of the vac hose.

    From a dust perspective, it is wonderful -- absolutely no dust goes anywhere but in the vac.

    From the perspective of ease-of-work, it really sucks. The vacuum holds the handpiece tight to the wall/ceiling, and muscle is required to move it. Rather a lot of muscle.

    But it gets the job done, and it is effective enough to be used in a home occupied by a COPD patient.

    Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
    1. Huntdoctor | Oct 28, 2008 12:54am | #8

      I use that same system.
      My sander head has a collar that opens to release some of the vacuum so it makes sanding easier.
      On larger jobs you have to clean the filter several times but by then I need a break from sanding anyhow.
      I find a extra length of hose makes it easier to move around.
      Also have a vacuum pole sander for ceilings.Russell
      "Welcome to my world"

      1. AitchKay | Oct 28, 2008 03:09pm | #9

        Yeah, the extra hose is important. I use an old 25' pool-cleaning hose with a lightweight 1 1/4"x 6' whip on the end. Sure beats dragging the vac around. In fact, I often don't need to have the vac in the same room -- only the plug strip it's plugged into.And if you can find bags for your vac, get 'em. I can sand all day with my Wap and still have a bright-orange filter.AitchKay

    2. FHB Editor
      JFink | Oct 28, 2008 05:05pm | #10

      so you just use one of the cheapo sanding screens with a vac hose attachment built in?Justin Fink - FHB Editorial

      1. YesMaam27577 | Oct 28, 2008 10:22pm | #11

        >>"so you just use one of the cheapo sanding screens with a vac hose attachment built in?"Yes.But note that I don't do large drywall jobs, most of what I do is either repair, or small remodeling jobs. It is rare for me to do a drywall job that is larger than 6 or 8 sheets.In addition to the screen, I keep a HEPA filter in the shop vac. It keeps the finest of dust in the vac, instead of blowing it around the house.

        Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.

        1. DTHA | Oct 29, 2008 01:38am | #12

          I had to skim the entire second floor DW with compound to smooth things out.  I tried several chepo solutions and good old hard work in the first room.  Then I rented the Porta cable dust free unit.  It was like night and day and sped up the operation ten fold.  I really mean 10 fold & the quality was much better.  For the occasional use, I just rent one.  Now if I could pick up a used one in good shape, I think I would purchase it instantly.

          Edited 10/28/2008 6:47 pm ET by DTHA

          Edited 10/28/2008 6:48 pm ET by DTHA

  8. MikeSmith | Oct 29, 2008 03:20am | #13

    justin.... we bought the Porter-Cable... hook it up to any vac... but i like the ones like our Fein with the auto switch

    View Image

     

    Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore



    Edited 10/28/2008 8:21 pm ET by MikeSmith

    1. FHB Editor
      JFink | Oct 29, 2008 04:28pm | #14

      Good enough for me, the vote sounds like Porter Cable. Thanks guys.Justin Fink - FHB Editorial

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