Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Dec 30, 1998 07:48am | #1

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   I own the Porter Cable you want to rent and I really like it. (words of caution,1) It does not make up for a bad mud job, Do the best taping you can, it removes ridges well but indents are easier to fill than try and sand out. 2)It saves alot of time, but it is still a pain in the ass to sand drywall, I thought it would be easy, but work is work. 3) get a 100 grit minimum, or 150 if available. Heavy grits can leave swirl marks, I almost never change a pad unless it get shredded. Also keep it moving to avoid swirl marks.)
   It really is very very low dust, I have sanded in offices full of computers and people and the only complaint is noise. Any dust I get comes when I use those 3M sanding sponges to get the corners. For the corners there is a new sanding sponge that has one beveled side, this is perfect for corners as the square ones can groove the wall adjacent to the one you are sanding.
   I also have begun to use my 6" porter cable palm grip random orbital sander to sand drywall on smaller projects. Much easier to get out of the truck and when I hook a vacuum to it it works really well.
   I have owned and used sanders like you asked about, they work O.K. but I really hate sanding drywall so I gave up on hand sanding any where possible.
   If it seems like I maybe spend a little too much time thinking about sanding drywall, it is because I really hate doing it. I really need to become better with mud.

2. 
   jmenz | Dec 30, 1998 09:28am | #2

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   I have the PC vac and it is a well designed tool but now I like the water filtered sanding system. By not having a shroud to assist dust pickup the head can get in anywhere. The holes need to be drilled larger to be balanced with the power of larger vacs. Alternatly, the Gore filter and convential vacs make a workable team, but the water system is more pleasant to empty. Price those PC bags.

3. 
   Guest_ | Dec 30, 1998 07:42pm | #3

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   The random orbital sander is a bit more dusty, but unmodified mine really does well. It probably overworks the vac, but it's a Sears, not one of the expensive models

4. 
   Mark_Summers | Jan 02, 1999 06:19am | #4

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   I have the fiba tape sanding stick and it works great for the amount it costs. We do mainly small commercial renovations, places with furniture and computers everywhere, this unit is the ticket. People are amazed when they see it, no dust. It is harder on the arms due to the suction but thats o.k. Our first one broke at the ujoint, but we quickly replaced it without a second thought.

1. 
   Doug_Huebner | Jan 08, 1999 10:54pm | #5

   *I have something like that - unsure of the brand. It is a sanding pad with a vac hose connection and uses the screen sand"paper". I just use it around the house - not commercially.. Works fine for me. Very little dust gets away from it. Renting the PC may be a bit easier than the manual method if you are a drywall novice like me.Doug

5. 
   johno_ | Jan 08, 1999 10:54pm | #6

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   Has anyone used the drywall sanding kit from FibaTape. It uses a sanding screen rather than paper allowing the dust to be sucked into your shop vac.

   I was also thinking of renting Porter
   Cables's machine but was curious to know if the Fiba machine was worth buying.

   Thanks for the help

   jo:-)