Can you use a finish sander when sanding drywall instead of doing it by hand?

Answer 1

[hometech0, TomSJ & goingfort have the right answers]

Yes, you CaN, but you shouldn't.
1. There's a reason they've made the screen/pole sander ~ made especially for sanding drywall mud. As the others have said, it's designed specifically for
this application, and it works. [walls & ceilings]

2. I always "sand" with sponge and water first; if the area still needs sanding when dried, then sand as needed. If you've gone over it initially with the sponge, it will require much less sanding. [less sanding = less cleanup]

3. Yes, one can always clean up the mess afterwards. But using an electric sander on sheetrock mud...inside the house...!?! Gad Zooks! I don't care how much you try to keep it from going absolutely eVeRYWheRe - it WiLL end up Everywhere!
and...
4. Consider the effect of the sheetrock dust on you sander. If anyone every used mY sander for same, that's the end of our association.

Answer 2

There are sanders made just for this, go to a tool rental store, like RSC, and ask for one. They work really well. Belt Sanders are very aggresive and will give you wavy results. Wet sanding is not a good idea and will just cause problems. Whatever you do go back over by hand and get any imperfections you may see, no sander will get everything. I use sanding sponges like the ones you find at Walmart, they work really well. Any way you go will create dust its just part of the process, just clean really well afterwards.

Answer 3

i am a drywall finisher with 16 years experience finishing high end custom homes. DO NOT use a finish sander to sand youre work,either use a sand pole,a porter cable electric sander or the new radius 360 sander.

Answer 4

If you plan to have a textured surface over the drywall, then why not forego the sanding process and use a damp sponge to wipe down the high spots on the drywall joint compound? Just take a bucket of water and a large sponge about the size of brick and wipe down the covered nail heads and taped joints to the finish you want. No dust problem at all.

Answer 5

best to get the sanding screen gizmo that can attach to a pole if your'e doing ceilings....it removes a LOT of material fast enough but also keeps a larger, flatter surface than a finish sander. a finish sander will 'gum up' too fast to be practical....and you won't be very accurate either and have to redo a lot.

the screen allows the loose material to fall right thru so you keep sanding

Answer 6

Well like a couple other people said you wanna use a screen attached to a pole. which is called a pole sander and is good for not only ceilings but also the walls. sanding the ceiling is only a priority if you aren't spraying the ceiling which i would always recommend spraying so you don't see the tape after you paint.

Answer 7

It best to do the sanding by hand and do it gently. You can easily expose the tape with a power sander. If you apply the mud carefully, very little sanding will be required.

Answer 8

well when you need the elec. sander.. you put too much mud on. and yes it gets dusty. i use the pole sander and a spounge.. like i tell the guys.. put the mud on thin until you learn.. alot eaiser to add mud then a light sanding to finish... say you have a screw head sticking down. wipe it let it dry.. dont try to cover it all at one time.. wipe it again when its dry.. make the spot bigger.. no big deal if the screw head spot ends up being about a foot round..just don't hump up the mud

Answer 9

the only way that i would use it is if yours has a vacuum attachment for a hose to hook up to your shop vac. here is another tip, if you are working in just one room at a time. you can tape the doorway shut with plastic and then put a kit called 'stik 'n zip' on it to create an opening in the plastic. the kit comes with 1 or 2, 6' plastic zippers that you can put on the plastic to open it. i have used it and it helps keep the dust in just that room. it keeps the wife happy, too. also, put a window fan in the window and set it to blow out.

Answer 10

1