Mudding and sanding is God awful

"StoneCold" (StoneCold) 09/20/2016 at 20:52 • Filed to: Drywall compound between my toooooes...noooobody knows my woooooes

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Cutting and mounting the drywall? Tons of fun! But with sanding, I am now a ghost.

Tips I have learned:

-ProForm brand mud. No others. Everything else is garbage

-Sandpaper on the end of a Swiffer stick = awesomeness

-Mask is obvious, but eyewear is not. It becomes obvious as soon as you sand above your head

- Put on jams that can be heard over the box fan

I love forming and sanding Bondo, but this is blerrrrrgh.

Any more tips Oppositelock?

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 20:59

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Don’t clean up with a vacuum that a significant other cares about. If you’re using a shop-vac, they make filters and bags for drywall dust. It’s super fine and will plug up the filters if not just go right through and burn out the motor.

Jayvincent > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 21:15

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I like damp sponge smoothing of lightweight drywall compound. No dust. Requires a medium hard sponge and a bucket of water. Not sure if a wet swiffer would work for overhead, but I’d give it a try next time I’m out of ladders.

Full disclosure - I’m no professional, but I’ve renno’d a house or two in my time.

Jcarr > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 21:18

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Wet sand. Much easier to sand and little to no dust.

StoneCold > Jcarr 09/20/2016 at 21:19

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Wet sanding drywall? Won’t that take longer to dry for the 2nd/3rd/4th coat?

Edit: I’ll try it on a seam, what do I have to lose?

StoneCold > Jayvincent 09/20/2016 at 21:22

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Smoothing it out with the sponge just after applying or after it dries?

Urambo Tauro > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 21:23

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Ugh, you’re absolutely right- sanding is the worst .

If this is addition/renovation work, I hope you sealed off the work area from the rest of the house well, including sealing off the HVAC.

For the sanding itself, there’s not much more you can do except protect yourself (as you already discovered) and soldier through it. Make sure that respirator is sealed tight. A half-face respirator (the kind with cartidges) seals much better than a fabric dust mask.

For cleanup: Some dust will stick to the walls, and can be lightly brushed off. You can use a damp sweeping compound to help keep the dust down while brooming, or you jump straight to vacuuming.

Use a brush attachment to kind of “scrub” dust out of whatever kind of flooring you’re trampling dust into. (hopefully not carpet) There are some tricks to using a shop-vac, like cyclone setups, or an inch of water in the bottom of the bucket, but expect to have to tap the filter clean a few times.

Jayvincent > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 21:34

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after it dries but before it’s rock hard was best, about 18-24hrs worked well for me

shop-teacher > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 22:27

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Yeah. It’s miserable. I gutted my second floor to the studs and remodeled it almost entirely by myself. I paid someone to do the drywall. Worth it.

TheRealBicycleBuck > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 22:40

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There are lots of homes in various stages of renovation here after the flood. A friend of mine gave me a solid piece of advice as I volunteered in the rebuilding effort. Hanging drywall is fine, but if anyone asks you to tape and float, run away, fast.

E92M3 > StoneCold 09/20/2016 at 23:39

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I hate it, and I absolutely suck at it. I can never get it perfect. Can always tell a repair was made.

Jcarr > StoneCold 09/21/2016 at 08:56

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It might add a little bit of time, but IMO it’s worth it in saved mess and cleanup.

WiscoProud > StoneCold 09/21/2016 at 11:52

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I skim coated two rooms of my house this year. I brought my shop vac in and had the nozzle in one hand while I sanded with the other. Cut the dust down immensely. I did have to clean the filter out a few times at least per room, but considering the literal pounds of dust in the can, it was well worth it.