are power sanders easyer?

alltex

I,v been thinking about getting a power sander .Are they much easyer to sand a normal tape job with than a pole sander? I get tired of all that upper body work out.But i wonder how much time they would save,compared to the $1000 investment.

Saul_Surfaces

what's your time worth? And how many customers are you losing because you're all backed up sanding the stone age way? I'm too small an outfit to have a PC yet, but even stilts with a third sheet makita hooked to a vacuum is several times faster than a pole sander. Hopefully a PC will be in the budget later this year though.

Whitey97

It's properly spelt EASIER. Just because you're a tradesman doesn't have to show you're a moron.


Yes, I'm back!

alltex

Just beacuse you are back dosen,t mean you are not still a jerk .why don,t you stay gone mr. know it all?

McDusty

there has been a lot of discussion around these power/vacuum sanders and, well, i'm just going to say it already... they are ridiculous IN MY OPINION.

a lot... that's why i don't use a power sander.

i would really love to challenge someone on a job. pole sander vs. power sander. if you think pole sanding is hard, then you are sanding to much, pushing to hard, or you're no good at coating.

i try to tread pretty lightly with my opinions on this forum because we are all 'the best at what we do', but if i saw someone sanding a custom home with a power sander i would laugh. just like you would laugh at me for pole sanding.

grapita

Here i come, one more time "all depend". First, there are many different levels of taping, 0 thru 5 . Some tapers will do one coat of tape ,two coats of compound sand it and prime it , others will do one coat of tape, two coat of mud sand it and a third light coat of mud and light sand it at last. etc, etc . In my point of view i would not use the power sander for final sand,instead i'd use it before last coat of mud and primer, no mater the size of the job. hope this help.

Using the power sander it is definitily, easyer, lol, lol .

Drywall Tycoon

I know these three old guys ( yep older than I ). They used pole sanders for the first 25 years and power sanders for the last 15. They say they are better. Less dust falling.
quicker.

I borrowed one. I thought it was slower that pole sanding. Everyone that I know that has one said I didn't know what the hell I was doing with it. I think they are like any other new tool. You have to use one more than one job to determine their efficiency.

Glad to have you back Whitey. We don't need spell check any more and don't have to go to the job to be called names.

Tycoon

Whitey97

hey there bud, nice to be back! lol

I have more than one PC sander. That's all I'll say about that.

What's a pole sander? If you can use the PC right, you don't need an idiot stick.

alltex

Thats all i wanted to hear .that it,s E-Z.thanks so much sweety (Whitney)

Whitey97

no problem baby!

jmr

are you doing alot of new residential? quality and wage standards are **** so i'd say go for it.. considering you can probably bang out 150+ sheets in 4 hours by yourself.

otherwise if you have the time and your getting paid for it, power sanders IMO, are only good for over spray and THAT'S IT...

i use low # grit on my screw runs and overspray then sand flats and butt work with finer grit, all with detailer and radius sander.. works great

GARYHITE

When you are ready to buy a porter cable sander, you can email me at cranberry@amestools.com and i have the best pricing on this set up.

cazna

Power sanders all the way, i used a festool 150mm on a vacuum for years but now i have a flex giraffe, 180g, move it fast and dont keep it still or it will damage your good work.
I always try for the smoothest finish before sanding too, i dont make a big mess then sand it off again, you do need to be very careful when sanding behind a flatbox with a low crown on the join or you will ruin it.
Power sanders are clean and tidy, If keep the house clean for the owner and keep the dust out of the window frames/ door jambs/ kitchens etc and lux up the floor behind you and remove any lumps off the floor with a scraper, the owner is so happy he cant pay you fast enough, and they tell everyone how great you are. Seems to work very well for me and i would never waste time and energy on a pole sander, why burn yourself out sanding?? I would rather save it for making a big impact on the next job? the sooner your finished the more money you make

Kiwiman

I do both, one pass with the porter-cable sander (180 grit) then go over it with 360 radius pole sander (worn 180 grit from the porter-cable), then detail with sponge block and 500w halogen. To answer the original question, I find it much E-Z-ER and wouldn't be without one

silverstilts

You are right most of us would laugh and have every right, do you hand tape also ? Sure pole sanding is easy but sanding with the PC is easier and more cleaner. I find most with the attitude of pole sanding only have never been on the end of a power sander or if they have don't know how to use one. Another thing I like about using one is when its mid august and hot and humid all the dust goes into the bag not collecting on the sweat from working that sucks, also breathing into a mask can't stand to wear them but do when hand (sponge) sanding not necessary with the vac sander. It is old fashioned to sand with the idiot stick. Kind of like framers using hand saws and hand nailing instead of power saws and air nailers. Time is money the PC will save you tons of time and used correctly will give you the best finish.

__________________
aka the rock doctor

FOR THOSE ABOUT

McDusty...you know if you tried it you might just have to change your name as well. If you've read any of my posts you will know that I am very 'old school'. There are certain areas where I have evolved the PC being one of them. I do use the pole sander to brush down my angles prior to final glaze but that is the position it has been retired to after purchasing the PC. I know there are some areas where people just want to see you sand your a$$ off. I have done work for folks like this and contractors who think they can't justify the money they are making if the tools are on the job because they are just to fast. I don't think it is so much an argument of who can beat who but what can do the most efficient, thorough job with the least amount of mess and allowing yourself that extra time the PC gives you to fine tune any detail work you have.

Final touch drywall

If you don't mind me asking,what joint compound are you guys using??

__________________
work smarter<not harder.

FOR THOSE ABOUT

green top, easy sand, primer surfacer on level 5

phoney2

i sand every day and my main tool is the pc power sandder it does the job and so much eaiser on the body i get a lot of complements from different painters that thay rather go behind the power sandder than a stick i like the end results better to now if thay would just come out with an eaiser way to do coners

FOR THOSE ABOUT

Do you mean corners or angles? If you mean angles do you run them by hand? Reason I ask is I can get pretty close with the PC and have very little detail left in the angles which I roll and glaze.