By Mark Clement
Pushing Paper
There are two sad realities to my life.
Reality #1: I'm ...um ...frugal. I frequently ask, "Why would I pay someone to do something I can do -- and get paid for --- myself?" This results in a lot of work (read: no complaint). But a lot of work sure is a lot of work (read: I'm complaining.)
Reality #1 begets Reality # 2: I hang, finish and sand a lot of drywall; more than most carpenters, I suspect. And sanding it is the worst job ever. Get Mike Rowe on the phone; this one is dirty.
But I do it. Whether I'm finishing drywall on one of my own houses to keep cash flow in check (see omnipresent Reality #1) or I'm doing it to maintain schedule control and production speed for clients in smaller projects like the bathroom I just reno'd (there just weren't enough sheets, time, or budget to sub it). I'm determined to get a nice, smooth finish.
Heretofore I've relied on sanding sponges to smooth out what I can't take care of with my drywall knives -- and they've never let me down.
They never let me away either. If I'm sanding a ceiling, I have to be an arm's length from the dust-cloud. And pole sanders with screens are a disaster for me. While I can use them, they like to catch periodically, roll over and gouge the drywall I just finished with one of their infuriating butterfly screws. And if there's much contour to the finish at all (I work in a lot of old houses; nothing is flat) they can't articulate to follow the contours in the board or coats. This means I have to follow up and re-skim or re-sand what they can't get. And don't even get me started about how much changing a screen puts me on the brink of myocardial infarction.
The minute I saw -- then used --two new products from GatorGrip, I javelined my pole sander. I still have sanding sponges, but Gator's new stuff is my total go-to for 90 percent of my drywall sanding -- and other work.
Keys to a Flat Finish
- Rule 1: Get it flat. There are two main keys, in my book, to getting a superior skim coat. The first rule is, when hanging new rock, embed tape in the depression on the long edges of the board. (Take a look at a new sheet, it's slightly tapered to accept the tape and mud.) Bed the tape fully and tightly against the board, using as little mud as possible on each coat while still fully coating the back of the tape to get full adhesion.
Rule 2 : Fake it flat. Rule #2 is for repairs and funky situations. When boards or a patch aren't flat, I create what I call a "micro-mound" of compound to ever-so-slightly raise the plane of the finish and disguise the damage. I feather it out of at least three coats so it appears as flat as possible.
Rule 3: Sand it smooth. In either situation the key is to sand it smooth. This is where the Gator bites in.
Just like real dry wall work, there's been a lot of preamble, but now we're here.
Walls, ceilings, screw-heads and floors. I use GatorGrit's pole sanding-head on a threaded wooden handle and, while I still hate sanding, this tool has made it a zillion times easier and more productive. Here's why.
- The universal type joint on the Gator Grit sanding-head articulates to move with me. I can twist it such that the pad drives the sand paper straight across the work, at a slight angle or I can move the pad the long way (like up and down for sanding inside wall corners.)
- It trips and rolls over waaaaay fewer times than any pole sander I've used. And if it does, there's no hardware on the top side to damage drywall. I'm in sander's heaven.
- Three words: hook...and...loop. No more #%!& butterfly nuts and creasing screens to fit. The pre-cut paper simply sticks on. I actually offset the paper so I can use one side of the sander for my inside corners. I can't believe how much time, effort and gallons of sweat this has saved me.
- Padded sanding head. The Gator Grit sanding head is basically a rigid sponge. It's stiff enough to lay flat and cut compound flat to the board, especially with 80 grit paper (which I use after the Two-Coat; 100 for the Three-Coat) but it's supple enough to accept contours in the wall-board and enables you to follow undulations. This was fantastic.
- The head's U-joint is threaded to so I don't have to buy (and store) a special drywall sanding pole. I can use a typical threaded pole that I might screw into the end of a paint roller or floor finishing head or broom head. If there is a weak spot in this system, however, it's this connection. For day-in-day-out dry-wallers, they might -- might -- wear out the plastic. But as for me -- fugghettaboutit! -- it's great.
- I even used the GatorGrit with 120-grit paper to abrade sanding sealer on a wood floor I finished. It worked great and saved me from having to spend money renting a buffer. Right here the GatorGrit paid for itself about 30 times.
Funk-ified Sanding Situations. You can't get a dead flat drywall finish every time -- especially in remodeling. And, some areas need more detail work than others, especially inside corners and micro-mounds. This is where I used GatorGrit's hand sander.
- Like the sanding head, I offset the paper so I could get the sandpaper right into the corner of the corner and it worked like a charm, making lumpy drywall/plaster repairs seem flat, which is the idea. The raised, U-shaped handle enabled me to get away from the dust just enough while applying significantly more force than with any sanding sponge in the world. There were just a few areas I couldn't reach with the hand sanding head (which is why I haven't abandoned my sanding sponges) but for the most part I sanded better-faster-easier with GatorGrit.
- I also used the tool to sand pine boards (1x12s for wide window sill in a package detailed with pine). Not only did sanding them with GatorGrit open the grain so the soft wood would accept finish, I could really lean on the hand sander to knock down imperfections, wood filler, ribbons of wood left over from the router, whatever. I love it.
Buying Paper. GatorGrit sandpaper comes in packs of various grits -- so you can keep just a few sheets in stock or, if you're a mad-dog sander, buy in bulk.
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was looking forward to my drywall career coming to a close so I can focus more on the carpentry and building that I love so very much (or just go to the beach while someone else does the work?mmmmm?beach?) but until that day, Rule #1 and #2 are still in full force and effect. And GatorGrit will be with me along the way.
www.GatorGrit.com
Mark Clement is a remodeler, live-action tradeshow demonstrator, and author of The Carpenter's Notebook, A Novel. Check out his web site at: www.FormalFarmHouse.com.
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