Hi folks,

I recently skim coated the ceilings of my condo to get rid of a rather frumpy looking sand texture. Some of the texture was pretty deep, so I had to put on three coats of compound before it looked evened out and the texture was no longer visible. So now I'm moving on to sanding, and it's pretty miserable.

My local tool rental place has a Porter Cable 7800 for around $40 a day. I would love to find away to make this process easier.

Have any of you worked with the tool or any other drywall electric sander? Any tips, suggestions, etc.? How many sanding pad and discs should I expect to need for around 800 sqft of ceiling?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide.

 

I try not to sand compound anymore. I use a wet sponge which should work as long as you didn't make the coats insanely thick. Post some pics if you can.

 

Far faster and less dust to rent that sander.
At least 4 pads will be needed. Buy more and just return what you do not need.

 

Thanks for the responses, both. I didn't even realize that wet sponging drywall was a thing. So I ordered a 5-pack of 150 discs online and those will take a couple of days to arrive. In the meantime, I'll go ahead and try the sponges. I'm guessing that my coats were what you would unfortunately call insanely thick and that the electric sander will be mighty useful.

 

I have a porter cable drywall sander an I'm not even a taper! It is the best invention ever made for sanding drywall. For me a wet sponge just smears the mud around. I have better luck with sanding sponges (dry). You will still have to do the details (corners, etc) and a quick go over to remove any swirl marks but it still beats a sanding pole.

 

Sanding does a better job than a wet sponge! It does a better job of leveling the j/c. I normally only use a wet sponge when making repairs in a finished home - no dust to clean up