On Sun, 28 Dec 2014 05:50:36 +0100, nestork
wrote:


I think the pros have some sort
of method to vacuum up the dust as they sand it. I'd rather pay them,
than have to spend weeks cleaning the house afterwards.

Just hold a trouble light in one hand and a screen sander in the other
hand to sand down the joint compound. The sharp angle the light will be
hitting the wall will exagerate the bumps and the valleys giving you a
much better idea of where you have to add joint compound and where you
have to sand it off to make the wall smoother.

The pros hardly have to sand at all. The old german guy who did the
taping in my daughter's basement laid it on so smooth that after a few
swipes with his sponge hardly any sanding was required.

Slip a green Scotchbrite pad under the sanding screen on your hand
sander. The sanding dust will go through the sanding screen and fall
out of it's edges through the Scotchbrite pad.

If you want, hold your vaccuum cleaner hose under your hand sander as
you tap the hand sander against the wall to knock all the sanding dust
out of the Scotchbrite pad. Use a 60 grit sanding screen so that you
make fast progress, and the joint compound you sand off is in large
enough hunks to fall directly to the floor without spending any time
getting there. The vaccuum cleaner will collect 90 percent of the dust
before it hits the floor.

The "low dust" compound is heavy and drops to the floor instead of
wafting about - Using a vacuum sander generates so much static you'd
think you were standing in the middle of a lightning storm
Wipe the wall down with a dry rag or brush after you finish sanding, and
then vaccuum up with a wet/dry shop style vaccuum cleaner fitted with a
pleated paper filter. It will NOT take you even a day to vaccuum up,
let alone "weeks". It's really not anywhere near as hard as you're
making it sound.

Also, you should be aware that there are different kinds of joint
compounds.

"Regular" or "Taping" joint compound has the most glue in it and is used
for taping the joints. The glue in it makes it stick better to the wall
and the tape to stick better to it, but that glue also makes it hard to
sand smooth.

"Topping" or "Finish" joint compound is used for the 2nd and 3rd coats
over the joints, and has the least amount of glue in it. That makes it
very easy to sand smooth.

"All Purpose" is about half way between Regular and Finish. It can be
used for both taping and finishing, and it's made mostly so that drywall
contractors don't have to carry two pails around in their truck with
them everywhere they go. They can do the whole job with only one
compound.

Your best bet is to buy regular joint compound for your first coat
(which you won't be sanding) and allow the compound to shrink as it
dries. Then, use Finish joint compound for the 2nd and 3rd coats, which
will be easy to sand smooth. And, hold a trouble light close to the
wall so that you can see when the joints are smooth, or where they need
more joint compound, or where you need to sand more joint compound off.
When your wall looks "not too bad" when viewed under such critical
lighting, it'll look perfect under normal lighting.

Old Johann used setting compound for the first layer and to bed the
tape. Sets up hard as stone in under 45 minutes and bonds the board
together permanently. You don't want to have to sand that stuff. Then
he layed on the all-purpose low dust compound with a 12" knife. A
quick sand the next morning and another thin coat over top, a swipe
with the damp sponge, and a final light sanding the next day and it
was ready for paint. Three years later and you can't see the joints
(or screws)