As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall screws.
Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over my
fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws. The
last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is an
800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at Grabber.
He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try the
gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction work
every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice to
use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?

On Sun, 1 May 2011 15:22:18 -0700, RockHound wrote:

As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall screws.
Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over my
fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws. The
last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is an
800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at Grabber.
He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try the
gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction work
every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice to
use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?

When you say "gold", I assume you're talking about the yellow zinc plated
screws. I don't see a reason, other than cost.

On Sun, 1 May 2011 15:22:18 -0700, RockHound wrote:

As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall screws.
Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over my
fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws. The
last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is an
800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at Grabber.
He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try the
gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction work
every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice to
use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?


I've been using Fastenal brand drywall screws when are green in color.
I haven't had any that were oily. a 1500 count case is under $50.

http://www.fastenal.com/web/search/p...3390!888996493
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

"RockHound" wrote in message
.com...
As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall
screws.
Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over
my
fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws.
The
last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is
an
800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at
Grabber.
He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try
the
gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction
work
every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice
to
use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?




My favorite supplier for screws:
http://www.mcfeelys.com/drywall-screws

Max

"RockHound" wrote in message
.com...
As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall
screws.
Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over
my
fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws.
The
last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is
an
800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at
Grabber.
He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try
the
gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction
work
every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice
to
use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?


One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
bolts
the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
their performance

"George W Frost" wrote

One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
bolts
the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
their performance

I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the
wood.

Max

On Sun, 1 May 2011 15:34:13 -0700, zzzzzzzzzz wrote

When you say "gold", I assume you're talking about the yellow zinc plated
screws. I don't see a reason, other than cost.


Yes i do mean yellow zink and I can get them for roughly the same price as
the black ones.
Thanks.

On Sun, 1 May 2011 16:56:20 -0700, Nova wrote
(in article ):


I've been using Fastenal brand drywall screws when are green in color.
I haven't had any that were oily. a 1500 count case is under $50.


http://www.fastenal.com/web/search/p...crews/drywall-
screws/_/

N-
gj4wc9&Nty=0;jsessionid=8jpSNpNXRxjFhtJsFBr6GFxd4x QkKWZ1f2sTKqvXY2syR4gTYNYk
!329283390!888996493


That's a little steep for me. For $50 I can get 25 lbs (about 8000 screws) of
either black or gold.
Thanks.

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:04:01 -0700, Max wrote
(in article om):


My favorite supplier for screws:
http://www.mcfeelys.com/drywall-screws

Max


Thanks Max,
It looks like they only cary the fine thread screws for metal framing? Also
the cost is about 2 X what i pay locally for either black or gold screws.

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:16:35 -0700, George W Frost wrote
(in article . com):



One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
bolts
the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
their performance


I agree that for the mechanical fastening of the drywall panels to the
framing the oil does not inhibit their performance in any way. If however
you include user friendliness as part of a product's performance then the oil
is a pretty serious flaw. Also in drywall work it is very important that the
mud adhere tightly to the screw heads so could also be another flaw there.
Thanks.

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:20:21 -0700, Max wrote
(in article om):

"George W Frost" wrote

One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
bolts
the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
their performance

I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the
wood.

Max


Yes, not good. Also when handling these screws unless you wash your hands
quite frequently there will be dark greasy fingerprints all over the work.

In article ,
says...

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:16:35 -0700, George W Frost wrote
(in article . com):



One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
bolts
the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
their performance


I agree that for the mechanical fastening of the drywall panels to the
framing the oil does not inhibit their performance in any way. If however
you include user friendliness as part of a product's performance then the oil
is a pretty serious flaw. Also in drywall work it is very important that the
mud adhere tightly to the screw heads so could also be another flaw there.
Thanks.

Personally I think I'd want to find out whether the oil is normal or
not. Have you thought about sending a box of oily screws to the
manufacturer and asking if the oil on them was normal? If it isn't then
it's getting on them in transit somewhere and I suspect they'd be happy
to help you find out where and apply some pressure from above to get the
problem addressed.

RockHound wrote:

On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:16:35 -0700, George W Frost wrote
(in article . com):



One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making
screws and bolts
the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing
where the screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any
residue I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the
screws to inhibit their performance


I agree that for the mechanical fastening of the drywall panels to
the framing the oil does not inhibit their performance in any way.
If however you include user friendliness as part of a product's
performance then the oil is a pretty serious flaw. Also in drywall
work it is very important that the mud adhere tightly to the screw
heads so could also be another flaw there. Thanks.

Isnt it to prevent rusting of the tin once pierced by the screw ,
causing the screw to loose grip .

Probably not such an issue in the USA (oh by the way thanks for
wacking bin laden) but in many countries it is , in production its
unlikely they will know the intended market so they all get done.

Plus these are generally shipped by sea so it possibly prevents
corosion build up on the screw itself