Sanding Drywall

Sanding is an important part of drywall finishing. Sanding is often needed after drywall installation, repairing drywall and before painting new drywall. You have to sand all those areas where you have applied drywall joint compound or mud. It includes the seams where two drywall boards meet, then inside and outside corners and the nail holes. These areas tend to have rough and uneven patches due to application of the joint compound. If you sand these areas properly, they can have a smooth surface that blends well with the rest of the drywall.

Sanding Drywall Tips

For sanding drywall, you need two simple tools - medium and fine grit sandpapers and a hand sander. If the area of drywall is large, then a pole sander is more convenient. Attach the sandpaper to the sander and you are ready for the job. Here are a few simple tips which have to be kept in mind while doing the sanding job:

• You should start sanding drywall mud only when it is completely dry. Usually, it takes 24 hours to dry up but you must refer to the manufacturers instructions about the drying time of the mud that you have used and follow the same.
• When the dried drywall compound is sanded a lot of dust is released into the air. To protect yourself from the harmful dust, you must wear goggles and a protective mask.
• Identify the rough spots on the drywall surface first. You can simply move your hand or a putty knife all over the drywall to detect the problem areas. Otherwise, you can flash a hand held light on the drywall. You will find some dark, shadowed areas which are nothing but minor depressions. Mark all those spots which require sanding with the help of a chalk.
• You should not apply too much pressure for sanding drywall surfaces as it can remove large amount of joint compound from it.
• While sanding drywall tapes on the seams, you may come across some small ridges of joint compound. Such bumps cannot be removed with sandpaper. To get rid of them, you have to put slight pressure on them with a drywall knife. Once you have knocked off all of them, sand the areas as usual.
• Try to avoid excessive sanding of the areas near the small screw holes or depressions. This is because you may end up sanding down most of the compound from the holes. If you accidentally do that then make sure you fill it up properly with three coats of compound. Each coat of compound should be applied when the previous one is dry.
• Sanding corners is the toughest part of this entire process. Here, the layer of the joint compound is wide and spread in two different directions. If you apply too much of pressure, then the alignment of the boards may get affected. Therefore, you have to ensure that the adjoining boards form a firm, straight line with each other and then sand them with a gentle hand.
• After drywall repair, the task of sanding painted drywall should be carried out with great caution. You have to make sure that you do not move the sandpaper on the surrounding painted surface and take out some paint.
• When you finish sanding, you must wipe off all the sanded dust from the surface of the drywall. Otherwise, the paint is not going to adhere well. For this purpose, you can rub a slightly damp piece of cloth or sponge all over the drywall.

The disadvantage of dry sanding is that it releases large amount of dust in the air. Therefore, if you are allergic to dust, you can opt for wet sanding. Here, a special sanding sponge is damped with water and is rubbed over the drywall compound. This process minimizes the quantity of sanded dust.