HOW TO BUY A DRYWALL SANDER

All drywall sanders serve the same general purpose: to help prepare the walls for decorating.

Whether its drywall or plaster, in order to make sure the finished walls look as good as possible, they have to be as smooth. Patches, seams, and holes all need to be taken care of before paint can be applied.

That’s where <a href="https://stylowi.pl/woodworkingmash">a drywall sander comes in</a>.

Although you’ll likely still need to use a detail sander to get into tight edges and corners, an electrical drywall sander can cover the rest of the wall in minutes.

This is a job that, when done by hand, would take hours and hours, so if you want to save yourself a lot of time, a drywall sander is essential.

Here are a few things to think about before you decide which one is the best one for you. Consider these things when looking at our reviews.

WHAT AM I USING IT FOR?

The first thing you need to do is decide what you’ll be using your drywall sander for. Obviously, to sand drywall / sheetrock, but there are other things to think about:

. Is this for a one time job or will I be using it for multiple jobs in the future?

. Am I only going to use it in my own home or will I be taking it to other places?

. Do I need to make sure I can easily sand the ceiling as well as the walls?

. Am I going to use this only on drywall?

Once you know what you’ll be doing with the sander, you can figure out what specifications you need to find the best electric sander for drywall that suits your needs.

WEIGHT

This is one of the most important factors. The heavier the sander, the more difficult it’s going to be for you to use it for long periods of time. Also, take into consideration whether or not you’ll be using it to sand ceilings as well as walls or if the walls you’re going to be working with are particularly high.

The higher you need to go, the more you’re going to have to keep the sander lifted up and above your head. Don’t choose a sander that is so heavy, you can’t use it for the job you need to do.

Weight varies greatly with these sanders. The ones we reviewed range from about 9 to 19 pounds, a 10-pound difference. If you need to cover a large surface, ask yourself if you’re going to be able to work effectively using a 19-pound tool.

Generally, the heavier tools are equipped to be able to perform professional jobs. If you’re going to be using this tool over and over in different clients’ homes, you need something that’s a little more durable and ready to handle hour after hour, month after month of work. In this instance, weight might not be as important a factor to you as quality or performance.

If you are working in larger buildings, where the ceilings are little more out of reach, you may want to also consider a drywall lift or drywall stilts.

RPMS

Higher RPMs will get the job done faster but can also make the tool a little heavier and more difficult to control. Again, this is a situation where if you’re a homeowner who needs to do sand one wall or one room, you can probably get by with a lower RPM. But for a busy contractor, you’ll want one with the ability to hit a high RPM.

FLEXIBILITY

You can find drywall sanders that have a flexible head that makes it really easy to get it to work in small space and corners. Although this likely isn’t going to eliminate the need for some touch-up sanding by hand in really tight spots, the more you can cover with the electric powered sander, the better.

SANDING DISCS

Most sanding discs will attach to the head of the machine with velcro, which is great and really convenient. But the thing you need to pay attention to is the disc size.

Some brands make theirs in non-standard sizes, meaning it won’t be easy to get replacements. If you want to be able to walk into any tool store and find more of the right size pads, make sure find out before you buy your sander if they replacement pads are easy to come by.

Some drywall sanders come with a set of various discs so you’ll at least have a few to start out with. It’s a good idea to do some digging about replacement discs when you’re figuring out which one to buy. We made an effort in to mention when this was an issue in the appropriate drywall sander review.

CONCLUSION

There are a lot of great drywall sanders on the market and we did our best to provide you with the knowledge and information you need to figure out which one is the best one for your needs. If you read through our electric drywall sander reviews and buyer’s guide, you should be able to get a clear idea of what you should be looking for.

If you want the absolute best sander for drywall, we have to recommend the Festool 571579. It has everything and, though it’s quite an investment, if you’re looking for something that will last for a long time and make all your drywall sanding easy, it’s the one you need to try.