Sand Drywall

Sanding drywall sounds like about as much fun as watching paint dry. Don't worry, though, it's not a complicated project. The hardest part is setting up a light so you can see where you need to sand and cleaning up the area when you're done. You'll just sand down the rough edges and fill any low spots before applying your second and third coats of drywall mud.

Steps

Controlling Drywall Dust

1. Put down drop cloths. When you sand drywall, you are going to get powder everywhere. If you've ever had a flour accident in the kitchen, then you know exactly how much mess fine powder can cause. You don't want to be cleaning that up from all over the room and the rest of your house, so start by putting drop cloths on the floor. Then you want have to sweep or vacuum for days to get all the dust up.
2. Get the air flowing. The simplest way to add some ventilation is to crack your windows. For better ventilation, put box fans in the windows facing outward to blow some of that dust away from you.
   • Keep in mind, though, that screens will become clogged with dust, so you may want to take them off both doors and windows.
3. Turn the air conditioner/heat off. While you want air movement, you don't want air flow from the drywall room to other rooms, as that will spread the dust around. Turning the air movement off will help keep the dust contained.
4. Block off the return air vents. While shutting off the air will help a great deal, it's also a good idea to block off the return vents. Cover them with plastic and tape around the edges. That way, drywall dust won't be able to sift into the vent, which would spread it around your house.
5. Cover any furniture. It's best to move furniture out of the room if at all possible. However, if you can't move it or even if it's just nearby the entrance to the room, throw a drop cloth over it. Covering it will be much easier than trying to clean dust out of it.
6. Protect yourself. Put on glasses or goggles to protect your eyes. Gritty eyes are no fun for anyone! Also, your lungs will thank you if you wear a respirator or dusk mask. Look to see if it's rated for drywall. If it's not, that means the particles can still get through, which defeats the purpose.
   • If you can't get as much ventilation in the room as you should, you'll need to change out your mask every hour. Just set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself so you don't come out of your work-induced stupor 3 hours later.
   • If you don't want to spend days showering, you might throw some protection over your hair, such as a scarf, hat, or even a shower cap.

Organizing Your Workspace

1. Set up a back light. Shining a light along the edge of the wall helps you see all the ridges and dips. It's sort of like how a makeup mirror can highlight all the imperfections on your face. Some people hold a light with a cord and move it as they go, but you can also just use a lamp and direct the light along the area you're working on.
   • You can also do all your light work first by moving around the room and shining it on different areas. You can mark points as "high," "fill," or "even" with a pencil. That way, you already know what you need to sand as you go around the room.
   • You can also just feel for rough edges, but you're more likely to miss spots.
2. Look for even color to ensure the drywall is dry. You don't want to sand wet drywall. That's a little like trying to sand wet sand. You will get nowhere fast. Darker areas mean that it's still wet in places. If it looks even in color across the wall, you're probably good to go.
3. Set up a stepladder or stool. You'll need to move from top to bottom. That way, the dust falls down on places you haven't done yet, rather than places you've already done. So you'll need to use a stepladder to get to the places you can't reach.

Sanding the Corners and Seams

1. Scrape off the extra bits of mud/compound. Sandpaper won't work as well on the places where the compound has pilled up a bit, so start with your drywall knife. Just run it along where you have larger bits of compound built up, scraping them up as you go.
   • Go around the whole room first with the knife before working on sanding.
2. Taper with the sanding sponge. Start in the corner where two walls meet. Sand outward so that you taper the mud down to the wall. In other words, sand along the corner in broad strokes, then slowly move those strokes outward toward the edge of the mud.
   • You can also try wet sanding, which cuts down on dust. Dip a sanding block in warm water and wring it out thoroughly before using it on the wall. Rinse your sponge out when it becomes coated in white goo.
3. Go over screws. You can use either the sanding sponge or the full sandpaper to go over the areas with screws and even them out. These areas usually only need a quick sanding.
4. Sand the seams. You'll also have seams along the wall where pieces of the drywall meet. Go over it with sandpaper (150 grit) first to quickly even it out. Swipe back and forth over it in broad strokes. Smooth it out again with your sanding sponge.
   • Keep checking with the light to see if you miss areas.
5. Use light pressure. You don't need to send very hard. You're not scraping burnt rice off the bottom of a pan. You just want to smooth out any ridges and bumps in the dry wall, so you have an even surface. Don't sand down to the paper.
   • Also, make sure you're only sanding the high parts. You'll fill in the low points with another coat of mud. You don't need to try to sand them smooth.
6. Run over it with a dry paintbrush. If you notice there's dust on the wall from your sanding, you can use a dry paintbrush on it. Quickly run the brush over it to loosen up the dust, so it doesn't get into your primer when you start painting.
7. Clean up carefully with a Shopvac. Clean up the area by vacuuming as much as you can with a Shopvac then folding the dropcloths to take outside. Make sure you use the proper filters and bags for drywall when preparing the Shopvac. Otherwise, the dust will just come out of the back. If you're renting at a shop, ask what supplies you'll need for cleaning up drywall.

Tips

• Sand again after you apply the second and third coats of mud to the wall. You'll need to let the mud compound dry at least 24 hours before you sand it.

Things You'll Need

• Sanding sponges
• Drywall sandpaper, 150 grit
• Sandpaper holder or frame
• Dust mask
• Pole sander (optional)
• Light
• Pencil
• Drywall knife
• Stool or stepladder
• Shopvac with proper filters

Sources and Citations

See also

• Remove Mildew from Sheetrock
• Repair Holes in Drywall
• Install Ceiling Drywall
• Repair Drywall Tape That Is Separating from Your Walls
• Tape and Mud Drywall
• Remove Drywall
• Identify Asbestos in Plaster
• Remove Wallpaper from Drywall
• Fix Nail Pops in Drywall
• Clean Drywall Dust

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