DIY kit question

[Paul_B]

We're getting our house settled for selling. Don't need to but want to, pride I guess. There's a few patch up sections on ceiling and walls that need sanding. I usually just use sandpaper and block but thinking a sander might be a good investment. Especially since the new house is likely to need working on.

So what type of sander and which make/ model? Small budget too? For use on walls through to wood. Orbital, belt, detail or other? Plus are they all messy or can you get ones with extraction? I think I saw some with little vacuum filter bags on them.

 

[Erbswurst]

Such stuff doesn't interest me.

But a few weeks ago I saw my nephew playing with a rotating plastic brush in an akku screw driver on a dirty old board.

The result was convincing.

For smaller surfaces that might be an interesting low budget option.

I have seen such round brushes as metal brushes too.

 

[John Fenna]

For a couple of years I used Blackspur Orbital sanders - cheap as chips and I always killed them in pretty short order ....
The plus point of this was that I killed them while they were still under guarantee and I got new ones as replacement - without quibble or charge.
My investment of very little cash gave me several years service and proved a better investment than buying a big boys brand sander...

 

[TeeDee]

For plastering and such small projects, these are reasonable to use and cheap !

Tools | Sealants and Tools Direct

 

[The Lord Poncho]

I've had a Bosch mouse sander for about 15 years now, its had some -periods of very intensive use, and does a decent job. looks pretty similar to the current model:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PSM-...31&hvtargid=pla-578915428232&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

If you were going to be doing floor boards etc then a belt sander is a more powerful, but perhaps less controllable option.

 

[slowworm]

I've had a Bosch mouse sander for about 15 years now, its had some -periods of very intensive use, and does a decent job.

You must have some very smoooth mice about.

For plaster I'd stick to manual sanding with a washable sanding block (dense foamy type thing with a coating of grit). That way you can keep the dust down and I've found powered sanders on plaster can cause a lot of the old plaster to lift.

 

[The Lord Poncho]

You must have some very smoooth mice about.

I opened myself up for that didn't I! Well done!

 

[Broch]

+1 for doing it by hand to be honest. If you get the specialist plaster abrasive paper (it's white but I forget what it's called, sorry) it does a great job vert fast and it doesn't clog like ordinary sand paper.

 

[Paul_B]

One patch was a badly filled crack in the ceiling. It's a wide band of excess filler that'll take a lot of effort to remove. Tried a bit tonight and using a good sandpaper with non clogging claims on the packaging at 180 grit. It took a lot off in dust but didn't make much dent in the filler. I'm afraid I think it needs mechanical assistance.

I was looking at a random orbital sander with filtration/dust collection. I've used a 1/3rd sheet sander on a real before and a detail sander too. The former sent the dust flying more than the detail sander but the detail one really made no headway with the plaster needing to be removed. It was a Bosch one too. The sheet sander was a cheaper model.

 

[Mesquite]

So what type of sander and which make/ model? Small budget too? For use on walls through to wood. Orbital, belt, detail or other? Plus are they all messy or can you get ones with extraction? I think I saw some with little vacuum filter bags on them.

I've recently just bought this and am very happy with it so far. It was also on sale at the time and had been reduced to £20

Most sanders as you said have a port which you can either use the bag supplied or attach a vacuum hose to for dust extraction.

 

[petrochemicals]

Learn to plaster or use this

All products | Polycell

Protect your household from damp intrusions and tidy edges with our selection of sealing and grouting products. View our specifically designed range here.

www.polycell.co.uk

Easy sand, smoothing, tough fibrous stuff.

 

[Paul_B]

That JCB what was showing in my local store online. Got there and it was still showing but it wasn't there. Annoying so I got a Macalister one that's similar. The bag over the port is not very effective. It's got an attachment to take a vacuum hose which would be better but our vacuum doesn't have a long enough hoseb for the ceiling I was working on.

That polyfilla stuff is good for filling in holes and such but not good when the problem is a protrusion. You either have to take it down to smooth it out or I guess the affirmative is skim the whole wall. I'm not a plasterer!!! We've got a hundred year old house which has many areas that turned out to have different materials to the wall including one area near the ceiling that looked like concrete of all things. This has a ridge sticking out. There's other rooms with similar things but they're not too bad so we'll leave them. It'll be up to the next inhabitant I guess.

Anyway, the sander I got did the job. 300w and 125mm pad. Variable speed too. Speed 6 really takes the protrusion down nicely. First time I used it I messed up and put a hole in the ceiling to the side of what I was taking down. Polyfilla worked well and it's as smooth as we'll need.

 

[ANDGRIN]

I have a belt sander I inherited from my Dad I have used once that you are welcome to , there are several different grit papers with it. Let me know if you are interested.
Cheers Andy

 

[Paul_B]

Thanks for the offer, I ended up getting an orbital sander which worked quite well for me.

They do have a lot of vibration. I had to do things in short bursts or my hand went numb.

 

[ANDGRIN]

No problem, it is a bit of an old design at least 20 years old, I was going to give it to a charity shop then saw it could of been of interest.
cheers Andy

 

[Paul_B]

I appreciate the offer. It's one of many positives on this forum the way people offer complete strangers kit they think will help them or offers of help in person. This certainly is a community!! We might not be neighbours with our doors open to each other but we're still a community nonetheless.

 

[santaman2000]

Thanks for the offer, I ended up getting an orbital sander which worked quite well for me.

They do have a lot of vibration. I had to do things in short bursts or my hand went numb.

That’s why they’re also called “jitterbugs” by most painters. Did you get electric or pneumatic?

 

[Paul_B]

Electric. I don't think UK DIY stores do pneumatic.

Decades ago I used to watch cable TV shows on US DIY scene at my grandparents house. That's the early days of UK cable and sky satellite TV when terrestrial TV had 5 channels, sky had twenty something channels and cable (where available) had 40+ channels!!!

What I remember was his everything was power tools running on airline. I'd never heard of that and even cordless power tools weren't common over here. I think US DIY is closer to UK building trades than UK home DIYer. Not many rebuild their own roof complete with structural components but the US DIY shows I saw did.

 

[santaman2000]

....... Not many rebuild their own roof complete with structural components but the US DIY shows I saw did.

Not as many over here as the DIY shows would have you think. That said, O do have a cousin who built
his own home almost by himself with one other family member helping with the labor (some things just take two people) From clearing the spot, to pouring the foundation, building the framing, etc. The roof was the only part where he had to call outside help: It was a metal roof and his metal working skills just weren’t as good as a specialist.

 

[Paul_B]

I doubt you could get own built houses past whatever building control is in place in the UK. I think there's a more difficult planning, approval and control in system in place over here. However I guess it varies across the states over your side of the pond. Some will be as strict as over I reckon.

Still those old DIY shows from USA were interesting. There's a part of me that wishes I had the temperament and skills to do what those shows did.