Totally agree on the shop vac attachment—it's a lifesaver. Another thing I've found helpful is lightly misting the drywall compound between sanding passes. It cuts down airborne dust significantly, and as a bonus, it's eco-friendly since you're not relying on disposable filters as much.
Good tips, especially the misting trick—never tried that one before. Couple things I've noticed:
- Sanding screens instead of paper seem to clog less and last longer. Anyone else find this?
- Also, lighting helps a ton. I started using a handheld LED work light at an angle, and it's amazing (and kinda depressing, lol) how many imperfections pop up that you'd otherwise miss.
Curious though, does misting affect drying time noticeably between coats? Might give it a shot next time...
Misting doesn't really add much drying time in my experience—maybe a few extra minutes tops. Definitely worth it for smoother coats. And yeah, angled lighting is a blessing and a curse... ignorance was bliss before I discovered that trick, lol.
Yeah, misting's never really slowed me down either. But man, angled lighting... once you see those tiny imperfections, you can't unsee 'em. Sometimes I miss the days when "good enough" was actually good enough, haha.
- Totally get what you're saying about angled lighting... it's like drywall's worst enemy. I've spent way too many evenings obsessing over tiny shadows that no one else would ever notice.
- A couple things that've helped me keep my sanity:
- Skim coating with a wider knife (12" or even 14") really helps feather out those joints. Less sanding, fewer imperfections.
- Switched to a sanding sponge for final touches—way easier to control pressure and avoid gouging.
- And honestly, sometimes just repositioning the lights slightly can save hours of frustration. If you can't beat 'em, move 'em, right?
- But yeah, I hear you... once you've trained your eye to spot imperfections, there's no going back. Sometimes I envy my friends who walk into a room and just say "looks great!" without noticing the tiny bump in the corner that haunts me forever, haha.