"Curious though, did you notice any difference in sanding ease with the eco-friendly stuff? For me it felt a bit softer, which made sanding quicker but also meant I had to be careful not to overdo it..."
Yeah, totally noticed that too—it's definitely softer, almost like sanding chalk sometimes. Took me a minute to adjust my usual sanding rhythm. Here's what ended up working really well for me:
First, I switched to a finer grit sandpaper (around 150-180 grit) than I'd normally use, because the eco-friendly stuff sands down quicker and smoother. Then I started using a handheld sanding sponge instead of my power sander for tighter control. It slowed things down a bit, but honestly, it was worth it—I wasn't accidentally sanding away all my hard work anymore.
Also, quick tip: angle your lighting from the side when sanding. It highlights imperfections better, so you can spot uneven areas before you go too far. Learned that one the hard way after sanding a joint into oblivion, haha.
Yeah, I ran into the same thing—felt like I was sanding marshmallows at first, haha. One thing that helped me was doing a super light pass first just to knock down the high spots, then stepping back for a sec before going in again. Also found that using one of those flexible sanding blocks gave me better feel and control. Definitely second the lighting tip...nothing worse than thinking you're done, painting it, and realizing you missed a spot. Been there too many times.
Haha, sanding marshmallows is spot on...been there myself. Another thing that really helped me was thinning out the joint compound a bit more than usual—makes it way easier to feather out smoothly. Also, swapping to a wider knife after the first coat saved me tons of headaches. And yeah, lighting is key, but I also run my hand over the joints with my eyes closed (sounds weird, I know)...you'd be surprised how much your fingers catch that your eyes miss.
Thinning the compound definitely helps, but I learned the hard way not to go too thin—ended up dripping everywhere and making a bigger mess than I started with. The wider knife trick is gold though, wish I'd known that sooner. Funny you mention the hand test...I do something similar, except I use an old sock over my hand to feel for bumps. Anyone else tried that sock trick, or am I just weirdly attached to my drywall sock method?
Haha, the drywall sock method...honestly, that's pretty clever. I've never tried it myself, but now I'm curious—does the sock texture help you feel imperfections better, or is it more about protecting your hand from dust? I usually just rely on my fingertips, but I can see how a sock might give you a smoother glide across the surface.
And yeah, totally agree about thinning compound—there's definitely a sweet spot. Too thick and it's impossible to spread evenly, too thin and you're basically painting your floor with drywall mud. Been there, done that. The wider knife was a game changer for me too; wish I'd discovered it sooner.
Anyway, don't worry about being weirdly attached to your sock trick. We all have our quirky little methods that work for us. If it gets you smooth walls without losing your sanity, I'd say stick with it!
