Drywall Wet Sanding – Tips and Ideas

Sanding is an important part of the drywall installing process, whether if you are dealing with a new drywall or only with a patched whole. In other words, every drywall job requires some sanding to obtain a flat and even surface. Usually, it is used dry sandpaper for this operation.  It is a quick and efficient process but has a drawback. It generates a cloud of dust that can be hazardous for your healthy and quite messy. Fortunately, there is an alternative to this, namely, “drywall wet sanding”.

Drywall Sponge and Bucket
Drywall Sponge and Bucket

Technically, wet sanding is a much better alternative to the traditionally dry sanding within a remodeling process or a household repair.  This method is indeed safe and effective because the fine drywall dust isn’t released into the air around you, becoming a real threat to breathing and eyes, not to mention the fact, where is no dust, there is no mess. So, no clean up, no furniture or stuff dusting.

Wet sanding process is simple, nothing else but a process of dry sanding an inflicted plaster or drywall at the installation. The main and also the best “tool” used in this process is a sanding sponge. However, it requires a thoroughly cleansing and rinsing.

Tools:

  • – Bucket; Drywall Sponge; Rubber Gloves;

Tips for Wet Sanding Drywall

1| Selecting the Drywall Sponge: Selecting the right sponge is perhaps the most important part of drywall wet sanding. They are usually lightweight and can be found easily in any hardware store. Since they are not heavy, they are significantly bigger than an ordinary kitchen sponge. However, they have a great quality. You can use them wet to sand your drywall. It is recommended to choose a drywall sponge tapering at corners.

2| Cleaning the Sponge: Using constant your sponge is going to dirty quite quickly the sponge. All the dust will be absorbed by its porous structure. Therefore, a regular cleaning is required. Otherwise, more sediments settled inside the sponge will make your job pretty difficult. So, rinse and wring thoroughly and frequently into a bucket of water. Make sure you refill and replace the dirty water with clean water often.

3| Using Water: However, keep in your mind that water is not always the best solution to everything. For example, in wet sanding process using a large amount of water have an undesirable effect on the wall. It will be too messy, will increase the drying time of your wall, not to mention that using too much water can increase the risk of turning or lifting of the plaster wall. Therefore, it is a good idea to wring often your sponge. In fact, you only need a damp sponge to have a clean process, and quality work.

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