Best Sander for sanding Plasterboard

[Gazza]

I am repainting my house and have to get the old paint off first. (obviously)
The walls are plasterboard and have been painted several times in the past.
In some spots the paint is peeling quite badly while in others it is quite sound.

What type of sander would be best ?

Palm sander ?
1/4 sheet sander ?
Round Random Orbital ?

I am not sure what to buy.

Comments appreciated.

[bennylaird]

I've been using the palm sander with good results however in one room just a touch started paint peeling right back. I didn't want to do the whole wall though. Trouble was that it wouldn't sand but would peel leaving nasty uneven areas. Seems it was the type of paint applied to a dirty wall in the first coat.

There is not much margin for harder sanding as you then break though the outer surface.

[Christopha]

Belt sander, 36 grit.... does it quick, does it completely!

[mic-d]

I would just use a scraper to remove all the unsound paint, then hide the edges by applying a coat of total joint compound and feathering it to invisibility with a hand sander and 120-150 grit.

Cheers
Michael

[la Huerta]

hi mate, go with what Michael says above, atleast try it , if it works it's going to be better that sanding right back to bare walls which is not a fun job to do...

[markharrison]

If you really must sand the whole wall, you might want to consider hiring a Porter-Cable drywall sander (also known as a Giraffe sander, you'll know why when you see one) from Kennards. You will need a dust collector as well if you don't already have one.

[bennylaird]

Other option is to use a textured paint, hides all the little imperfections.

[Markw]

You don't have to go back to plaster board!
I would suggest

1. Scrap and sand all peeling or loose paint to produce a flat surface - nothing protruding but gaps or cracks are OK.

2. Coat entire surface with a good quality primer/sealer/binder type undercoat.

3. Fill any imperfections with a top coat (CSR) or skim coat (Poly) putty filler stuff. Both of these products give excellent results.

4. Some people will go straight to 2 coats of final colour from this point, but I usually use a tinted undercoat to seal in the skim coat then 1 or 2 final top coats of colour (2 coats for high traffic areas such as hallway. The tinted undercoat is usually 75% of the final colour so as to not darken the final colour and is easier to see when apply final colours.

This is the long hard way but gives the best results for the long term. Ask yourself would you rather do it once and get it right or have to repaint in a few years time when other areas which are at the moment OK decide to blister or crack.

Anyway thats the way I do it.