Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 7800 4.7 Amp Drywall Sander with 13-Foot Hose

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have over 15 years experience with drywall, so I'm not new to this. I agonized over spending this much money on a sander for a couple years. Yes, it's been available that long. But, I'm getting older and the back and shoulders don't like hand sanding on ceilings and I have yet to perfect the "sponge" method.

Regardless, I purchased the P-C sander and a box of 150 grit pads. If I didn't like it, I could sell it on "auctions". After one large room, I was pleased. I will agree with some other reviewers that you can make plenty of swirl marks. That's the first thing I did. The second thing I did was to spend 5 minutes playing with it to figure out how NOT to make swirl marks. It really isn't that hard. It is much faster than hand sanding and virtually no dust. My customers love that part!! (I do alot of remodelling jobs). If you do a good job mudding, there should be minimal sanding to do anyway.

This sander will NOT do inside corners. Based on its design, it can't get any closer than about 3/4" to the actual corner. Know up front that you will still need to touch up the inside corners. This sander is primarily for large relatively flat surfaces, and in my opinion it does a good job when used properly.

The other thing that P-C should work on is the weight. I know we all carry around tools that weigh more than 8 pounds. Try holding it over your head for any length of time though. While it is balanced nicely, 8 lbs. is still 8 lbs.

You also don't need to spend "money" on the vacuum either. (Sorry P-C) My QSP shop vac with a Cleanstream/Gore-tex filter($22) works just fine.

The 13' hose means you can put the vacuum in the center of a room and not have to move the vacuum, just walk around and sand.

So, don't look for mine on "auctions". It's staying in my toolbox.

I am 60 years old and building our third and last home. We have just finished tapeing and bedding a kitchen and two baths and have found the sanding to be almost effortless with the PC 7800. We liked the hoop and hook 150 and 220 discs because they are so easy to change without tools. Get plenty of the 220 discs - they do not affect the paper as you are feathering in the taped joints and nail or screw bedding. We connected it to our 20 gallon shop vac and the suction almost holds the tool to the walls and ceiling. A smooth orbital motion takes care of any sanding, and then a touchup with a sanding block in the corners (1/2 inch out) finishes a room very quickly. What a pleasure to buy a tool and have it work as advertised. Thanks Porter Cable - and the other reviewers that convinced us to make the purchase!

I read a lot of reviews before buying the PC drywall sander. Needless to say, this is the best drywall tool purchase I've ever made, and the bursitis in my arms and shoulders think so, too. Being a remodeler and also doing repairs for several property managers, this makes for quick,easy, and clean work. I just attach it to my 8-gal. shop-vac equipped with a drywall dust bag, and a cleanstream filter as a secondary backup, there's almost no dust at all. It took some getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it leaves very little swirl marks. Like some of the other reviewers said, don't push it and let the machine do the work. Since I haven't hung more than 40 4x12's in any one job, I've been using No-Coat to tape the inside corners and while it costs a bit more, it saves time because I can stay away from the corners, for the most part. What little hand sanding I do after the final coat, I use a hand or pole sander that attaches to a vac; found them at the local Grabber dealer. All in all, this is one tool that is worth every penny.

As opposed to the gentleman with 15 years of experience drywalling, I'm pretty much a novice, but when you have a big project ahead of you with 20 or 40 sheets of 4-by-ten, you move up in experience pretty quickly.

Here's what I've learned; Sanding sheet rock is one of the worst jobs in construction. It's WAY beyond messy, it's tiring, it's monotonous, it's tedious.

Now, in our kitchen, we've got about 13 sheets of 4-by-8, and we've got a vaulted ceiling that peaks at about 15 feet. The first application of mud was hand sanded, and we had about a half-inch of fine, chaulky dust EVERYWHERE, regardless of the plastic that we put up between rooms. It was like dust hell.

The second application of mud was sanded with the Porter-Cable 7800, and the difference was astounding. We hooked it up to your basic shop-vac, and we were able to sand the room in about 1/3rd the time (it would have been quicker, but we were getting used to the new sander) and at least 98% of the dust was eliminated from the job. This is with a 150 grit sandpaper disk. In my eyes, there was no need for a respirator; there was that little dust.

We did bring the shop vac outside to empty the tank and shake out the filter. That was no sacrifice at all.

It didn't take too long to get used to this piece of equipment. We figured out what speed was good for us, and we were off. The unit wieghs eight pounds, and it was a little taxing when we had to hold it for the higher spots on the wall. Compared to the continuous elbow grease of hand-sanding, the effort spent was minimal.

We were able to get it pretty darned close to the corners, too. I agree with the experienced sheet-rocker; about 3/8ths of an inch was about how close we could get to the corner. I wasn't expecting the machine to do everything; doing what was left of the corners by hand was a snap. That this machine could do all of the flat surfaces -- and do it really well, without dust -- made it far more valuable to me than the price I paid to own it.

Now, my brothers-in-law can use it on their projects, and because they helped me so much on mine, I'm thrilled that they're happy with it, too!

Bottom line; if you have a pretty big drywall job lined up, this is an excellent investment. If you have more jobs like that in the future, it's a must-have.

I never write online reviews, but this thing made such an impression on me, I felt like I needed to share my experience with those of you that may be thinking of spending this kind of $$$$. If you have ever done any drywall sanding you know what a pain and mess it is besides the general exhaustion. This tool is awesome!!!!! I sanded 6 rooms, including the ceiling (not corners, only joints and screw heads) in the time it takes to do one. I am totally impressed, I was even able to get inside closets. The sanding head will essentially rotate to any position w/o causing you to substantially change your position. Use your own shop vac, I did and hardly ever saw any dust.........I didnt even wear a mask, thats how little dust is generated.I believe the claim to do do higher than 9' ceilings is a little bit of a stretch. I found my 9' ceiling sanding to be more comfortable if I was on Werners 4' portable/folding scaffolding (another high recommendation.) I would recommend this sander to anyone who is going to do more than one room (only because of cost) of sanding. It is very easy to use and I feel confident with a little more use of it, you can do final sanding with a 220 grit pad. It wont wear you out doing walls, but gets a little heavy doing ceilings. I recommend splitting your work and doing part ceiling and part walls giving yourself a rest. Ive just started my drywall in my basement, but will back online soon to write a final review when Im finished.

ive sanded sheetrock for almost 15 years my pc sander is a life saver.i subbed my sanding for about three years until i lost my sander. i was forced to sand again . it took about two houses to really get used to it,but now i sand three hundred board houses in about two hours. best money i ever spent.

Real time saver for do-it-yourself drywall projects. I have done quite a few drywall projects and I always had problems with the seams, especially on the finish coat on ceilings. The Porter Cable sander works great on the ceiling seams. I used it for the first time on a major renovation on my daughter's 100 year old home and the ceiling seams are virtually invisible. My sanding time was reduced from approximately four hours to less than an hour and the results were excellent. Also, I always applied three coats of mud to accomplish perfect finish work. The Porter Cable sander reduced my mud coats from three to two coats with blemish free results. If you are a do-it-yourself'er, and if you can afford it, this product is definitely worth the investment. Also, the Porter Cable vacuum is a difinite plus.
When you use this product for the first time, it takes a little practice to get good results. Don't force the sander by using pressure, let the sander do the work. After two passes, the surface is usually smooth. You will still have to hand sand the corners, but the power sander turns this task into a joy. Also, there is very little dust to clean up after the sanding job is completed. Gone are the days of dust in my eyes, ears, mouth and nose ( in addition to all over the house ).
On the negative side, the sander is a little hard on the arms when doing ceilings ( especially 9 or 10 foot ceilings ). But this is a small price to pay for the results you get.
As stated earlier, with a little bit of practice, this sander will give you excellent results. It's fast, clean and a real time saver. The only thing that kept it from a five star rating was the arm strain when sanding ceilings.

This is a great tool. I have been using it in conjunction with the Porter Cable Power Tool actuated Wet/Dry vacuum and after over an hour of sanding it left my job virtually dust free. The variable speed on the head is a plus and changing the sandpaper is a breeze. The vacuum is a little noisy, as one would expect from any powerful shop vacuum, and the sander does get heavy after a while. Overall, this definately beats hand sanding!

I am a pro drywall finisher. I just bought this machine from Tool Crib, and while I have not learned to use it to it's full potential yet, (only had it two days)I can see that it will do the job. I will say this word of warning; I really DO NOT think that it will replace the final sanding. I apply three coats of setting type compound, not sanding at all till the third coat. Then I use thinned topping compound for a fourth coat, applied with the aid of a strong work light angled toward the wall. When that dries, I use a damp sponge and fine sandpaper. Probably overkill, but my customers love me! This tool is very usefull for that third coat sanding, i.e, smoothing the major flaws.

Had this tool for sometime now, best sander I have ever used. You have to get use to this sander. I suggest you start off at around speed number 3 then once you have went over your dry walled area, re-sand on speed number one. This will take any swirl marks out and give you a nice finished wall with no effort at all.

Like any tool... you have to get use to it, once you do, very good sander.

Mark.