I hate Dust Control joint compound

**vano** · 10-11-2006, 06:27 AM

Redoing the kitchen. Completely gutted the whole thing and finished putting new drywall up. Used the Home Depot lightweight dust control joint compound and now I am screwed. The compound went on nice but dried in a weird way. Its consistency is a little sticky. Every time I try to sand the excess stuff off it instantly clogs the pores of the sanding surface and covers it in hard sticky goop. I have tried multiple sanding techniques and surfaces and nothing works.

Am I the only one to have this problem?

**birdman829** · 10-11-2006, 08:48 AM

Maybe it just takes longer to dry? I dunno, I've never used it.

**vano** · 10-11-2006, 09:09 AM

Nah gave it a couple of weeks and it was till the same. I already started scraping the stuff off with a taping knife. Switching back to the standard all purpose joint compound.

I was just wondering if its a common problem or if i got a bad batch or something.

**skuff** · 10-11-2006, 10:06 AM

I've always used USG +3 lightweight all purpose and never had any problems. I haven't tried the home depot brand.

**dk_alaskan** · 10-12-2006, 12:23 AM

talk to home depot, when ever i have had problems they fix it, no matter what. worth a try to get your $$$ back...

**Core Shot** · 10-12-2006, 04:51 AM

Originally Posted by dk_alaskan

talk to home depot, when ever i have had problems they fix it, no matter what. worth a try to get your $$$ back...

Yes, but if only they would refund your TIME!

Shortcuts that seem too good to be true usually are.

**Professor** · 10-12-2006, 10:09 AM

I am no "handy man" by any means, but when we were mudding and taping our laundry room I looked at this stuff. If I remember right the reason it is dust control is you have to use special wet sponges that have some grit to them. You cant use normal sand paper on it. That is my recollection anyway.

**runethechamp** · 10-12-2006, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by Professor

I am no "handy man" by any means, but when we were mudding and taping our laundry room I looked at this stuff. If I remember right the reason it is dust control is you have to use special wet sponges that have some grit to them. You cant use normal sand paper on it. That is my recollection anyway.

Hence the name "Dust Control" I'd imagine. If you can sand it there's going to be dust.

**cl1953** · 10-12-2006, 02:49 PM

After many jobs with sheet rock and joint compound I finally found the solution to the dust and unstoppable mess from sanding.

(pause for effect).

I don't use compund any more. Use blueboard and skim coat veneer plaster. The results are far superior to any compound finish, the mess is greatly reduced and it gets done much faster.

Now, you say, it is more difficult. Yes and it requires skill. However, I found a couple of guys who do it. The cost is less than you would think.

Anytime you need to do a rooms worth, get some estimates. We will never go back and do compound.

**Cirquerider** · 10-12-2006, 05:19 PM

For those of us with less talent, a setting compound (mixed from dry powder) is best. It goes on better than pre-mixed, dries fast regardless of humidity and doesn't shrink back. Do it right and there isn't much sanding to do. There are some sanding blocks that hook up to a vacuum hose that can cut back dust, but don't eliminate it. Be sure to have a really good corrugated filter in front of the vacuum motor.

**birdman829** · 10-12-2006, 05:59 PM

Meh. We have always used the lightweight pre-mixed joint compund for screws and seams. The better you get at it, the less sanding you do. Latex caulk works very nice for corners.

**Big E** · 10-13-2006, 06:38 AM

cirquerider said exactly what I was going to say. The mixing is kind of a pain if you're doing a smallish amount, but the fast dry easily makes up for that. Vacuum drywall sander is the only way to go.

**Dside11-11** · 10-13-2006, 07:50 AM

Dust control sucks - yes, it's supposed to do that. The only way around the dust is to wet sand. Get a drywall sanding sponge and a bucket of water to rinse off the dust when it clogs the sponge. Sanding will produce a "dust cream." Using your broad knife, smooth this cream back into the wall. Finished product comes out like glass.

OR - use screen sandpaper. Clogs less.

With what you got - go get some green-bucket all purpose compound and skim over that stupid shit you bought, then resume operations. Have fun. Drywall and taping suck balls, IMO. I suggest drinking after - seems to work for the pros.