# Porter Cable 7800 Drywall Sander



## xtremekustomz (Oct 11, 2006)

Anyone use this sander? I've been using one lately and have only been able to find foam pads with velcro on them. After about 15 minutes of use the velco comes off of the pad. Anyone else have this problem?


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## theworx (Dec 20, 2005)

Rented one once and obviously didn't figure out the right way to use it. I ruined my nice taping with swirl marks and scuffed the paper on the drywall. And I was trying to apply light pressure. Didn't use it long enough to have the velcro let loose (my experience lasted about 5 minutes). That was enough for me!!!


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## dumplin1078 (Feb 14, 2006)

I absolutely love mine. This thing has increased our speed so much more $$$$:thumbsup: . I have been using the Norton backer pad with velcro paper. I used it for about five or six jobs then it came apart. But I think I hit the edge of an electrial outlet (remodel job switches already installed) when I picked it up off the wall it just flew across the room. As far as swirl marks I have no problem with that. I have in the past when using paper that was more aggressive than 120. If you can figure them out you will never go back to the idiot sticks. When my backer pad came apart the other day I didn't have a spare I almost cried when I had to break out the pole sander.  The dust collection is awesome too. I sanded a patch in a customer's house a couple weeks ago with all the furniture and everything in the room uncovered no dust to speak of when I was done.:clap:


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## xtremekustomz (Oct 11, 2006)

dumplin1078 said:


> I absolutely love mine. This thing has increased our speed so much more $$$$:thumbsup: . I have been using the Norton backer pad with velcro paper. I used it for about five or six jobs then it came apart. But I think I hit the edge of an electrial outlet (remodel job switches already installed) when I picked it up off the wall it just flew across the room. As far as swirl marks I have no problem with that. I have in the past when using paper that was more aggressive than 120. If you can figure them out you will never go back to the idiot sticks. When my backer pad came apart the other day I didn't have a spare I almost cried when I had to break out the pole sander.  The dust collection is awesome too. I sanded a patch in a customer's house a couple weeks ago with all the furniture and everything in the room uncovered no dust to speak of when I was done.:clap:


Well I normally do things by hand but I took on a job that was about 3600 sq ft this week and was working alone so I needed something faster to sand with. I really bit off more than I could chew to tell you the truth. The house is probably 80-90 years old and ceilings were 11 ft high. I had to fill in around windows and doors as well. I have no automatic tapers or anything like that so all taping and mudding was done by hand. There was a crew that came in and put it up and man they loved to use screws. On average there were 50 screws in each piece. I honestly think it was overkill. As for the sanding pad, I went through 3 on this job and the last one came apart and I got tired of buying them so I stapled the velcro back to the foam pad and continued working. As for sanding marks, I didn't have any and I was using 80 and 100 grit. It is a little tricky to use at first but once you get the hang of it, it is a time saver. I got wore out sanding ceilings though. the rooms were about 16x16 so there were lots of screws and joints. What I liked best about it was the sanding of butt joints and tapered joints. As long as you have a fairly thick line to work with the sander acutally creates a suction and sands much faster. But anyway...maybe I just got ahold of some bad pads or something.


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## dumplin1078 (Feb 14, 2006)

xtremekustomz said:


> Well I normally do things by hand but I took on a job that was about 3600 sq ft this week and was working alone so I needed something faster to sand with. I really bit off more than I could chew to tell you the truth. The house is probably 80-90 years old and ceilings were 11 ft high. I had to fill in around windows and doors as well. I have no automatic tapers or anything like that so all taping and mudding was done by hand. There was a crew that came in and put it up and man they loved to use screws. On average there were 50 screws in each piece. I honestly think it was overkill. As for the sanding pad, I went through 3 on this job and the last one came apart and I got tired of buying them so I stapled the velcro back to the foam pad and continued working. As for sanding marks, I didn't have any and I was using 80 and 100 grit. It is a little tricky to use at first but once you get the hang of it, it is a time saver. I got wore out sanding ceilings though. the rooms were about 16x16 so there were lots of screws and joints. What I liked best about it was the sanding of butt joints and tapered joints. As long as you have a fairly thick line to work with the sander acutally creates a suction and sands much faster. But anyway...maybe I just got ahold of some bad pads or something.



You can get a bad pad sometimes. It happened to me yesterday. First one out of the box and it caused the sander to vibrate, and was leaving scratches, changed the pad and it didn't happen again.


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## krobinson (Jun 27, 2006)

xtremekustomz, is that the Norton hook and loop systems you are having trouble with?

Kim

Lnk to Norton hook and loop: http://www.all-wall.com/acatalog/Norton_Hook_&_Loop_Sanding_Discs.php


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## xtremekustomz (Oct 11, 2006)

krobinson said:


> xtremekustomz, is that the Norton hook and loop systems you are having trouble with?
> 
> Kim
> 
> Lnk to Norton hook and loop: http://www.all-wall.com/acatalog/Norton_Hook_&_Loop_Sanding_Discs.php


I don't know exactly what pad it is. I'll have to look when I get back to the jobsite but I know the actual foam pad is dark grey.


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## eastonsmith (Feb 12, 2007)

i have a four man sanding screw, among other work going. they use nothing but porter cable sanders. the pads are a bit tempermently, they must be completely centered or bad things happen. also every now and then they come messed up in the box. besides that never use anything tougher than 100 grit, make sure you cut an x in the middle of the disk so that the center isn't sucked to the wall.(and leave you those lovely burns) also dont start the sander on anything higher that 2-3 or you get those nice "swirls". in general power sanding is the way to go, if you do remodel get a porter cable vac. completely dustless. dont use a shop vac., you'll just ruin the shop vac.


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## phinsher (Oct 27, 2005)

We use the porter cable and love it. We use it on a smaller scale than most of you guys but have found that using a finer grit paper eliminates the swirls. We've had a few problems with the pads, but all the problems came from hitting something and the pad flying apart.

If you're tired of the standard pole sander and don't like or can't afford the Porter Cable, try one of the Radius 360's. They sell them in my local Sherwin Williams and they are a huge improvement over the old pole sanders.


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## polishguy (Sep 1, 2009)

just got mine in the other day and used it on the ceiling it is the best thing ever. well worth the $800 with the vac little to no dust the HO loved it. i think he was more excited about it than i was. it does take some practice.


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## MeatBallDryWall (Aug 28, 2008)

> try one of the Radius 360's


I was about to suggest the same thing. These things beat the ***** outta the old idiot sticks by far. I owned a PC 7800 with vac & hated it. I also didn't take enough time to really learn to use it either. Mine would leave UNGODLY swirls with 220 paper & a guy with a few yrs exp running one as his dad had the 1st one around our area. But Daymn was it fast. Me & this guy could do 300 sheets, slick with 2-3 ceilings 12ft + within maybe 3 hours out the door. He would machine & I would hand sand/touchup. I'd rather skim once more, brush it off & call it a day now. :thumbsup:


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## 517group (Oct 20, 2009)

what would be the learning curve. i've been looking into it but might have to try it out.


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## Capt-Sheetrock (Aug 8, 2007)

I have 3 of em, got the first one in 97. I love em and I won't pole sand unless its just a closet. If your wobbling, you have the pad off center, got to pay attention when you put it on, kep it centered. hitting a box or widow, or anything like that will tear off the pad or wrinkle it making it wobble just like being off center,,, its kinda like balancing a tire, if it gets off balance, you will know it. Swirls are caused by not having learned how it handle it, just keep at it. I stick a broom handle in the end of it for high ceilings, and can sand a 14ft ceiling from the ground. I use screens from Johnson abrassive, I get em from all-wall and just install them over a regular pad (I pick them up from other guys that still use them and leave the old ones laying around). I haven't used the velcro ones so I can't say bout them. but i can get around 400 plus from one screen, given that I don't hit a box or such


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## Big Shoe (Jun 16, 2008)

For you guys that want to ease the pain of buying a new one, keep your eyes on craigslist and you can pick on up cheap! I picked up a sander for 100.00 and then another sander,vac with all attatchments for 175.00:clap:


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## Drywalller (Jan 2, 2007)

EBay also has some great deals,
I have 2 sanders and vacuum setups just in case one fails,I wouldnt sand any other way,Bought one when they first came out and still have it,rebuilt the sander 4 or 5 times(driveshaft,bearing )They really take some abuse and are very reliable.
I only use 220 grit and very good results,I also hand sand after to catch any scratches.


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## slowforthecones (Aug 24, 2008)

I've got a question about these PC 7800 drywall sanders. I've seen the new ones without the vac for around $500. Say I already own a nice shop vac...what difference are the PC extractors/vacs?


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## Drywalller (Jan 2, 2007)

slowforthecones said:


> I've got a question about these PC 7800 drywall sanders. I've seen the new ones without the vac for around $500. Say I already own a nice shop vac...what difference are the PC extractors/vacs?


The difference is the filtering aspect.The porter cable has a car like filter and the actual bag is another filter,So it has dual filtration and thats what it needs,As drywall dust is nasty on any vac motor.
I also use a hardwood flooring edger bag instead of buying the 5 pack of pc bags/It just ties on and you can empty it every so often and have used it with no problems for about 10 years.


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## slowforthecones (Aug 24, 2008)

I meant to ask what's the difference between the PC Dust Vac vs. Dustless Technologies (loveless) Vac?

Pros and Cons of the PC 7800 vs. Dustless with Drywall sander?


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## mickey69125 (Dec 8, 2007)

I have the PC 7800 and the Loveless vac and like them both. The Loveless has two filters plus a bag, and it has a small lever you can pull up and down and knocks dust of the main filter. Not as good as taking it out and cleaning it, but gets you by for the day. One problem I had recently, I was into Menards and they had the pad with the velcro and 5 discs for $15. Thought I'd try it as it's much cheaper than the regular pads, they're anywhere from $8 to $10 each here. Anyway the foam pad is thicker than the regular disc and when I hit the ceiling with it, I had dust everywhere. Took me a minute to figure out that the pad was keeping the sander to far from the ceiling and the vac wouldn't pick up the dust. Good thing I had one regular pad left. Lesson learned.


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## drywall icon (Dec 14, 2009)

your putting to much presure on the sander , must be a bad finish


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## drywall icon (Dec 14, 2009)

you got to put a sanding pad over that velcro


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## mickey69125 (Dec 8, 2007)

Of course I had a sanding pad on it, but the pad with the velcro on it is thicker than the regular sanding pad and wouldn't let the head of the sander close enough to the wall for the vacuum to suck the dust up. Don't know if it was just the Menards one or what the problem was, but it didn't work. Have been meaning to call All-Wall and ask them about that but haven't done it yet.


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

I use the Norton backing pads and paper with mine and have had no issues.

Trust me, this sander here will make you throw away that Porter Cable:

http://www.festool.co.uk/mediandowe...&ID_O_TREE_GROUP=5537&PARENT=3669&AKTIVPROD=1


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## drywall icon (Dec 14, 2009)

you have to put a sanding pad on the velcro


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## mickey69125 (Dec 8, 2007)

drywall icon said:


> you have to put a sanding pad on the velcro


You evidently didn't read my earlier post.


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## mickey69125 (Dec 8, 2007)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> I use the Norton backing pads and paper with mine and have had no issues.
> 
> Trust me, this sander here will make you throw away that Porter Cable:
> 
> http://www.festool.co.uk/mediandowe...&ID_O_TREE_GROUP=5537&PARENT=3669&AKTIVPROD=1



It looks nice but for $2200 I think I'll stick with the ol' Porter Cable.:no:


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

mickey69125 said:


> It looks nice but for $2200 I think I'll stick with the ol' Porter Cable.:no:


No way, the planex is modular, it shortest section for use is about 4' and it can extend to 10'.

The suction is so good, it will hold itself to the wall.

That price is also including the vac.

It is truely light years ahead of anything like it.


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## WilsonRMDL (Sep 4, 2007)

I picked up a few 25 packs of sandpaper that fit both the radius 360 sander and the PC power sander at sherwin williams for like $0.15/piece or something cheap like that. Were on close out, might wanna check your local stores and see what they have


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## phoney2 (Jan 16, 2010)

xtremekustomz said:


> Anyone use this sander? I've been using one lately and have only been able to find foam pads with velcro on them. After about 15 minutes of use the velco comes off of the pad. Anyone else have this problem?


i love the hook an loop pad s allways had good luck with them but never could use the other type not sure why


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## phoney2 (Jan 16, 2010)

WilsonRMDL said:


> I picked up a few 25 packs of sandpaper that fit both the radius 360 sander and the PC power sander at sherwin williams for like $0.15/piece or something cheap like that. Were on close out, might wanna check your local stores and see what they have


now thats a great deal the cheapest i can find them here in vt is .80 cents each buy them up while you can:clap:


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## phoney2 (Jan 16, 2010)

mickey69125 said:


> Of course I had a sanding pad on it, but the pad with the velcro on it is thicker than the regular sanding pad and wouldn't let the head of the sander close enough to the wall for the vacuum to suck the dust up. Don't know if it was just the Menards one or what the problem was, but it didn't work. Have been meaning to call All-Wall and ask them about that but haven't done it yet.


are your brushes worn down


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## woodyrr (Jan 17, 2010)

Capt-Sheetrock said:


> . . . If your wobbling, you have the pad off center, got to pay attention when you put it on, kep it centered. hitting a box or widow, or anything like that will tear off the pad or wrinkle it making it wobble just like being off center,,, its kinda like balancing a tire, if it gets off balance, you will know it.


I have a PC 7800 and the original model vac. For the record, outside of the increase in speed and quality, it makes working in an occupied home so much easier and cleaner.

Since I don't use it day in and day out, I haven't explored other sandpaper options. With the Norton Velcro backup pad, is it difficult to get the pad and sandpaper centered so that everything is not out of balance? Of course, fighting with that plastic nut every time that I need to change disks isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, but the disks do seem to center themselves. 

I am getting ready to order some more disks, but if the Norton system provides as good a finish as the proprietary disks with less hassle, I'll order them.

Thanks.


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## mickey69125 (Dec 8, 2007)

phoney2 said:


> are your brushes worn down


No, the brushes are not worn. As soon as I put the regular disc on everything was fine again. The foam disc just would not let the brushes get close enough to the wall.


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## gtp (Jan 28, 2010)

I had the same problem. I needed some 80 grit pads to sand a textured ceiling smooth. 

At home depot they had norton backing pads and hook and loop. As i installed it I noticed that the backing pad was much thicker than the original foam/sandpaper pad I was taking off but didnt think anything of it till i started sanding.

It was horrible. Not even a 1/5 as much dust as normal was collected by the vac, It was bad. Sanding texture creates alot more dust than sanding a skimcoat to begin with and It was like there was no collection. I couldnt even see through the cloud even half the time and there ended up way way too much cleanup. The thick pad made the sandpaper sit at the top of the brushes or slightly above instead of below the brushes so there was no seal to the ceiling and the dust flew out the edges.

What did allwall say when you called them?


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