ets125 sander for sheet rock?

[matthew75]

i have been looking at the ets 125 sander as a basic finish sander for woodworking. i like that it has a short stroke and wont leave alot of scratches like random orbitals ive owned in the past. i only plan to use it as a finish sander so dont really need anything like the rotex line that can take a heavy cut. i am however looking at refinishing a room in my parents basement that has some pretty rough sheetrock work and a couple of coats of paint over top of it. so my question is will the ets 125 handle this type of work (sheetrock) ok connected to a vac? kinda looking to kill two birds with one stone by buying this sander. also anyone recommend what grit paper to use on paint/sheetrock? thanks

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Matthew,

It may be a bad idea just for the fact that it's only a 5 inch pad which could cause scalloping (highs and lows) as you're sanding an area.  The larger the area, the larger the pad to keep a flat surface.

 

[Sparktrician]

I recently rebuilt (expanded) a closet using drywall and a fair dose of mud.  Sanding was really easy with the RO125 (once I got a feel for keeping it balanced and flat against the drywall).  I found that running it at 3 (low-mid speed) and 180 grit paper did a really nice job.  The CT22 did a great job of minimizing the dust. 

 

[honeydoman]

I use it all the time for when I do drywall patching jobs and especially overhead. Sucks up the dust and does a great job. I use 180 or 220. 

Go for it!

 

[Holzhacker]

My ets125 gets used mostly for mud sanding. It doesn't seem to care. Usually hooked to my CT22, sometimes the Fein. Works great. As someone else mentioned, you'll have to use higher grit paper than what you may be used to. In the past with a hand block, pole sander or PC sander, I've used 100-120 grit. On the ets I find those grits eat into the product too much. I use 150-180 and that works well. Don't think I've even tried 220, I see what that does.
The first few times I used it though, things didn't look so good. It takes a little getting used to. Keep the sander moving and use a very light touch. No need to press down hard on it. I run the CT and around 2/3 - 3/4 speed.