Sander recommendation for small drywall work

[JFitz]

I do a lot of small drywall work in banks...largest work might be a new partition wall with 3 or 4 seams 8 feet long and nail holes.
When I break out my handheld screen sander and sanding sponges, the dust is immediately airborne, not to mention the residual sanding powder left behind that needs vacuumed off before priming. I have a CT 26E vacuum and am wondering if any of the sanders I am looking at (Like ets ec 125 and RO 90) would be effective for these types of jobs to collect majority of drywall sanding dust and then allow me to go back to woodworking tasks. I really don't want to get into dedicated drywall sanding tools, since these are smaller projects and we hire crews for the larger projects.

 

[live4ever]

Personally I've really really been liking the DTS400 for small drywall tasks.  The delta head works great for edges and inside corners.  It's also lighter and smaller compared to other Festool sanders, and ergonomically just a really nice fit for being up on a ladder sanding a wall.

 

[peter halle]

I use the ETS 150 and DtS400

 

[AlexThePalex]

DTS400 and ETS125 are my most used sanders for drywall, I think both do the job very well and they make it almost dustless.

 

[leakyroof]

Sounds like the DTS400 is in your future...With it, you'll handle corners as well if need be.  Granat sandpaper, in higher grits to go along with the sander.

 

[Alicurly]

I use my ETS/EC 150/5 for sanding drywall, quick rub with hand block for internal corners and done.
It's a really nice lite sander, have done a small ensuite ceiling and it was a pleasure, virtual no dust. 

 

[Brent Taylor]

I use a harder mix that is closer to a plaster brown coat in my drywall type work and find that if I need to smooth out a coat I use a RO 125 and a 400 sanders. the real key though is to learn to mud joints so that sanding is not needed, I was lucky enough to be trained by a plaster and a drywaller that worked in a hospital setting,  so sanding was frond on and this was a time before DC were around.

 

[kixnbux]

I use my ETS/125. The RO 90 is good but awful small pad to keep flat on a wall

 

[RKA]

My first choice would be ETS EC 150/3 with an interface pad.  It's reasonably light, great coverage with the larger pad, great dust collection and its damned near impossible to dig into the wall unless I stop moving.  I would add the DTS if you have a lot of corners to deal with.

 

[JimD]

I use the little hand sander for drywall.  A shop vacuum gets most of the dust and the sander makes no noise.  Not  much sanding should be necessary and for normal drying mud, the sanding is easy.  Harder setting compound might justify an electric sander.

 

[Holmz]

I use my ETS/125. The RO 90 is good but awful small pad to keep flat on a wall

The DEROS I have is about the same as the ETS/EC.
180 or 240 works good on drywall, depending on the paint going on it.

They are both nice in balance, light and low center of gravity.
Also the ETS/EC seems very nice all around.
The rectangular pad sanders also have their place, so the ETS/TC or one of the 400 would work fine too.