# Popcorn removal



## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

Hey fellas. I just landed my first semi-gloss popcorn removal job. It will be the first time I get to use my new Porter Cable 7800 :thumbup:. I gots 2 questions so let me aks you. 1. When using the 7800 on semigloss do you sand down to bare rock or are you okay just to remove most of the bits and pieces then just touch up, even if it means leavin some of the semi-gloss behind. 2. Am I ok using the 80 grit discs for this or should I get some 50 grit. I've heard of the 50 grit but haven't seen any lower than the 80. Thanks guys. And as far as the 50 grit, where do you get yours?


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

I used 80 grit but did scratch off as much texture as possible before sanding , not to worry the 80 grit will sand it off very well for a med to heavy knockdown but i would spend the extra time and money and prime before doing this. Of course don't know what you want for a finish. I have managed to only scrape down and then spray . Another problem is all the dust on the ceilings after you remove the old texture , it not only speeds up the dry time but you also have to worry about the new mud bonding , if there is to much dust you have a good chance that the new texture will peel off. silverstilts aka the rock doctor


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

^ yup, 80 grit is fine. Depending on how your bid was, if it's high enough don't be opposed to wetting it down a bit and scraping it off with one of your finishing knifes


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## brdn_drywall (Apr 25, 2008)

80 should be fine, 50 even better but what is the finish going to be after removal kinda matters in how rough you can be in the removal stage as for dust it's a non-issue if your plan is to paint with an airless as it will blow it off as the paint is being sprayed.
should vac if your rolling though as you will have bonding issues as a result of the dust, the only thing you should have to scrape is the very inside corners where the round pc cannot sand.
hope it turns out i personally don't miss those jobs but it's been a while since i did one and i am a sucker for punishment


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

It's gonna be a medium size knockdown. paint w/sprayer. I've always wet n scraped this will be my first experience with my pc, kinda excited and nervous at the same time. I just went and got a rigid vac today from h. dep. $115 came with a fine particle filter plus I got the hepa bags. I'll let you guys know how the vac does with it. The one thing I'm still unsure of is.. When wetting and scraping, obviously it's down to the rock, do you still go down all the way to the rock with the pc. Or does it make everything pretty smooth to the point where you can texture, even if theres some paint spots left?


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## brdn_drywall (Apr 25, 2008)

ya it pretty much adds to the character of the knockdown, as long as the remaining texture is consistent....meaning in some spots completely removed and in others slight evidence of old texture, this might show through a medium spray , probably a good idea to remove completely though, me personally I'd go heavy on the spray always hides everything.


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

Yeah, I've been debating on exactly what I wanna do, the walls have a med. K.D. but have years of many coats of paint so I'd probably be alright doin either.


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

for most we seem to be very critical of how our knock down is going to turn out me included it always seems that very seldom do things work out perfect (in our own eyes) but don't over analyze because nothing is going to be perfect .... every job i knock down there is always something i see that could be improved but the fact is 99 percent of the homeowners will be happy with what you do , we doing this day in and day out look at our work in a different way.... by the way how did the sander work ?


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

The sander is not all it's cracked up to be. I bought it with popcorn removal and retexture jobs in mind till new const. picks up. And for what i paid for it and the vac I expected to be impressed, I wasn't. I can see where it can be useful but nothing beats the wet-n-scrape method. In the rooms that were painted we took a heavy honkin floor scraper and scraped the nubs off then wet with my paint sprayer and scraped. I textured with rtx 1500 and knocked down with the "magic trowel". Now the trowel impressed me, you guys gotta get one. I'll never use the long metal bluesteel knives again for knockdown. Still trying to find a good way to keep the tape and plastic up. I went over it all with clear packing tape but that didn't work to well, it didin't want to stick to the masking tape. As for the vac, we'll be using it to clean up tom. we'll see how "dustless" it is.


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## [email protected] (Dec 23, 2008)

It ain't so dustless. Tried same two weeks ago and going back to wet scrape. You said you used blue steel KD knives, we use a clear plastic KD paddle 36" or 24". Has a rounded corner on one end and pointed on the other, comes with a white plastic protective film that you peel off prior to use. Try Kraft Tool model KD36, or KD24. On masking, still using blue masking tape and 9x400 painter poly for the walls, works great unless the walls are papered.


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

Your right, I noticed some popcorn nuggets fallin out the bottom as I was using it, as for the vac. It did well on clean up there was lots of corn dust and crap that made it off the plastic, don't waste your money on the pc vac the rigid will work fine. I didn't use the blue steel knife for knockdown, that was just a test for usin it for skimming. For knockin down the texture I used magic trowel, it's awsome get one. I'll look into those you mentioned. Thanks for the help guys.


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

Your are correct the magic trowel is the only way to go , light enough so that you have a real feel for the mud ( unless it has set up too much ) On the poly staying up well lets just say it's a 50/50 chance , I will sometimes use some staples here and there , if it does stay up for the whole process it will mean it was bonded real good than you risk the probabilty of tearing off some of the paint behind it when removing it , just one of the painful drawbacks to doing resprays and the nature of the beast . What made you decide to go with a different vac , was it just the cost ? and what was the filter system like on it ?


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## silverstilts (Oct 15, 2008)

are the hepa bags and filters expensive ?


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

Cost was the main factor. The bags were I think $17 for 2, and the filter was the type 3 one. They have an additional hepa you can add for like 30 clams. After removing the junk off the floor I looked inside, there was a small amount of dust on the filter the bag did a good job of getting the worst of it, and I figure I can go one more step up on the main filter if need be.


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

If you guys are having problems keeping the tape up, I'm going to say you're not using "good" tape. I've been through this problem more than once. I found that there was one masking tape that worked better than all the other brands, that's Diamond Vogel's brand masking tape. It holds when you need it to, and lets go when you're done! can't say enough good about that! and the same with the magic trowel, that's all we use as well.


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

And it stays sticky after getting soaked several times? I tried push pins that worked too, but depending on what paint is on the walls, I just don't like doing it. I use scotch brand from h.dep. in the contractor pack. Where do you get this tape ******? I was thinking about some water repellant, go quickly around spraying the tape after its up, just be careful to keep it on the tape and not the popcorn.


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

Yeah, it's the only tape I use. I love the stuff. I get it from my supplier. Diamond Vogel is a huge midwest based paint company. I'm sure they would send you some. If you want I can have my rep give you a call. I'm telling you, I swear by it.

I use it for masking off baseboard when I paint. I use it to mask off the ceilings. I use the wet method as well, and I commonly soak my ceilings up to 3 times with water, and it holds up for that as well as the new tex. being sprayed up. Even when I spray the paint on after. Believe me, I don't talk about a product unless it's unfairly above the rest.


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## A+ Texture LLC (Jan 10, 2009)

Hogwash, I tells you. I'm gonna look into this magic tape of yours. Maybe they'll send me a few rolls.


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## Whitey97 (Jan 27, 2009)

lol, I'll put a good word in for ya. I'll show you pictures of this tape covered in paint/mud/pop.tex. I've got the proof. On multi. jobs.


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