Too much pollyfilla

[Notsohandypete]

I have a plaster wall which has a roughly circular gouge about 3 inches wide. This I filled in with Polyfilla and I need to smooth down the excess now that it is all dried to a hard finish. Would say an orbital sander be okay for this? I could do it by hand but it will take absolutely ages. I was thinking maybe a small orbital sander might be able to just smooth it off nicely. Am I on the right track or am I totally using the wrong tool here? appreciate any advice-thanks everyone.

 

[opps]

An orbital should be fine. Consider using 80 to 120 grit paper. Keep the sander moving and don't apply too much pressure.

 

[Tigercubrider]

The golden rule is to fill in stages, easier to add than remove.
a small surform can help remove excess filler.
also, easifill is (surprise!) easy to sand.
if the hole is massive, underfI’ll with a quick set then top off with a softer one

 

[opps]

I get what you are saying but I routinely over fill because I don't have the time to layer filler, and I have sanders that make light work of sanding the excess back.

I am not a fan of Easifill- it is so soft that when you sand it back you can see a slight indentation. I do use it from time to time (but only in limited cases). The biggest plus is that it is 2 to 3 times cheaper than powdered fillers by the like of Toupret but I often experience Easifill ripping when sanding existing emulation flat. The stuff is a PITA. I end up having to scrape it away and then refill. The guy before me uses it because it is cheap and easy to sand- he doesn't care about the problems it causes later.

 

[Notsohandypete]

Thanks guys .. great info. I’ll do some research on small orbital sanders

 

[megaross]

Yeah I use orbital, 120 or 240 grit depending, have it on the hoover to extract dust if you can.