At Full Circle, we understand that choosing the right tools for your drywall projects is essential. To help you make the most informed decisions, we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions. This page aims to answer your most pressing questions about our products and their benefits. If you need further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our support team.
How do you remove the Center Hub from the Radius360 and Trigon180 sanding tools to use the Pro Handle?
ANSWER
- The center hub is secured from the respective sanding tool “backside” by the Velcro hook & loop, and on the “frontside” by the lock lever, so removing is a two-step procedure. First, remove the replacement foam pad from the “backside” of your tool. The second step, after removing the replacement foam pad, turn the lock lever to unlock and turn the center hub counterclockwise to remove.
Can you use the Mesh Abrasive on the Dust-Free sanding system without brush guard on the Radius360 Air?
ANSWER
- For best results, to eliminate any “friction drag”, remove the brush guard from the Radius360 Air sanding head. The brush guard is attached to the sanding head with a friction fit and is easily removed with a good tug. Once the guard is removed use the abrasive with the perforated foam pad and, the Mesh Abrasives. Be sure to match the center opening of the perforated pad with center opening in the sanding head for the most dust-free application.
What size vacuum is best to use with the Dust-Free sanding system?
ANSWER
- We recommend a minimum 12-gallon wet/dry vac with at least 100 CFM and a fine cloth particle bag is suggested for dust collection. Because drywall dust is so fine, a vacuum with automatic “auto-pulse” cleaning of the vacuum filter is recommended, This, auto filter unloading, will prevent your filter from clogging, which will can dramatically reduce suction and, in turn, will very likely leave dust on the surface being sanded.
What is the best abrasive grit to use with your sanders?
ANSWER
- To accommodate the different hardness of drywall compounds around the country and internationally, Full Circle has a wide variety of abrasive grits, from 60 to 300 grit. Within the 60-300 grit range, there are 10 different grits for use on the original Radius360°® and the Radius360° Air®. So, the “best” grit will vary from place to place, but the most common grits are 100, 120,150, and 220. Our assortment of 8.75 inch sanding discs, from coarse to fine, are: Very coarse (60 grit); coarse, (80 and 100 grits); medium, (120,150 and 180 grits); fine, (220 and 240); and, very fine (280 and 300 grits).
How is the abrasive, sandpaper/sanding discs attached to the tools?
ANSWER
- All our abrasives are attached by hook-and-loop (Velcro) to a replacement foam pad. This hook-and-loop attachment provides 100% adhesion of the abrasive to the pad, preventing any foreign matter from getting under the abrasive, to eliminate damage, which could require possible rework.
What benefit is the replaceable foam pad on the Full Circle sanding tools?
ANSWER
- The foam replacement pad performs a couple of different functions: first, by utilizing the hook-and-loop adhesion feature it serves as the attachment mechanism for holding the abrasive on the tool; and, second, since no drywall surface is perfectly flat, it allows the user to achieve nice finished results on the “highs and lows” of the surface.
What are the benefits of the mesh abrasive sanding as compared to the regular solid pad and sanding disc that comes on the tool?
ANSWER
- Many drywall finishers have used sanding screens as their primary abrasive for many years and prefer the mesh type of abrasive. The Full Circle mesh abrasive is slightly larger than the solid paper back abrasive and is designed to be used on the Radius360° Air®, so it is not recommended for use on the Original Radius360°®.
- This mesh abrasive is not the same “windowpane” screen design of old drywall screens, which was often susceptible to streaking and grooving the compound. In addition, mesh abrasive has a “diamond” shaped window and the woven mesh design cuts nice and smooth.
Advantages of standard foam pad and Level360 abrasive
- Long lasting.
- Available in thousands of retail stores worldwide.
- Large grit range:
60, 80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, 240, 280, and 300 grit. - Control suction by adjusting air damper.
- Suction supporting weight of tool can be helpful when sanding ceilings and patch repairs.
Advantages of perforated foam pad and mesh abrasives
- Fluid movement without friction caused by vacuum suction
- No adjusting air damper; use with air damper in 100% closed position.
Why would you need a Full Circle Radius360° Air® manual sander, if you have a mechanical sander?
ANSWER
- When sanding with a power sander (mechanical) the results can be quicker under the right conditions. A power sander is especially practical if you are sanding a rough tape job or sanding off texture over-spray.
- Many, if not most, power sander users will think of the power sander as a rough sander not a finish sander. If you think of woodwork, you want to plane off the rough areas quickly and then go back over with a finish sander. Almost all woodworkers will use a belt sander for the rough sanding and a finish or palm sander for finishing. The same goes with drywall, the power sander is the “rough sander” and a pole sander is used for the “finish” sanding.
- Power sanders orbit at 1000-2000 RPMs and because of that speed, they often leave swirls and dishing marks behind. The contractor will then need to go back over the flats, butts, and corner bead with a pole sander to remove these marks. That is why the Radius360 pole sander was such a big improvement for drywall finishers. The Radius360 was much larger than the “standard” pole sander and it could cover the area quickly without the fear of flipping the sander. Remember, walls are not perfectly straight, so an added benefit with the Radius360 or Radius360 Air®, is the sander performance for getting better finish results because the soft foam pad helps the tool contour to the wall so there are no missed surface areas.
- And, if the job is a smooth wall Level 4; a Level 4 wall is a wall that has been coated 4 times and is smooth, or a Level 5; a Level 5 is an additional light skim coat over the entire wall, the fastest and easiest way to sand is with a Radius360. Think of the Level 4/5 wall as not needing the rough sanding, just the finish sanding. With all the prep work that went in to getting it to that “Level”, the last potential disaster a drywall finisher wants to see are swirl marks on a Level 4/5 finish. Or, the rework that would be needed, if a tool should flip and gouge the wall!
- With the appropriate hose adapter, and often without an adapter, the Radius360° Air® can be attached to the vacuum with the same hose as the mechanical sander to “finish” the job. Every contractor with a mechanical drywall sander should have a Radius360° Air®!
How can the new Full Circle dust-free sanding tools help the contractor become “compliant” with the new OSHA Respiratory Crystalline Silica Rule?
ANSWER
- Vacuum dust collection systems for drywall sanding equipment are commercially available, and, as studies show, they significantly reduce total dust concentrations.
- Below is a Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR) study from 1998 of vacuum extracted drywall sanding systems which reported reductions in total dust exposures of 99% when used during pole sanding and 95% for hand sanding. Both resulting exposure levels were well below regulatory limits for total dust, affirming they provide an excellent means of dust extraction to attain an acceptable level for a clean work environment.
- Drywall sanding tools such as the Full Circle Dust-Free Sanding System can help protect the contractor’s health.
- Figure 1 shows the average reduction in airborne dust measured for four drywall sanding operations — pole- mounted sanding and hand sanding with and without vacuum dust control measures from the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR) study.
