Serious question - can you sand painted drywall too much before painting?

I was helping my buddy Dave redo his living room in Austin last Saturday. We were sanding down the drywall after patching some holes from where he took down a big cabinet. He kept going back over the same spots with the sanding block, like really going at it, trying to get it baby smooth. I told him I thought you could actually damage the paper layer if you oversand, and he looked at me like I was crazy. He said his dad always taught him to sand until your hand feels no bumps at all, even if it takes twenty passes. That got me thinking about how there's no real standard for when to stop. I've seen YouTube videos where people barely scuff it and call it good. Has anyone else run into this where you think you're being thorough but really you're just tearing up the drywall?

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2 Comments

hannah_wells2mo ago

Take Dave's dad's advice with a grain of salt. I've definitely seen guys sand right through the paper into the gypsum, and then you're stuck with a bigger mess patching that back up. A fine grit block and a light touch is usually plenty for paint to grab onto.

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rileyprice2mo ago

Used to sand like crazy myself till I ruined a patch and learned that lesson hard.

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