Gator Hook & Loop Drywall Sandpaper System Review

Gator Finishing Products

The folks at Gator Finishing Products sent me another one of their products to review and this one has been a huge hit with one of my drywall crews! Ali Industries’ has recently introduced the new Gator® Professional Drywall Pole and Hand Sanders and Drywall Hook & Loop Sandpaper System.

The Gator® Professional Drywall Pole and Hand Sanders allow you to quickly sand large areas and drywall joints. Both pole and hand sander heads feature the hook & loop sandpaper system which securely holds the sandpaper and makes paper changes simple and easy. Plus, you can offset the sandpaper on the head to easily do inside corners, and there is no worry about hardware damaging the drywall.

The drywall pole sander head features a universal joint for excellent articulation and user control. The joint is also threaded for use with any threaded pole. The sanding head is a large (10” x 4”) rigid foam that lies flat to efficiently sand all areas, but with enough give to follow slight contours in the surface.

The drywall hand sander looks and feels the same as the pole sander, but features an easy to hold D-handle, and is great for detail work.

Gator premium hook & loop drywall sandpaper features a heavy weight paper that resists tearing and curling, maintaining a flat sanding surface. All Gator drywall sandpaper is specially formulated for sanding and preparing joint compounds, spackling and for scuffing painted surfaces before repainting. Each sheet has a high performance coating, which prevents loading of the grain surface. This increases the cutting performance by as much as 30 percent when compared to conventional drywall sandpaper. Gator premium hook & loop drywall sandpaper comes in convenience and bulk packs and in grits of 80, 100, 120 and 150.

Product Review

I asked a professional drywall crew that does work for me to try out this new product on a recent job. They were very impressed with two aspects of the new Gator Sanding System.

“The sandpaper doesn’t get clogged and it sands amazingly smooth for 120 grit. The hook and loop is a brilliant idea. It helps keep the sand paper flat and you don’t end up with bulky corners that end up creating deep gouges when you sand.”

Needless to say the drywall crew begged to keep the demo and I reluctantly agreed. I was actually a bit surprised at their enthusiasm because they are “old school” and I just thought anything other than the old sanding pole wouldn’t do for them. Boy was I wrong! Obviously performance is king and anything that makes their job easier is worth using.

The other obvious benefit of this system is speed. You no longer have to fold sand paper and adjust the clamps to get the paper to stay on the sanding pole. Just touch the hook and loop sand paper to the sanding pole and you’re ready to start sanding. I think this is a great product for both professionals and DIY folks!

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

Next DC Rowhouse | Guest Blogger »

Previous « How To Remove Soap Scum - Shower Doors

View Comments

Baba says:
June 10, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I imagine putting on the sandpaper would be quicker. I have always been a bit sceptical of these type of sanders in whether they would perform without tearing, ripping, gouging, etc. Thanks. It looks like things have improved over the years.