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I finally switched from hand taping to using a banjo for my flat boxes
For 8 years I always hand taped my flat boxes because I thought the banjo was too messy and slow to set up. Last month on a big job in Columbus I borrowed a coworker's banjo to try it and finished the same wall in half the time with way less mud waste. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good way to clean the banjo fast between coats?
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jake98619d ago
Oh man, isn't it crazy how long we stick with the old way just because we're scared to try something new? I was the exact same way with hand taping for years, thought the banjo was gonna be a nightmare to clean and mess with. Once I finally borrowed one from a buddy on a job in Dayton, I felt like an idiot for not switching sooner (seriously, the time savings alone is worth it). For cleaning between coats, what works for me is just running hot water through it right when I finish and wiping the tape wheel down with a damp rag. I also keep a little bucket of water nearby and dunk the whole assembly real quick before the mud dries up on it. It takes maybe two minutes total and saves way more time than it costs.
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craig.john19d ago
Tbh I was the same way with spray rigs for paint. Kept using rollers forever cause I thought cleaning the gun would be a pain. Buddy let me borrow his Graco on a kitchen job and man, I was kicking myself. What finally clicked for me was just flushing it with warm water and a little dish soap right after the last pass. Then I pop the tip off and soak it in a cup of water while I finish up. Whole thing takes maybe 3 minutes and I avoid that nightmare of dried paint in the nozzle.
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felix_black19d ago
Dude @craig.john hit the nail on the head with that dish soap trick, I do the same thing now. Ran hot water through mine after a job last week and then popped the wheel off for a quick wipe, whole thing was clean in like two minutes. I wasted so much time over the years wrestling with caked up mud because I was too stubborn to just rinse it right away.
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