As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall screws.
Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over my
fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws. The
last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is an
800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at Grabber.
He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try the
gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction work
every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice to
use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?
On Sun, 1 May 2011 15:34:13 -0700, [email protected] wrote
> When you say "gold", I assume you're talking about the yellow zinc plated
> screws. I don't see a reason, other than cost.
Yes i do mean yellow zink and I can get them for roughly the same price as
the black ones.
Thanks.
On Sun, 1 May 2011 16:56:20 -0700, Nova wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):
> I've been using Fastenal brand drywall screws when are green in color.
> I haven't had any that were oily. a 1500 count case is under $50.
>
>
http://www.fastenal.com/web/search/products/fasteners/screws/drywall-
screws/_/
>
N-
gj4wc9&Nty=0;jsessionid=8jpSNpNXRxjFhtJsFBr6GFxd4xQkKWZ1f2sTKqvXY2syR4gTYNYk
> !329283390!888996493
>
That's a little steep for me. For $50 I can get 25 lbs (about 8000 screws) of
either black or gold.
Thanks.
On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:04:01 -0700, Max wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):
>
> My favorite supplier for screws:
> http://www.mcfeelys.com/drywall-screws
>
> Max
Thanks Max,
It looks like they only cary the fine thread screws for metal framing? Also
the cost is about 2 X what i pay locally for either black or gold screws.
On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:16:35 -0700, George W Frost wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):
>
> One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
> bolts
> the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
> screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
> I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
> their performance
I agree that for the mechanical fastening of the drywall panels to the
framing the oil does not inhibit their performance in any way. If however
you include user friendliness as part of a product's performance then the oil
is a pretty serious flaw. Also in drywall work it is very important that the
mud adhere tightly to the screw heads so could also be another flaw there.
Thanks.
On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:20:21 -0700, Max wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):
> "George W Frost" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
>> bolts
>> the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
>> screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
>> I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
>> their performance
>
> I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the
> wood.
>
> Max
>
Yes, not good. Also when handling these screws unless you wash your hands
quite frequently there will be dark greasy fingerprints all over the work.
On Sun, 1 May 2011 20:15:40 -0700, Morgans wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):
> "Max" wrote
>
> I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the
> wood.
> ****************************************
> Enough oil will bleed through cover mud compound, and make it impossible for
> latex paint to cover the bleeding oil. You would have to use oil kilz stain
> block before finishing the wall.
>
> The obvious solution is to wash the screws if you have them already, and
> can't return.
>
> Otherwise, let your wallet dictate the quality of the supplier. Don't buy
> them until the oil problem is solved.
>
> Damn made in China syndrome. It gets worse all the time.
>
> -- Jim in NC
>
>
>
Yes! I'm finding that even with the "quality" hardware suppliers the stuff is
all coming from China or Taiwan. I cant find the standard black drywall
screws in bulk from *anyone* that are not all friggen greasy. The gold screws
are about the same price and seem much dryer.
Thanks.
On Sun, 1 May 2011 15:22:18 -0700, RockHound <[email protected]> wrote:
>As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall screws.
>Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
>for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
>screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
>smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over my
>fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
>screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws. The
>last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is an
>800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at Grabber.
>He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
>problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try the
>gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction work
>every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice to
>use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
>Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?
When you say "gold", I assume you're talking about the yellow zinc plated
screws. I don't see a reason, other than cost.
"RockHound" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall
> screws.
> Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
> for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
> screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
> smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over
> my
> fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
> screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws.
> The
> last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is
> an
> 800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at
> Grabber.
> He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
> problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try
> the
> gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction
> work
> every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice
> to
> use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
> Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?
>
My favorite supplier for screws:
http://www.mcfeelys.com/drywall-screws
Max
"George W Frost" <[email protected]> wrote
> One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
> bolts
> the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
> screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
> I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
> their performance
I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the
wood.
Max
"RockHound" wrote:
> That's a little steep for me. For $50 I can get 25 lbs (about 8000
> screws) of
> either black or gold.
-------------------------------
I'll submit that the cost of fasteners for a project gets lost in the
wash.
My guess is that a 5% savings on the cost of basic materials more than
cover the cost of fasteners for the project.
There was a time I worked in the fastener capital of the USA,
Cleveland, OH.
SFWIW, most of my fastener manufacturing customers had closed up shop
and moved off shore by the mid 1980's.
Lew
"RockHound" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall
> screws.
> Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
> for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
> screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
> smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over
> my
> fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
> screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws.
> The
> last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is
> an
> 800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at
> Grabber.
> He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
> problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try
> the
> gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction
> work
> every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice
> to
> use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
> Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?
>
One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
bolts
the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
their performance
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
> On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:16:35 -0700, George W Frost wrote
> (in article <[email protected]>):
>
>
> >
> > One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making screws and
> > bolts
> > the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing where the
> > screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any residue
> > I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the screws to inhibit
> > their performance
>
>
> I agree that for the mechanical fastening of the drywall panels to the
> framing the oil does not inhibit their performance in any way. If however
> you include user friendliness as part of a product's performance then the oil
> is a pretty serious flaw. Also in drywall work it is very important that the
> mud adhere tightly to the screw heads so could also be another flaw there.
> Thanks.
Personally I think I'd want to find out whether the oil is normal or
not. Have you thought about sending a box of oily screws to the
manufacturer and asking if the oil on them was normal? If it isn't then
it's getting on them in transit somewhere and I suspect they'd be happy
to help you find out where and apply some pressure from above to get the
problem addressed.
"Max" wrote
I don't know about drywall but I have had a few oily screws that stained the
wood.
****************************************
Enough oil will bleed through cover mud compound, and make it impossible for
latex paint to cover the bleeding oil. You would have to use oil kilz stain
block before finishing the wall.
The obvious solution is to wash the screws if you have them already, and
can't return.
Otherwise, let your wallet dictate the quality of the supplier. Don't buy
them until the oil problem is solved.
Damn made in China syndrome. It gets worse all the time.
-- Jim in NC
On Sun, 1 May 2011 15:22:18 -0700, RockHound <[email protected]> wrote:
>As a pro remodeling contractor I go through a fair amount of drywall screws.
>Mostly 1.25" black course thread. These screws used to be fairly "dry" but
>for about the past five years or so I have had a real hard time finding
>screws that are not covered with oil. This oil is stinky greasy petrol
>smelling stuff that makes the screws unpleasant to handle. Gets all over my
>fingers, it's probably toxic, and could keep the mud from sticking to the
>screw heads? This problem is not just with the off brand / Borg screws. The
>last box i bought were "Grabber" brand screws... same problem. So there is an
>800 # on the box which i called and had a long convo with a guy at Grabber.
>He said there "shouldn't" be much oil on the screws and yes it could cause
>problems with the mud sticking. One of the things he suggested is to try the
>gold screws instead of the black screws. In my 25 years of construction work
>every drywall job i've ever been around it seemed to be standard practice to
>use the black screws so this is what I've always done.
>Is there any reason not to use the gold screws for drywall?
I've been using Fastenal brand drywall screws when are green in color.
I haven't had any that were oily. a 1500 count case is under $50.
http://www.fastenal.com/web/search/products/fasteners/screws/drywall-screws/_/N-gj4wc9&Nty=0;jsessionid=8jpSNpNXRxjFhtJsFBr6GFxd4xQkKWZ1f2sTKqvXY2syR4gTYNYk!329283390!888996493
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
RockHound wrote:
> On Sun, 1 May 2011 17:16:35 -0700, George W Frost wrote
> (in article <[email protected]>):
>
>
> >
> > One of the many jobs I have had, was in a machine shop making
> > screws and bolts
> > the problem with the ones you have may be in the final washing
> > where the screws are washed in a solution, to get rid of any
> > residue I can't foresee any problems with an oily residue on the
> > screws to inhibit their performance
>
>
> I agree that for the mechanical fastening of the drywall panels to
> the framing the oil does not inhibit their performance in any way.
> If however you include user friendliness as part of a product's
> performance then the oil is a pretty serious flaw. Also in drywall
> work it is very important that the mud adhere tightly to the screw
> heads so could also be another flaw there. Thanks.
Isnt it to prevent rusting of the tin once pierced by the screw ,
causing the screw to loose grip .
Probably not such an issue in the USA (oh by the way thanks for
wacking bin laden) but in many countries it is , in production its
unlikely they will know the intended market so they all get done.
Plus these are generally shipped by sea so it possibly prevents
corosion build up on the screw itself