Just realized I was wrong about those new lightweight mud pans

For years I thought the plastic ones were just a gimmick, especially after a buddy in Phoenix swore by his steel Marshalltown. Then I had to tape a whole ceiling in a tight attic last summer, holding my arm up for hours. My shoulder was killing me by noon. I grabbed a cheap 12 inch Goldblatt plastic pan from the truck just to try it, and the difference in weight was real. My arm didn't feel like it was going to fall off by the end of the day. Has anyone else switched and found they hold up over time, or do they crack too easy?

2 comments

2 Comments

eva_carr19d ago

Remember my old steel pan I named "The Shoulder Killer"? I think it's plotting revenge from the back of my truck. Swore I'd never switch until I had a three day hallway job that felt like holding up a boat anchor. My plastic one has a few good dents but no cracks yet, and honestly, if it breaks next week, the relief on my joints was still worth the twenty bucks.

the_viola19d ago

So my friend's plastic pan finally gave out after two years, but he got his money's worth. He was a total skeptic like your buddy in Phoenix, always talking about how real mud belongs in a steel pan. Then he did a big ceiling like you mentioned and his elbow swelled up so bad he couldn't straighten his arm for a week. He switched that same day. Seeing @eva_carr talk about her old pan plotting revenge made me laugh, because my friend said throwing his old steel one in the dumpster felt like getting rid of a bully. The plastic ones might not last forever, but they save your body, and that's what actually lets you keep working.