GTR55-85 9 In. Drywall Sander Kit

I started with a Harbor Freight version that lasted a few jobs before the motor died. It worked just ok (about what you would expect for the price). I decided to upgrade to the Bosch after watching some reviews and researching. The Bosch is a much better value as the quality, performance and ergonomics are far better. If I did drywall full time I would have the Festool, but I can't justify the cost difference and the Bosch is more than capabable for general home remodeling. The balance and suction (I keep it on the middle suction setting and 4-6 vacuum power). I get zero dust in the air and the unit does "suck" to the wall greatly reducing fatigue but I don't have any issues with chatter or skipping. The soft start feature helps when starting the tool on the wall. The build quality is very nice and the storage box is great as this isn't a tool I use every day. The buttons and control dials are all very well placed and logical; you never have to think about what does what. The only minor complaints I have are that the black plastic surround leaves marks on the adjacent corners, and even without the edge guard, the corners aren't great with the sander (some of this is simple physics, not the tool's fault). Also, the clamp for the extension doesn't "snap" into place and has come undone a few times. I haven't looked to see if I can tighten it up, and it doesn't cause an issue when it does come loose. The unit does not have a halo light on the head which isn't as big a deal as I thought it might be. I keep a work light shining on the wall anyway. Unlike the review video I watched, I've had zero issues with clogging with mesh paper, even when removing large amounts of mud when skim coating walls and ceilings. I do have it connected to a DeWalt shop vac via a 20' Cen-Tec hose (the Cen-Tec hose end snaps perfectly into the Bosch snap collar BTW!). I would recommend a dust extraction tool if you do a lot of sanding. I am only doing a couple of rooms and have filled multiple shop vac bags, but since I'm tight on space, I decided against using one. It's impressive just how much dust is collected! It's a great tool, I'm sure the Festool is another level above and the D/A sanding versus the Bosch's rotary would be a game changer but for a home remodeler or advanced DIY guy the Bosch is perfect.

Great item. Love it

It's a good sander, I knocked a star off for two reasons, It's a little heavy for ceilings, but that's to be expected with a heavier duty tool & although it's a good tool now, it would be a great tool if it had a ring of lights around the sanding head like the cheaper ones do.

I had a cheap sander for a while. It did the job but it was very heavy and the head didn't articulate all that well since the motor was far from the head. It was basically like a weed eater. This sander is much lighter and has more degrees of freedom since the motor is on the head. Coupled with the Bosch vacuum with the auto thumper keeps you going. The old way I would have to periodically stop and clean out the Shop Vac filter making the job longer and dirtier. Love Bosch tools.

Purchased in May, it stopped working in November. Amazon told me there is nothing they can do to help me. I am just out of 600.00 dollars.

Huge money saver! This thing is incredibly easy and comfortable to use. There’s a little bit to the learning curve given the various vacuum and speed adjustments but once you have those dialed in with the right grit sandpaper on the disc it’s all smooth sailing from there. It’s so easy I showed the customer how it works and she ended up doing about 25% of the job for me. Some people might call that taking advantage of the customer. I call it cheap labor. Either way, a customer with zero drywall experience did a spectacular job first time using it.

What I Like • The features are really well thought out. The ultra-flexible sanding head makes it easier to follow the contours of walls and ceilings without gouging or damaging the plaster. It’s helpful, especially when switching from flat walls to ceilings.  • The ceiling-suction mode is useful. It does reduce how much weight you feel when you’re working overhead, which helps a lot for fatigue.  • The T-handle grip and quick-release extension pole are nice design touches. Being able to shorten the pole when you don’t need full reach removes excess bulk, and the grip shape helps somewhat with control.  ⸻ What Could Be Better / Major Drawbacks • Weight is a big issue. Even with the ceiling-suction mode, the tool is heavy — the specs list it at around 9.0-10.6 lbs depending on whether you include the pole and hose.  Holding this overhead for extended periods is tiring, and it can strain your arms, especially if you’re not used to heavy overhead work. • Sanding capability isn’t as smooth or fine as I expected. While it works fairly well on drywall muds and plaster, the finish isn’t ultra-smooth unless you go over the surface multiple times. It doesn’t replace hand sanding or more specialized finishing tools if you want a very fine, polished wall. • Dust control is better but not perfect. There is a vacuum hose adapter, and while it helps, you’ll still get dust settling on you or the floor when working overhead or in tight corners. Sometimes when turning off suction, the hose releases dust inside. • Bulk and maneuverability are affected by the tool’s size. The 9-inch disc plus the rigid parts make it less maneuverable around tight spots or near edges, ceilings, trim, etc. It can be awkward to adjust angles sometimes. ⸻ Overall Thoughts I’d rate this Bosch GTR55-85 3 out of 5 stars. It’s a capable tool, and if you have a large drywall or plaster job (especially ceilings) it will speed things up compared to hand sanding. But the weight and the limitations in finishing finesse mean it’s not perfect — you’ll pay a physical price for holding and maneuvering it, and you’ll probably still need to do some “by‐hand” touch-ups.

Great storage case that keeps everything in place and easy to move. Easy to assemble and disassemble. Great suction, great sanding. Works surprisingly well as a floor sander as well. Have even used it, without the sander, for vacuuming up larger floor messes because it's a larger head than any shop vac attachment I've seen.

This thing is absolutely epic. My only complaint is it doesn’t have a light, which is crazy. However it is so good that I honestly don’t care. The dust collection with a regular shop vac and dust bag inside is fine for removing almost all the dust. Basically nothing gets air born anymore ! I can sand drywall and don’t need to prep anything. This is a time saver. I’m just a DIYer doing my own home Reno’s and this is worth the investment by far. It’s very light weight and has a very calculated design. I don’t buy cheap stuff. Now I was not going to buy a festool I’m not that crazy, so this is a great compromise. I’m going to add a usb led light on it attached with Velcro and I can live with that one exception.

Listen is this as good as the planex.. no But for more then half the price it’s really good, Works well to make the mudding process much less painful and the dust is significantly less , in comparison to hand sanding it collects 95% Obviously there will be a little that fly’s off when you take the sander off the wall but what can you expect

Heavier than dewalt and other ones on amazon but quality is good sands nicely

Lightweight and does great job!

We haven't used this yet but the cardbox box came open and the sander and tote are scratched and show minor signs of use. There was absolutely no additional tape used or anything indicating that it's been tested prior to shipping. We hope it work okay when we use it next week!