I finally learned the hard way about cheap mud pans

Bought a $12 plastic mud pan from a big box store and it warped after two days of using it on a kitchen job in Akron... Ended up having to stop mid-project and drive 30 minutes round trip for a steel one that actually held up. Has anyone else had a tool fail on them right when you needed it most?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_ward8013d ago

Wait, are you sure it was $12? I swear I've seen those same plastic pans going for like $7.99 or something at the big box stores around here. But yeah, you're totally right about the cheap ones being garbage. I tried one of those thin plastic pans once and it bent like a noodle after like two hours of mixing thin set. The corners cracked too. The steel ones are worth the extra money for sure, they just don't warp or rust if you wipe em down after use.

davis.mia13d ago

The $7.99 ones are a total gamble, I've been burned by those too. I actually grabbed a plastic pan from the hardware store on sale for $9.50 once and the handle snapped off halfway through a shower pan job. Total nightmare. The steel ones at $12 are a steal when you think about how many times you'll reuse them without them falling apart. I still have my first steel pan from like five years ago, just a little surface rust if I forget to dry it, but still solid. It's one of those things where you pay a few bucks more and save yourself hours of frustration.

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