Okay, so that's a solid question, and I'm dying laughing at lopez.simon's take because, yeah, it does sound like a weird excuse. But let's be real here. That guy probably just got up, walked into his garage, stuck his nose next to a rusty pipe, and said "eureka, I can finally write Chapter 1." Wet, old pennies is exactly the smell, extra damp and slightly sour, like if a vending machine threw up. Honestly, I'm picturing him writing a whole paragraph about that exact metallic tang and calling it his "breakthrough" moment. Did he at least find a treasure map in that puddle too, or should we all just start sniffing our plumbing now?

Are people really paying that much just to be disappointed?

Oh man, that's exactly what I found too... but I'm wondering if you've tried the 5-inch blade at all? I hear some people swear by it for the first coat because it's still got some flex but doesn't bog down as easy. I went straight from a 4 to a 6 and never looked back, but now I'm curious if I missed a step. Did you ever mess around with the 5-inch or did you just jump right to the 6? Because I feel like the 6 might be too wide for tight corners or small patches, and I'm always second-guessing myself on those spots.

Oh yeah I grabbed one of the Filteco bags off Amazon and it handles ash way better than the cheap ones. Big difference in suction too.

Felix_lane99, I've been a real estate agent 12 years and still disagree - sandpaper gives me better control on tight corners.