A guy on a job in Phoenix told me my mud was too thick for the final coat

I was finishing a basement last month and this older guy, a painter who came in early, watched me for a minute. He just said, 'Kid, that's like spreading peanut butter. You'll be sanding that ridge for an hour.' I mean, I always mixed my topping mud to what I thought was a good, firm consistency, but he was right. I thinned it out with a bit more water, just until it dripped slowly off the knife, and tried it on the next section. The difference was crazy. It went on so much smoother and left way less texture, which meant way less sanding later. I probably saved myself a good 90 minutes of sanding on that whole basement. I guess I was so focused on it not sagging that I made it harder on myself. Has anyone else had a more experienced guy point out something simple like that that just clicked?

3 comments

3 Comments

lindaj1123d ago

Respectfully disagree with that advice. Thick mud gives you more control over the final surface and prevents future cracks. Sometimes an old trick just makes more work down the line.

willow_ellis23d ago

Watching my own first mud job crack taught me that lesson the hard way. I used the thin mix like everyone said and the whole wall looked like a dried-up riverbed a year later. Now I go thick and slow, even if it feels wrong in the moment. The extra control is everything for a finish that actually lasts. My early work is basically a museum of what NOT to do.

tyler_hunt721d ago

Yeah that "thin mix like everyone said" thing got me too on my first bathroom. It seemed easier to spread but then it shrank and cracked like crazy. I found a middle ground works best, not too thick but definitely not soupy. Letting each coat dry fully before the next one made the real difference for me.