I thought the whole 'mudding with a sponge' trick was a joke until last week

Kim Nelson · 2026-04-10T18:35:05.920159+00:00

A guy on a job in Phoenix swore by using a damp car wash sponge to smooth out his final coat. I tried it on a small patch in a closet and it worked way better than my knife for getting rid of those tiny lines. It felt weird, but the finish was glassy. Anyone else ever use something totally weird that actually worked?

uma_nelson5mo ago

Honestly my uncle used a credit card to spread spackle once and it looked shockingly good. Tbh weird tools just work sometimes.

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iris_rivera445mo ago

Wow, I totally thought stuff like this was just people messing around online! I was a hardcore believer in the taping knife until I tried a damp makeup sponge on a drywall patch. It left zero lines, just this perfect, smooth skin. It's like what @uma_nelson said, weird tools just have a way of working when you least expect it.

5

skylercooper5mo ago

Sounds like a weird hack but honestly, is it worth the mess? My knife works fine and I don't have to clean a sponge after.

1