# I suck at mudding



## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

Just thought I'd get that off me chest:shutup:


Had to put in a few hrs today at a remodel I'm doing. Today was mud day

I'm lousy at it, and it shows. I usually end up doing 3-4 coats, and sanding for hrs between.

I don't want to sub out my Sheetrock, it's usually covered by cabs and back splashes.

But I hate knowing there's sucky mud behind my masterpieces.

where can I go for help?


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

Sanding for hours between coats sounds a little extreme. Do you stand back and throw the mud onto the walls?:laughing:

I do 3 coats and sand only once at the end, and I'd be hard pressed to get 1.5 hrs sanding in a kitchen.


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## mudpad (Dec 26, 2008)

Maybe trade school? Or hire a guy to do it for you one time and be his apprentice?


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

shanekw1 said:


> Sanding for hours between coats sounds a little extreme. Do you stand back and throw the mud onto the walls?:laughing:
> 
> I do 3 coats and sand only once at the end, and I'd be hard pressed to get 1.5 hrs sanding in a kitchen.




:thumbup: yeah that's me. Every one always said "just toss it on there" So I did. lol

It's the whole smoothing thing. I lay the mud, then try and smooth it out and I get grooves and lines, along with craters in the mud.

Am I pressing to hard, holding the knife at the wrong angle.....:sad:


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

mudpad said:


> Maybe trade school? Or hire a guy to do it for you one time and be his apprentice?




I wold love to have time for trade school:clap: 
I'm a sucker for knowledge, gimme gimme gimme.

I'm thinking about pimping myself out to a local drywaller when I run into some down time.

Not sure how that would go over.

"Hey I really suck, mind if I work with you?"


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## mudpad (Dec 26, 2008)

Sounds like you got trash in you mud


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

It was a fresh brand new bucket.


I had just found it last wk, on the side of the road.:balloon:

Really, it was on the road.



I tried to flag down the guy who lost it, honked and every thing. But he just kept on trucking.


I've seen when I get trash on my knife. I'm pretty sure all my problems aren't from trash.

Hey whats with the different color knives any way, like the blue steel and such? Should I be using higher grade tooling?

I worked on a site with some sheetrockers awhile back, and they all sanded their knives before mudding. Was it just to knock off the rust spots, or is there something more magical about that?


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## bhock (Feb 17, 2009)

Sanding to knock off mudspots and or knicks in the blade edge.
You add water to your mud right?
Ready to use is a bunch of BS! Always add some water it spreads easier.
It almost sounds like you have mud drying on the blade, bucket, hawk, and its getting in when you spread.
I learned alot from this website http://www.drywallschool.com/protips.htm. Some real good videos to help a guy out.


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

I add a little water into my tray and mix batches. Should I be doing the whole bucket?

I also only grab mud off the top of the bucket, should I mix the whole bucket first?

Drying mud might be an issue, I might be trying to work it to long, should I just be laying and tooling it once. Is it possible to over work it?


I'm kinda treating it like painting, brush it on, come back with a wet edge.....


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## Rob PA (Aug 30, 2010)

add some water...mix the whole bucket for a few mins..
I usually use a second bucket with just water for my knifes. Apply to the entire seam before going back to smooth. Dunk your blade in the second bucket...this will help smooth it out. Plus keep dried junk off your blade. I would only sand at the end. Once you prime you will see were it may need touched up. Use a floor halogen light to cast shadows so you can see what is going to show thru the finished product.


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## Aaron Berk (Jul 10, 2010)

Lack of water might be my number one issue. 

I never thought about dunking my blade, nor have I heard about applying water to the seam before smoothing.

It sounds like the ticket I was looking for.


And only sanding at the end. :blink:
I'm a die hard woodworker. I sand everything, and then sand it again, and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again

So I can mud, and only sand once? really:w00t: this sounds pleasing


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

You sucked at riding a bike when you first started too. 

You have to learn when to leave it alone. If there are ridges when dry, knock off with the knife. Try a damp sponge works wonders. Just takes practice.


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

I find mud and tape to be a constant challenge for remodelers. None of us want to pay the price to sub it out, so we try it ourselves. It looks easy but takes years of practice to get good at it. Try watching some youtube videos and read a book on it, Myron Fergeson has a good one. Try investing in some tools as well, like a banjo and mud box, then learn to use them properly.


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## bhock (Feb 17, 2009)

Aaron Berk said:


> I might be trying to work it to long, should I just be laying and tooling it once.


An old man once told me "It's not concrete son, if it doesn't look good the first time its just going to get worse."


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## Tom Struble (Mar 2, 2007)

paneling:thumbup:


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

bhock said:


> An old man once told me "It's not concrete son, if it doesn't look good the first time its just going to get worse."



Hey Brett, the old guy I started learning this trade from told me that about concrete.:thumbup:


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## bhock (Feb 17, 2009)

But now we have power trowels that can even fix concrete the day after.:laughing:


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

bhock said:


> But now we have power trowels that can even fix concrete the day after.:laughing:


Well, ya, sort of.

But if a guy can't make a taping job look ok, he's gonna play hell making concrete come out.

You sayin' I'm too old to have seen a power trowel? HAHAHAHAH


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## A. Spruce (Aug 6, 2010)

As with all things, drywall taping takes time to get the hang of. I've been doing it for 20 years and by no means am I an expert, but I can get a good finish and match most surfaces when patching.

As cliche as it may seem, it is truly all in the wrist. You can't ride the knife too hard or you're going to have cut lines from the corners of the knife. What I've found is to ride the outside of the knife where it's on the wall surface and rise the inside of the knife over the wet mud. A trick that my drywall guy showed me was to bend an arc in the knife blade to help you feather the edges and ridge of your joints. Use the concave side to round the ridgeline and the concave side to blend the joint to the wall. When you're done, all you should need to do is lightly sand off some edges and ripples.



> "Hey I really suck, mind if I work with you?"


Thanks for that, you made me chuckle! :laughing:


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

Aaron Berk said:


> :thumbup: yeah that's me. Every one always said "just toss it on there" So I did. lol
> 
> It's the whole smoothing thing. I lay the mud, then try and smooth it out and I get grooves and lines, along with craters in the mud.
> 
> Am I pressing to hard, holding the knife at the wrong angle.....:sad:


What kind of mud are you using? Are you pulling it right out of the box or are you adding water to it? If it's too dry, that will cause lines. I use All Purpose Lite with a splash of water and use it for everything. I find the inside corners to be the hardest in preventing lines and craters. This guy explains it good I think
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvnAj_QjkqQ


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