How to skim coat new drywall.
By
on
September 16th, 2008
I’m done taping a mudding the joints in my kitchen drywall and am thinking of skim coating everything (ceiling and walls) instead of texturing. We have an 80 yr old home and think that a smooth plaster-like look would be better than the more modern “knock-down” look. I was thinking of using a roller to apply a thinned compound and then a wide (I already have a 14″ blade) drywall blade to wipe it off. Can I use the ready mixed all purpose compound or do I need something else. Anyone have any pointers for this. I’ve seen DIY tips that have you applying with a wide blade also, instead of a roller. Is that better.
I’ll be practicing on some scrap drywall and will most likely have more questions later.
Thanks in advance.
I figured something of my seams might still show through a little and that the skim coat would give me a better chance of hiding these.
And isn’t the ready mix compound too soft for a final coat or does that matter.
daileyent says:
If you’ve taped and mudded the joints, what do you expect to accomplish by skim coating all of the wall. Flat walls (no texture) is the normal finish for regular drywall. The only drywall i’ve seen skim coated (other than to repair walls where wallpaper was stripped) wasn’t really drywall at all, but blue board, which is plaster board.
I roll joint compound on when i’m texturing ceilings, but you need to be quick, and if you’re trying to finish it flat, you’ll need to keep the knife wet and free of debris to get a fairly flat smooth coat.
September 16th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Luke H says:
Yeah. I would skim the whole thing with the all purpose compound. but first make sure you fill any deep areas with your un-thinned mixture of compound. Im assuming you got the premixed compound. If that’s the case, I would thin it down a bit. but not nearly as thin as paint, you still want to have control over it with a drywall knife, and yes a wide (12″-14″) drywall knife. after the skim coat dries, you might have ridges that you should sand off with a high grit sandpaper on a drywall sanding tool, or wet-sander. Just dont sand down to the paper of the drywall board, if you do, recoat that spot. Make sure everything looks perfect before you paint it, because once you do, every little flaw will show up. I have gone to the job site when its dark, and taken a bright halogen like at different angles to the walls to see more flaws, that works well.
Oh, and no. the Premixed Joint compound you used for the joints is fine for the skim coat
September 16th, 2008 at 5:36 pm