Voyage Into Drywalling
 

Finished hanging sheetrock last night on my sunroom addition and would like to try taping and "mudding" it. As I look at the sheetrock screw heads I keep thinking that before putting anything with water over them I should prime them (potential rust). Should I take that step or is it not something I need to do?
Steve

No primer needed on sheetrock screws....Its never done at the pro level and any paint would in fact hinder the tape and mud from bonding well.

Thank you. I'll mud them bare. Steve

I've done a lot of this myself and got my advice from pros before I started.

I can hang sheetrock all day long. I can't mud worth a poo though. Mudding takes time and patience. Go slow and make sure all the screw heads are in all the way.

When I sand I hold a shop light up as I do so, making sure I get it nice and smooth. Nothing worse than painting a room and seeing where you missed sanding. Also (in case you don't know) they rent a power sander with a vacuum attached...totally worth the money. Sheetrock lift (for ceilings) also, totally worth the money!!!

My wife is an awesome mudder, lol, she is amazing really!

yes the key is making sure your screws set just below the surface but don't break the paper...

I also agree the Mudding is the hard part....I can tape like a pro but the final coat is where I screw up...I never get it right the first try...but I guess thats a skill you develope with lots of practice...

Mudding and sanding is almost exactly like doing automotive body work. I hand sand (takes forever) and with my off hand I sweep my hand over the sanded area feeling for the high and low spots. Remember, if you can feel it you will see it.

I've attempted this a few times, but, due to the quality of the coat (too many high spots :o ) the sponge smoothes the tops just fine, but won't quite give you a flat surface. In my case, I've got too many marks from the knife. Well definined and sharp lines that are best removed by the sandpaper.

I suppose the sponge will be quite successful if you are a very good mudder. But, if so, then the amount of sanding is kept to a minimum, anyway.

Any professional spackler that I have ever used wouldn't sand, at all, even after the finish coat. One of them basically stated, on one occasion, that if you want a "perfect" job, it was going to cost about 50% more. You can't see his errors unless you look with a proper, strong light. A light sanding would remove all of them. But, he was not going to do it. :(

I've found reasonable success in the inside corners using the inside corner tool. It takes some practice to get the proper amount up there, so the edges are not too thick, but the corner itself comes out perfect.......so perfect, in fact, that the second coat is all that is required. The final coat is necessary to clean up the sides, about 1.5" from the corner.

I have found that it's not that critical, Mike. I also use my hand to find all the high and low spots. However, you can leave a high spot and you won't be able to see it, provided the high spot has no sharp edges to it. I've left some errors on the rentals that I would swear would be noticeable, but, after the paint goes on, it looks just perfect from two feet away. I suppose that you could find the error with a strong light and a distance of six inches, but, for the inside corners (the usual problems) at the ceiling, why bother?

She might be a good mudder, but, can she handle a knife? :D

Yep, I like the 12" knife, myself. But, I find it too unwieldy to run right into an inside corner, without messing up the opposite side of the corner.

That's my main problem if I don't use the inside corner tool...........too many coats to get a clean inside corner...........one side ruins the opposite side.

Of course. How could you not?

Corner bead kicks taped corner ass.

I use corner bead on the outside corners, and have no problems with that.

But, corner bead on the inside corners............... :confused:

its a tin strip embedded in papper....looks nothing like the outside corner bead you are thinking of...its usually flat and on a roll. Like the tape.

What's the benefit of this versus the standard roll paper?

I don't usually have a problem laying the paper and getting the first coat on. It's the second coat that is the problem. If you do the ceiling first, the ceiling comes out perfect. Then, when you attempt to do the wall, the knife and the spackle ruin the perfect job you just did on the ceiling. This is why I try to use the corner tool, but, I'm not perfect with it, either.