Drywall mud vs. setting compound - tried both on a basement project and got totally different results

Started finishing drywall in my basement last month. Used regular mud on the first wall. Worked fine but took forever to dry. 24 hours between coats. Switched to setting compound for the second wall. Dried in 45 minutes. But it was way harder to sand. Like rocks. Now I'm wondering which is actually better for a first timer. The regular mud gave me more time to fix mistakes. The setting compound was faster but less forgiving. What do you guys use for a small home project? Is the speed worth the hassle?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew_park6d ago

Learning on the job with regular mud is way more forgiving, you can wet it down and smooth out mistakes even hours later. Setting compound is great for pros who know how fast it goes off, but for a first timer the time crunch just adds stress. I stick with regular mud for anything at my own house, the patience pays off in less frustration.

xena_fox396d ago

The regular mud is definitely the move for a basement project, especially if you're still figuring things out. @drew_park is right that it's more forgiving, but setting compound actually isn't always harder to sand - it depends on which number you grab. The 20 or 45 minute stuff sets up super hard, but if you use something like a 90 or 120 minute setting compound it stays softer and almost sands like regular mud while still drying way faster than the bucket stuff. That middle ground might help with the wait time without fighting rock hard edges.