Had a talk with a retired taper who changed my mind about pre-filling corners

Was working a job down in Fort Myers last week and an old timer stopped by to watch me work. He said I was wasting time by pre-filling inside corners before taping. I always thought you had to get mud in there first but he showed me his way of just taping it dry and using a corner box after. Took me 2 extra hours on that room but the finish came out way flatter. Has anyone else tried skipping the pre-fill on corners?

3 comments

3 Comments

jesser791mo ago

Changed my mind completely after trying it his way on my last two jobs. Pre-filling always left me with air bubbles and extra sanding that I don't get now. Not gonna lie I was skeptical but the corner box afterwards is way cleaner.

miles_sanchez1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, I'm with you on that @jesser79. I was the same way - thought pre-filling was the only proper way to go, but that extra sanding after always killed me. Tried it the other method on a few small spots and the finish came out way smoother with no bubbles at all. Still feels weird skipping a step I've done for years but the results don't lie.

the_james1mo ago

Man I HATE air bubbles. That alone makes me wanna switch. Pre-filling always felt like the "right" way but nobody talks about the headache it causes later. Cleaner corner box is worth skipping a step we were all taught.