Pro tip: Stop overloading your mud pan with hot mud.

I used to pile it on thick to save trips, but after watching a guy on a high-rise job in Austin finish a whole ceiling with half the mud per pass and zero waste, I realized I was just making more work for myself sanding. Anyone else notice how a lighter pan actually speeds up your finish coat?

3 comments

3 Comments

west.henry1mo ago

You ever watch a painter try to cut in a whole room with a brush loaded to the ferrule? Same damn thing. I saw a guy in San Antonio do his third coat on a ceiling with a 4-inch knife and just the thinnest layer of mud, like he was buttering a cracker. Took him maybe half the time and the finish was glass smooth. Made me look at my heavy pan like an idiot.

abby_wilson511mo ago

Man I used to be the same way, piling it on thick thinking I was saving time. Then my buddy brought me to a retrofit job where this old timer was doing finish coats with barely a skim coat on his hawk. Took me watching him for ten minutes to get it. Less mud means way less sanding and fewer pinholes. Now I never overload the pan and my second coat goes on way smoother. Still catch myself grabbing too much sometimes though, old habits.

the_john1mo ago

@abby_wilson51 that old timer buttering a cracker line got me. Reminds me of this drywaller I watched do a whole living room with a 6 inch knife and a bucket lid for a hawk. Dude was practically painting with mud and it came out perfect. Made me feel like I was slinging concrete.