Finally got my taping mud down to a single coat on a big ceiling job

For years, I'd always do two coats of taping compound, no matter what. About six months ago, I started mixing my own mud from powder instead of using the pre-mixed buckets. I use a 20-minute hot mud for the first coat now, and it sets so hard and flat. Yesterday, I did a 12x16 foot ceiling and only needed the one coat before sanding. It saved me over three hours on that one room. Has anyone else switched to mixing their own and seen a big time save?

4 comments

4 Comments

michael_coleman101d agoMost Upvoted

Man, that hot mud is a game changer! I tried it on some drywall patches at my place and couldn't believe how fast it dried. Totally skipped the whole waiting around part.

fiona9851d ago

My uncle was a painter for forty years and refused to use anything but the pre-mixed stuff. He said the powder was for hacks. Saw him waste a whole afternoon waiting for a second coat to dry on a closet ceiling. Sometimes the old way is just the slow way.

jake9861d ago

Honestly, that's how it goes with a lot of stuff. People just accept the way things have always been done, like two coats of mud, because that's what everyone says. Then someone tries a different method and realizes the old way was just adding extra work for no real gain. I see it all the time with cooking, car stuff, you name it. We get stuck in routines and miss the simple fixes right in front of us.

craig.mila1d ago

Tell me about it, I was stuck in that exact same two-coat routine for ages. Felt like I was just making more work for myself because that's what the old guys always did. Switching to mixing that hot mud was a total lightbulb moment. The way it sets up so solid lets you get it perfectly flat in one pass. Really is a huge relief to cut that extra step and just be done.