nancyramirez•8d agoMost Upvoted

The day I learned not to backroll mud for 20 years

I used to always backroll my mud after taping, thought it made corners smoother. Then a old timer named Mike watched me do it on a job in El Paso and just shook his head, said I was crushing the tape into the corner instead of bedding it. He showed me how to just wipe it once with the knife and leave it alone, and my corners came out way flatter. Anyone else ever get set straight by a older guy on something they had been doing wrong forever?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulnguyen8d ago

Guess I've been crushing tape for 18 years myself.

mason.drew8d ago

That old timer Mike sounds like every old timer I've met in trades - they've always got one specific trick that saves you 20 years of doing it wrong lol. I had a guy in Phoenix show me the same thing with my texture work, told me I was overworking it to death when one pass was all it needed.

the_mary8d ago

But here's the thing nobody's talking about - that technique only works if your mud is the right consistency. I learned that the hard way after Mike's advice because I went home and tried it with some mud that was way too stiff, and it just peeled right off the next day. You gotta have it a little looser than you think, almost like thick paint, so it actually bonds to the tape instead of just sitting on top. A lot of guys get told the trick without the prep work that makes it work.