Tried to save time with a premixed compound and it cost me a whole afternoon

I was hanging board in a basement in Decatur last month and figured I'd grab some premixed compound from the big box store to speed things up. Thought it would save me the hassle of mixing my own hot mud. Turned out it was way too thin straight out the bucket and kept sagging on me, so I had to scrape it all off and start over with a fresh batch of 45 minute powder. Has anyone else had bad luck with those premixed buckets on wallboard joints?

3 comments

3 Comments

cora_west56d ago

Were you using the lightweight stuff or the regular premix? The lightweight buckets are junk for anything but topping coats, they just don't have enough body to grab onto a fresh joint. I made that mistake exactly once on a ceiling job and spent the whole next day fixing my mess. What brand was it? Some of those store brands are basically water with a little mud mixed in, you're better off just buying the 90 minute powder and mixing small batches.

mason.drew6d ago

Dude, I totally feel your pain on the lightweight mud. People sleep on how it shrinks way more than regular stuff too. @cora_west5 you're dead on about the grab problem, but nobody ever mentions how the lightweight compound creates air pockets if you don't mix it perfect. I've pulled off a ceiling patch that looked solid until I painted it and saw tiny bubbles everywhere. Plus the lightweight stuff flashes like crazy under primer, so you end up doing an extra coat anyway. Honestly I only use the powder now for anything that's not a final skim. Saves me from redoing work every time.

finley_smith6d ago

Switched to adding a splash of water and mixing the lightweight stuff way longer than you'd think, like 5 minutes of stirring, and it cut down the air pockets some. Still had to double coat the primer though, just like @cora_west5 said about the flashing. Now I keep a bucket of the premix for quick patches but use the setting-type powder for anything load bearing or that needs a solid grab.