TIL most people are still using the wrong mud for the first coat.

I was helping a friend fix a patch job in his basement, and he had used all-purpose for everything. The first coat needs to be a hot mud, like a 20-minute set, or you're just waiting forever for it to dry. I switched him to a bag of Durabond 90, and we were ready to tape in under an hour. Why are so many guys still making the first day take all day?

3 comments

3 Comments

bethcarr2mo ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? I get that hot mud dries faster, but all-purpose works fine if you plan your day right. Maybe @iris_mason88 is right and it's just old habits, but those habits got the job done for years. For a small patch, is saving an hour worth the stress of mixing a fast setting mud that might go hard on you? Sometimes slower is just easier to handle.

iris_mason882mo ago

I mean, is it just a habit thing from when all-purpose was the only thing at the hardware store? I still see guys grab the big bucket because it's familiar, even though the setting-type stuff is right there on the shelf. They don't realize how much time they're losing waiting on that first coat to dry before they can even think about tape. Maybe they had one bad experience with hot mud setting up too fast and just swore it off.

michael5192d ago

Bet on that, @bethcarr. If you're still using all-purpose on a small patch you're wasting half your afternoon waiting around when you could be done and onto the next job. Hot mud's not scary if you just mix a small batch and toss the bucket when it starts to thicken, real pros do it all the time.