Great videos Dom as usual. Just throw a thin skim over all the bare drywall after tapped and screw holes filled. Two coats of primer. Game set and match. Next.
Thanks for this info! My mudded joints had a lot of air pockets and this method filled in everything great along with smoothing out anything I couldn't really see otherwise. I did it with two people though. My SO had to deal with the roller as I took the mud off. Finished a 23x13x8 room in two hours.
Thank you Dominic for posting, well worth the time to prep the walls properly.. I have on occasion done exactly that to have that look for the paint finish.
I simply sprayed RuCoat 10 mils thick with a .516 tip as recommended by the manufacturer, sanded, primed, and painted as usual. Its advisable to back roll if needed, but I didn't see the need. It worked great and it is fast as it can get. 👍
You can save time skim coating way past the width of joints before the final joint sanding. That way you don't ever sand directly on paper. Yeah, if gloss paint, not flat, is used, you have to make sure the whole surface area is uniform or it shows.
PVA primer will achieve basically the same goal. its easier to apply uniform than skimming and sanding, i always use PVA on new drywall and to blend repairs with existing drywall
This is most useful when repainting walls that have been around for a while. The skim coat can hide surface flaws that have accumulated over the years, making the surface look brand new.
How is "spraying" (a trip to the rental branch) a primer, back rolling, and sanding easier than this method? It should only take all of about five minutes to sand an entire bathroom on final stage 5 coat. I hardly doubt drywall mud is more expensive than a primer.
Thanks for the video, our 2 year old house is worth more than 1.1 M now in BC Canada, the print job was not really match with the price tag, was planing to reprinted myself or hire someone, before I do that just want to figure out what`s the proper way to do it.
Moon Pie imo, the skimming gives a mire uniform surface for the primer and paint, especially on very old and damaged drywall. I can show you walls that were patched and primed that you can see every patch. The patches have a much smoother texture than the rest of the wall was painted. That is why I am skimming a couple of walls now. That being said, I do prime thicker than the video shows! I like to do it thick enough to completely hide the drywall behind the mud. Not sure that is necessary, just something I do. I thought that mud was too thin to start with. I may be wrong.
I never do level 5. On occasion I will do level 4 when there is a lot of lighting, but the normal standard here on the east coast is tape, then block coat, then skim coat. After prime then point up where needed.
Thanks for the great vid, I am likely to do this on my ceiling but with 'Gyprock® Final Finish Topping Compound'. This should work fine right - as I am using the finishing after I complete the taping and coating? I am new at this but want the perfect end result!
I use a skim coat on all of my work, but I've never done this before. I mostly resurface old plaster walls and older textured drywall. Mostly uneven substrate. 2 top coats and the same on all new work (level 6?) to match it up. On a good day all I need to finish is a sanding sponge to straighten out a few blemishes.
I spray and back roll a flat primer. Then roll two coats. That's it! Some of you guys are talking about spray, back roll, sand, mud the entire wall, sand with a screen, and bless it with holy water. Geez guys, the way you were taught, isn't always the best way. Open your mind a little.
For 34 years as a professional Painter and Decorator, i bond my drywall with a PVA mix prior to applying paint. Lovely smooth and consistant finish, just my opinion.
Oh my Gosh! This legit changed the way I have looked at patching drywall by 1000 percent. I'm a home DIYer. I recently installed surround sound in my living room by opening the walls up with a flexible 4 foot drill bit and is g Ryobi Drywall patches. I've been stressing over the patched areas flat and uniform again before painting. I cannot thank you enough for making this video and completely changing my way forward! THANKS!
@@Askmediy - I'm glad I found your channel again. Keep up the good work! Your videos were very helpful to me years back (2012 - 2013) when I jumped out of accounting and into fixing homes for my mom. I had never did anything much in home repairs before. Was so glad to see the Internet became such a great tool. With people like you, a person can learn just about anything these days! I subscribed now, so won't have any trouble finding you again. Thanks.
Been doing drywall for long time. A crew I worked with sprayed the drywall with water then used squeegees to wipe it down. If you raise the nap on the drywall you can hand spounge it down. Painters dont do their job right for the most part. Yes good primer and sand. Most people dont know it but when you primer you only have so many hours to apply the paint so it bonds. Otherwise its a must sand before paint. You should sand the primer painters.
After the sheet rocks down in the first coat of plaster and tape is applied is it possible to go from level 2 to 5 using this method I’ve never seen plaster being rolled on the wall before I think it’s great it’s an excellent idea
There is a recent article in Fine Homebuilding that says another way to achieve a Level 5 finish is to spray the walls with a primer/surfacer instead of the skim coating.
Jed Morton the skim coating you do at level 4 then to achieve a level 5 you either skim again or do the surfacing with the spray method which you do have to spray couple of times. either way works
Askmediy: You have THE best drywalling videos. Retired Air Force here hanging out at Lowe's for something to do. Doing drywall at my house (we have a total fixer upper) makes me go mental, but your videos help me get it all sorted out. Wish I was at the pro skill level, I think I would love it then. I'll be doing this on one of our bathrooms since we over-sanded some of the paper. I think this will solve the issue.
that's interesting. I've had the privilege to work with 5 different drywall company's . they had been in business for 40+ years. myself have been in the business for 15 years. I myself turn over a flawless job with what you call a level 3. the compounds and products used specifically say minimal to no sanding required. the porous texture of the drywall board itself has the same feel as unsanded sheetrock. if it's skimmed right. yeah, level 3.
Thanks for the information, it's great! Also I want to thank you for using high quality audio on your video. So many have very poor quality sound. Thanks.
Holy crap I did drywall taping and finishing for 24 years and finally wised up and became an electrician...I hope your getting paid alot of money for that finish..California we would just put on a light hand texture...but. To each their own...
For the love of god... Has no one ever used a New construction primer. Spray a nice coat on, back roll, then sand between with screens between primer and paint. This will 100% get rid of texture difference...
+sam Construction primer is just the paint you first apply to seal new drywall. If you do not seal the drywall the latex (or oil) paint you put on can peel off. If you want to "skip" the primer, you can buy a paint with the primer in it. This will save you painting time. I have had very good success with Bher Paint and Primer in One. Just remember to sand between first and second coat to remove any drywall mud dust which can give you a rough texture. It is definitely worth the time and effort.
all the regular paint retailers i know of sell "new drywall" primer. it makes a huge difference in final coat adhesion and evenness. i just did my bathroom with cheap(ish) paint. started with a generous coat of new drywall primer, then regular primer, then finish colour. putting a 2-in-1 over the drywall primer would probably work very well for less work. i know benjamin moore and CIL both make good quality 2-in-1 paint.
We tried the roller method as suggested. The compound we used was USG General Purpose and thinned a bit more than was shown in the video. The compound dried some by the time we got the compound rolled on and ready to smooth with a trowel. When we started to trowel the compound it began gumming up and lumping together. The finish was horrible so it had to be completely sanded off. We then applied compound in sections using a trowel and smoothed it immediately. Took way longer but the finish was perfect. What did we do wrong?
I've worked on some of the biggest jobs you can work on and we almost never need to skim coat if you paint correctly you will not get any flashing whether you skim coat or not
Wow, I guess that is one option/technique. Across the water in The Netherlands, we plaster or finish the wall with Knauf MP75 gypsum, either spray or by hand, and go through a process of polishing and smoothing as it drys. Minimal dust and no sanding required. It's so smooth and straight you can literally see yourself in the wall and MP75 is really hard wearing plaster suitable for commercial buildings or homes. Now at least I understand what a North American guy, living in Amsterdam at the time, was trying to explain to me how he plastered a wall, sanded it smooth and had dust everywhere :)
ok now for a level 10 finish base coat your join as per normal then top the entire wall. for those who are well experienced using topping plaster won't find it that hard to do. again it's level 10finish.. Michael as for Top Class Ceilings..
What's the level 5 compound you use. Can this technique be used in corner beads. Also it would have been good demonstration if u show wall painted to c difference
what you said with commercial places with high ceilings, shadows and lights is when you need to up it to level 5. I did the best level 4 job on it and the lights made it look horrible! I didn't know to use the roller and ended up doing 6 coats of skim in lit up areas!
Good Video Dom ..The Principal Issue of Skimming is covered Sealing the surface texture. I use my wide trowel for skimming walls. Yes commercial and residential projects that present an abundant of lighting will show flaws especially on fresh drywall which tends to absorb primer paint differently in various rooms effected by temperature and lighting. I agree this skimming process is a great insurance for sealing the drywall surface supported by a good primer sealer which is a key factor in improving or achieving a texture smooth finish. Thanks
no offence but any other professionals ever hear of this? never heard of it. proper finish techniques, priming, sanding of primer gives you smooth walls
I personally would never use this technique unless I was laying down a large amount of mesh tape to repair brittle laft construction! A coat of primer would take care of the difference in texture from clean sheetrock 2 speckled joins!
Thank you for your videos! I have a wall that is textured, I want one section 5 x 10 smoothed out from floor to ceiling and paint hi-gloss. Is it going to be hard to have the section with clean lines without it being bumpy from texture to smooth?
Must use more mud and float the section you want smooth. The best finish will come from floating the entire wall with minimum 2 coats and then sand to smooth. if you want half of the wall textured, then mask and retexture after floating. This will give a better transition from smooth to texture.
I worked in the Drywall trade for quite a few years and never knew of an architect to spec this. The best tape job will show joints depending on the lighting. The trick is good tape job, quality primer and FLAT paint. Any type of gloss paint will reflect light off the sheetrock paper differently than off the compound.
Wow that's slick. I noticed that thing on the bright glossy walls and was doing the regular mud by hand and then sanding the entire wall in order to get that consistency where you can't tell the joints at all.
Level 5 has nothing to do with how many coats are used or done. It is simply texture equalization of the surface. If you prime then sand your walls it will do the same job given the quality of primer used.
You're silly dude. That's way too many steps. A professional drywaller can do the whole thing mudding and Joint finish top coating all in one swoop not needing any sanding done when finished
all American tutorials teach us how to paint gypsum plasterboard walls but none about real concrete walls!!! can you help me in this way or do you Americans have only cardboard buildings?
Level 5....what a joke, it's drywall. Cheap drywall. Trying to make a common man's product sound upscale. Totally not necessary and defiets the purpose of drywall altogether. A waste of time and money. If you want an expensive wall...do like the old mansions and put up some nice mahogany with tons of trim. Nice video though on how to give the architect and building commission what they want...enhance union labor. Because that's the root of this unnecessary step. Trying to justify it by that once in a blue moon mysterious light is a crock.
Good commercial guys around here will do this in high end tenant improvements but they'll put the final coat on with an airless paint sprayer. Works great.
I used this method over some patches and it works perfect to blend it all in. I just use a paper plate and some mud with a dab of dishsoap and some water to make it very light weight before I roll it on with a small roller.
Very helpful video, first time prepping to skim coat some walls. So... the layer of mud can be really that thin? Thin enough that you can almost see through it?
I have been doing home remodeling for 15 years and never knew about this technique. I can understand how the added labor would result in a super smooth finish. Using a 3/8 or 1/2 inch roller pad using a drywall pva primer and two top coats I have never had any issues with uneven textures. Thanks for the vid
+Ozzstar Under certain lighting conditions, you can see where the mud was applied over the joints vs the field area of the wallboard because the underlying textures are different (paper vs mud). A coat of primer would not change the texture.
Lev5 is more than just smooth, it is flat. Taped joints aren't flat. And what you just did would not flatten out the walls. Paint that wall with a dark glossy finish and it will show all its flaws......
I am a care home owner in Ireland, on our last new build we used LED lighting, that bright light shows up all the shadows that you talked about on the dry wall.. it looks wild bad..
Plaster is harder for a DIYer or really anyone not skilled in plastering to do, I love plaster but it's hard. Plaster's biggest issue is you need to do it all in one shot. You have an hour or so to get it on the wall flat and perfect, and you can't sand it to fix mistakes. Especially if you're doing a whole big room or multiple rooms, it's really hard to do yourself. Whereas drywall can be lazy work the way most people do it, you do your passes over the joints, wait a day, (you can use hot mud, a sort of hybrid plaster and drywall compound, and cut the time down, but it still needs to dry...) wait another day for the next pass, then another day for sanding. Plaster's gotta be done in one hard workday, at least the finish coat. So a skim coated wall takes less overall skill to do. Just I think drywall finishing is really bad from a health perspective and for leaving a clean workplace, plaster has no sanding dust. This said, I think plaster is overall way better except it is harder. Also it dries harder, too, more resistant to small bumps and that sort of thing. In USA the reason drywall joint finishing became king was partially from the need of a lot of houses during the Baby Boom era, but I think mainly it was unions and wages. Plasterers were skilled union workers that generally got paid a lot, and the skill took a long time to learn. Drywall you could get random people (lots of times yes, illegal immigrants) and basically assembly line the process. Drywall as well also usually is a cash unlicensed business in USA, which cut prices too.
GREAT video!!! I never knew about this step. I have that same brand 5 gallon bucket with a blue lid, mine is much thicker than that. Should it be thinned to do mudding? Thank you, you're a super great teacher!! I am going to surprise my husband and have all this done next time he looks in my closet...I am hoping to have it completed!!! He'll think I hired someone to do it!! : D yeah...wish me luck on the recess lights...the only part of doing this that is disturbing is working with wiring...I can do it though. Luckily the panel is less than 30' away and that's going from the panel box, up inside the wall, across the ceiling using PVC to fish it, one light, then the other light, and back down to the switches for the two lights. I sure hope I find a video on recessed lights!!! Nevermind on the question. Leave it the same to do mudding.
+askmediy I reckon you look a bit like a younger version of Yossi Dina from the TV Show "Beverley Hills Pawn." This is intended as a compliment of course.
I worked in commercial construction for 35 years and never heard of a Level 5 wall. Maybe this method looks good but it's totally unnecessary if your finisher is worth a damn. It adds about a thousand percent to the labor. The problem is builders too often let the finishers get away with cutting too many corners and when the wall is painted, the short cuts come to life. I've seen it a lot. Good finisher = good walls.
I’ve been a drywall finisher for 38 years this is a good process to do for an apprentice first off I never use the sanding pole we call that an idiot stick if I’m doing this smooth finish I use sponge on all my joints and lap marks second of all I covered the entire wall with 1/8 of mod with my 18 inch knife this way I can lay off very smooth with you let marks I come back the next day to take a small sanding block fine finish and take out any of the little thick laps but the rest of them are use the sponge on just the swirl in the walls come out
This just might solve my problem. I just scrapes off popcorn finish from my br ceiling but it's not 100% consistent now. I plan on doing a stencil design which will require me to use tape on the ceiling (to hold the stencil up). 24 hours after the popcorn has been removed the ceiling is a bit flakey, meaning little bits and piecing will come off when I primed it earlier. I was thinking of a way to get it back nice and solid and also been out the inconsistencies so when I apply the stencil bits and pieces won't be stuck to the tape. I was thinking using my hand sander with 220 grit then I saw this video. what yah think? just sand, prime then paint or apply joint compound before those steps?
The smart way to achieve what you want with a LOT LESS labor is to use drywall primer. Skim coating is for people that like to work too hard and achieve less. If you want your drywall to look like plaster do the best finish you can and then get a reflector light and shine it down the wall. That will show you every flaw that is there. Fix the worst ones now with a small sanding sponge by sanding lightly. Pay special attention to the middle of the wall and anywhere a window will put light down the wall later. Brush down the finished wall with a soft brush or broom, even better wipe it down with a damp cloth. Buy some drywall primer hopefully with some clay content, NOT flat paint and use a roller with a 3/8 nap. The nap of the 3/8 roller will impart a slight texture effect that will hide the smooth mud seams from the texture of the paper. Shine a light on the wall while you are painting to make sure you don’t leave roller lines on the wall, use a light touch with the roller if you see lines. No need to put the primer on too heavy, let it soak in and dry. Paint with two coats of quality paint and your wall will look like plaster. One coat of paint will suit most people.
