Drywall surface tears … brown in the field of white
Is it really necessary to tape and mud over surface tear-offs on drywall? I’ve got a big mudding/taping job that I’m trying to line someone up to do for me after having hung all of the rock and I’m beginning to hear that every tear in the drywall surface needs taping over and mudding. Isn’t there some kind of thick primer or something that would do just as well and save LOTS of time/money?
thanks –
Aaron
Replies
Picture?
Can you show us an example of what you've got?
In most cases-mud yes, tape no.
Sheetrock finishing
is one of those things the more you do the better you become. Repairs are another realm altogether. In the case of torn paper on the field of the board, the first thing you'll need to do is get all the little 'dangles' of paper either cut or peeled off the dw so it won't fight you when you're mudding. If it's a radical tear that runs deep, yes, you might need to tape it. Generally I'll mix up some hot mud to fill and skim them out and forgo the tape except on joints. Is it going to be textured or will it be smooth finished? Texture gives you just a little more wiggle room than smooth as far as how good your prep work has to be. You'll learn this the more you do it as well. Once you've got it where you 'think' it's ready for paint, prime it with a good pva primer then go around the job with a light (held at an oblique angle to the area you're looking at) and check everything. Use a pencil to circle spots that need more fill or sanding. Sanding after you've primed is a royal pia so your first round should be as good as possible to avoid this little bit of fun.
From the sound of this post and others you've posted, you're early on in your learning curve. Until you get more proficient at the hands on part of sheetrock, you might consider subbing out the work you arrange both for your sake and your clients. Watch the pros working, ask them questions, and pay particular attention to technique. Learning spanish would also help immensely...
I'll vote with Calvin - generally mud only. Tape + mud only if the paper is torn off down to the core.... which is rare.
Jim
One thing I like to do is hit the torn paper with a shelac primer to "consolidate" it and reduce the fuzz. After priming it can be lightly scraped or sanded to remove more of the fuzz near the edges.
That's good info there!
I always have a can of the spray BIN or Kilz banging around in the truck - "hardening" the fuzz would make life easier. And with it's drying time, if you had more than 6 spots to do, you could probably spray all 6 and immediately go back to #1 to sand.
Jim
"One thing I like to do is
"One thing I like to do is hit the torn paper with a shelac primer to "consolidate" it and reduce the fuzz. After priming it can be lightly scraped or sanded to remove more of the fuzz near the edges."
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Are you saying that this is a way to avoid having to go through the 'mudding' process?
That you shelac the tear and then scrape and sand it and that's it???
No, I'm saying that the primer helps control the "fuzz", and makes some of the fuzz easier to remove, so that it causes less interference with the subsequent mudding. It seems like every time is a bit different (there's probably that much variation in the composition of the paper), but sometimes it works to scape the (primed) area with a razor scraper, sometimes it works to sand it lightly, sometimes just a drywall knife works well for scraping. The basic idea is to glue down most of the fuzz and make that that won't stay glued down stiff enough that it can be removed easily.