I need some tips for skim-coating a large area. So far, as DIY projects, I’ve done four rooms. I’m still working on the method.
In the past, I’ve used lite drywall mud with a 12″ trowel, but I’m wondering if there are better ways. For doing larger-than-usual patches in my home, I’ve tried two coats of Sheetrock 45, then coating that with a soupy slurry mix of 45. It flies off the knife and makes a royal mess, but it fills in all the pores and nicks, and it’s so watery that it forms a very weak surface that’s almost as easy to sand as regular mud.
I’ve heard of people applying sloppy mixes with a roller, but I’ve never tried that.
The reason being: sometime between now and spring, I’ll be helping some friends with some work on their 1.5 storey home. The loft currently has fake wood paneling and ceiling tiles over drywall, and they’d like to update it.
Normally I’d rather replace the drywall, but getting full sheets through their house and up the (poorly designed) staircase is a project on its own. Besides, the knee-walls are accessible from the backside, so improvements to insulation or electrical can be done any time.
Edited 11/19/2007 11:24 am ET by Biff_Loman
Edited 11/19/2007 11:25 am ET by Biff_Loman
Replies
there is a method called D-Mix that some have liked. you roll it on with a 3/4' lambskin roller.
do a search on D-Mix here.
I have not tried it but it sounds good.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
81890.3
Look for a pool plasterer trowel, it does not have square corners, it is rounded.
After each coat drys, do not sand, just use a square edge blade to scrape it smooth.
After drying, scraping, puddying, drying, scraping then you lightly sand.
You want to use a drywall darby: http://www.all-wall.com/acatalog/Darbies.php
Skimming large areas sucks.. Bad. But the darby will be your friend.
I'd try rolling on a loose mix--think thick pancake batter--of all-purpose JC (or Easy-sand 90) w/ a 1" nap roller (doesn't have to be lamb's wool; just use tape to get off all the fuzzies--and DON'T buy cheap a cheap pad). Then use the darby...D-Mix? Hey, if it works for you, let me know. I personally never saw the point.
There are 'magic trowels' available also(google them)--basically glorified rubber squeegees. Never tried 'em, but I might if I had a customer willing to pay me the huge fee I'd charge for floating out anything more than, say, a closet..
WRT magic trowels (they're actually knives) I have a couple that I bought a couple years ago. Hardly used, I'll let you have them for cheap ;- )
I use a pool trowel and hawk. You can move a lot of material this way. I think the one I use most is 14"? But you can get 'em bigger. Go to the concrete section of your store--or to a concrete supply store.
Pool trowels have rounded ends. Easy feathering. Light sanding quickly takes down the single line left between passes.
Hate sanding.
I usually use 90 minute hot mud to skim large areas. I mix it pretty loose--this is where the hawk works really well. A loose pile of mud will stay pretty well put on a hawk and you can get a lot of it on the trowel in one big, 'upside down' swipe!
I cannot imagine using a 12" or 14" taping knife to do the job.
More and more I use that 14" pool trowel for all seams and skimming.
I prefer the trowels and hawk to drywall knives too. FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
I use a full coffee cup to tint the mud brown.
Whas 'D-Mix' ?
Yeah, the hawk really gives you that sore shoulder like nothing else!
I'd love to be able to answer your question. Maybe in my next life.... FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
A better system than D-mix (and easier) is to use a high-build surfacer, like this one: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/pro/sherwin_williams_paint/sherwin_williams_paints/paint_primer/pdfs/SW_PrepRite_HighBuild_Primer.pdfYou can mix up to 3 parts joint compound with this paint and spray (or roll) it on. Then trowel it smooth. Or texture it. Maybe the magic trowel would be the ticket here. Next time I do have to skim something large, I'm going to use this method. Caveat: prolly need a larger sprayer than my Graco 395 to push that thick stuff out!
You might try a popcorn (stucco) hopper.
But is it cheaper than D mix? FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
All things considered, the answer is, yes.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
>>But is it cheaper than D mix?Well, since I, like you, don't know exactly what D-mix is, I can't say for certain how it compares...But IIRC, D-mix was predominantly a PVA primer w/ JC mixed in. Which is exactly what the high-build surfacer is...only sans the mystical coffee cups of POP.SO, yea, probably cheaper, "all things considered".
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=81890.3the mysterious cup of coffee is a 10 oz cup.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
Awwwwww......
Biff
Over the years I've been on jobs where the (usually) plaster is not perfect. Most times the repeated dips that often appear between the rock lath laying, sometimes long cracks or poorly floated transitions. On these I'll lay a flat bed with quickset (most often durabond) and then connect the dots-flattening out the waves. Then with redimix, do side by side coats with a wide trowel (this would be the skimcoat you might be talking about. I use the preceeding swipe to be the gauge for each continuing pass.
Now, if you are talking about "evening out" the taped areas to blend the raw board with the compound-then I would roll on a thinned mud coat and then draw my wide blade over it continuously, taking away the roll coat but leaving an ultra thin coating.
Best of luck.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Oh oh....I thing a new wave of D-mix gut splitters is coming....
I gotta go get my coffee.
FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
I was waiting for you to jump in.
Remind me again please, what size coffee cup should it be? Regular or decaf? Do you get a better finish if you use starbucks?
;>)
I don't know why but D Mix threads just tickle me like no other. I think I've read ten of them and never got much closer to the "real" recipe than when I first read about it. I did try it on a patch once but I didn't know how much Plaster of Paris to put in. Where's Dino when we need him? FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
D-mix? Yeah I'm waiting too.
Hey, while we're at it I got a great bridge I can sell you...
Goin' cheap!
Something I've done when skimming concrete is to apply a layer with a notched trowel and then come back and knock it down with a regular trowel or float. Helps to get an even coat.
Never tried it with drywall, though.
Maybe I am assuming too much, but I hope you are not planning on skimming the fake wood paneling?
No. I'm just assuming that they paneled over a some kind of mess, be it damaged walls or half-azzed patchwork. Like those people who think they're being smart by using drywall cutoffs.At least I can count on a grid pattern of nail holes over the whole thing. Repairing those alone could come close to covering the whole wall.
Edited 11/20/2007 12:13 am ET by Biff_Loman
Just a warning on what to expect under the paneling - I recently removed plywood paneling from eight walls and a wainscoated hallway, all of which had been glued with some really good adhesive as well as nailed. I did two stages of spot patching and then got professionals in to skim coat and texture everything.
You might also try Plaster-Weld before hand (a bonding agent that looks like pepto-bismol). I once did a 6,000 sf vaulted ceiling and first coated with plaster weld then a hot-mix, a sprinkle of plaster of paris in the joint compound. I have always used drywall knives, but a specific brand from Canada (Roberts I think, with a green and yellow handle). The blade is blue similar to spring metal, and is got much more flex than most knives. Easier on the shoulders and elbows than a Goldblatt or Marshalltown.
Richard trowels?
That's it. I would always bring a few back from Canada when visiting. I remember once airport security concerned about them in my carry on luggage, but they let me pass when I explained I wasn't likely to hijack the plane with them. This was pre 9-11 ofcourse.
get a magic trowel from sherwin williams or ebay. one guy rolls dmix on another uses the magic trowel.it works well for non pro drywallers.larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?