I live in Michigan and only ever see the green lid. I just did some walls in my basement with setting prefill for gaps and then green lid for tape. And then two coats with the blue lid for top coats. Looks great and definitely learned how to do it from this channel thanks!
Hey buddy, long time follower here. Basically learned how to tape and finish drywall from you over the course of a few years. I am now a union taper living West of Toronto, you and a couple other guys in real life basically guided me through my self taught apprenticeship and I appreciate you for it. Now I'm taping-sand around 4500 sq ft every 6-7 days depending on bead and dry time solo. Just wanted to chime in and say thanks for what you do, I always look forward to your new videos. Here we do have a yellow label certainteed lite taping mud, not to be confused with the orange machine mud. I havn't seen a CGC equivalent here yet. I personally can smell the glue in green (CGC) or black (certainteed) box mud, the stuff stinks, it's harder to wash off tools and your hands when using the super taper (which I learned to use from you... ceiling shhlap). Like you said, the weight is noticeably heavier and the consistency is just different. Thanks for all the work you put in educating people.
Oh and I also wanted to say those green handle stainless richard knives are so fantastic, I own a 4 5 and 6" myself, and almost exclusively use them over my marshaltowns. I use the 8" marshaltown for wiping tape and a 12" when my hawk and trowel are on another site. Thanks for teaching me about hawk and trowel too, definitely saved my wrists on that one.
I've become addicted to your videos before starting a relatively simple drywall project with more complex projects planned. Your movie-star good looks, earnestness, and John Mulaney voice is no doubt contributing to your success lol. Mostly I like many others appreciate the mastery of craftsmanship. For example, I can watch bricklayers for seemingly an indefinite period of time. Much respect. Thanks.
I love watching your videos. Learned quite a bit over the years. I’ve been taping and finishing with USG45. The tape seems to hold up pretty well but never did a test like you did. I only use fast set bcuz I’m mostly doing patch & paint jobs so I can’t take the chance of the mud not drying the next day with the premixed muds
I have learned some much from ur channel over the last couple of years. You are hands down one of the best drywallers i have ever seen. The carpenter part still be leaving scratching my head 😅 I’m a carpenter and in the last 12 years I have had to install drywall in 3 or 4 occasions at max with the occasional side job ( in which ur videos came in handy) The Vancouver Drywaller. Much respect
I use all purpose for everything. I thin it for taping and final feathering, straight up for everything else. Sometimes I use the 45 for taping when I’m pressed for time. The thinning for taping I learned here and was a game changer.
I put wood glue in Easy Sand 45 because you said so and it works brilliantly. Thank you! (I am just a DIY home remodel junkie so I don't need production speed)
I’m in Maine and we have the blue lid lightweight mud but over time I’ve found that it seems to dent easier. I used to use it as the final coat but now I’m sticking with the green lid because it seems stronger.
Very nice! I'm new to DIY drywalling and was DEFINITELY wondering what the differences were, and should I be concerned about mostly just using the general purpose stuff. Sounds like for my small-ish DIY type work that general purposes is just what it says it is and is fine for most stuff. Just know the limitations and drawbacks, including the potential of e LOT of sanding. Especially with my amateur putty knife skills lol. Thanks for all your great videos. I've watched so many of them to give myself the knowledge and confidence to do this myself. Your logical explanations and tone are perfect.
I work at a USG joint compound facility in the rocky mountain region and have always wondered how much each of our different types of mud get used. we make All Purpose, Plus 3, Total, Topping, Topping lite, Taping Lite, Total Lite, Ultralightweight All Purpose, and Dust Control. In our area we make mostly cartons but some pails but back east they make primarily pails. We also ship all the different hot muds that are manufactured at a different facility.
You should do a more in depth video like this. I would be curious to see how well other tape and mud combos would compare. Like quickset and paper tape or fiba fuse, or confil compared to other quicksets.
Wow wish we had the taping mud type in the US. That example of leaving the mud on the drywall made sense. I have coated with the dark green all purpose just once in a while when that’s all I had and it was much more difficult
Yeah, idk why on earth we don't have a light-taping mud type in the US by now? That's weird. The only equivalent we seem to have is USG blue lid and that's it and I think that's only most of the US that has it available.🤦♂️
I would like to see you paint the lightweight taping mud properly with a PVA drywall primer for a vinyl drywall primer One coat then do two coats of regular paint. After all that do scratch testing and dings See if the lightweight taping mud will show marks easier than the all-purpose ... I'm going to think the paint's going to make the surface so hard that you will have very similar almost equal results making it where you don't need to use all purpose for anything unless you have a huge buildup that's necessary 🤷♂️
I've had good experience with CGC lite line (all purpose) for prefill, taping and finishing. Doesn't shrink, nice and light, sands nicely and has a nice finish.
From your lessons I have learned to thin all purpose mud to suit the task; really sloppy for my taping buddy and medium for most all else. Still learning from your vids, many thanks. senior from Toronto
I have used All purpose but water it down. Ive used it to tape joints and never had it crack. I was always told that light weight mud has less adhesive
Long time follower and been building confidence from you to joint and tape a new garden room I’ve built. (Learnt all skills from you tube 😂) Do you know what similar products are comparable to the products you mention in all you videos for here in the Uk? Many thanks.
Here in Minnesota: use green lid USG for that first taping, blue-lid USG Plus-3 for topping and sanding. If you are using the ProForm brand, then black-lid AP for taping, and Lite-Blue for topping and sanding. Both USG and ProForm are relatively equivalent, though I really like USG Plus-3 Lightweight. I saw a CertainTeed light green lid at Menards, I would guess that might be AP for sticky taping.
I’ve done a little bit of taping and floating but by no means a finisher. But just by looking at the light taping mud it looked creamier out of the container. Great info 👍. Great video
Everyone online says that USG green top has glue in it but if you look at it's ingredients, it doesn't have glue. It's just really hard setting, high shrinking premixed mud. USG Plus 3 has glue and is better taping mud. Plus 3 is better at everything than green lid except skim coating. Green top is great at skim coating.
Interesting! I tried skim coating with green as the first coat, blue for the subsequent, and did not really see any difference between that and using blue for all the coats.
I use All Purpose mud for everything, but especially for taping. I thin it out with water and add wood glue when using it for taping. The extra "stickiness" of the All Purpose helps with adhesion and I rarely get bubbles when using it properly. It also dries relatively quickly as long as you scrape off the excess properly and by leaving just enough mud under the tape to ensure adhesion. All purpose is NOT good to fill large gaps - it will never completely dry and will definitely shrink and crack. Use hot mud (20min or 45min) to fill gaps then use All Purpose to tape. Thin down the All Purpose for the 2nd coat and thin it even more for use on the final coat. Never fails me.
Here in Iowa at my local Menards, we have green lid and blue lid “lightweight Plus 3”. Says it “bonds like a taping compound and sands with the ease of a topping compound”. I’m gonna give that a go on my next drywall job.
I use a lightweight AP that is identical to plus 3. I will tape very small jobs with it. It will get the job done but I sleep better using stronger muds for taping.
Great video! I'm surprised you didn't compare the USG All Purpose Green to their All Purpose Lightweight Blue. I've been using it on a project with Vinyl on Gypsum boards (Mobile Home remodel) and found that it bonds well to the vinyl covered gypsum as long as it is first cleaned with TSP. Have you ever done any work with removing the slats on a mobile home to give it a regular drywall finish? It might be a great topic if you've not covered it in the past, though I've not seen anyone professional doing so yet. I've certainly learned a lot from you, not just drywall and am grateful for your sharing.
@Vancouver Carpenter - I only use 20min quick set lately and mix it differently depending upon the task. When I'm doing tape, I make pancake batter and when I'm layering passes, I make peanut butter. The viscosity of the mud is what I'm referring to. Am I doing it wrong? I get really good results. Thanks for all the awesome videos! I landed here (your channel) from those viral skim coat knives shorts. Someone called the "Contractor's Daughter" and she was using a knife system called "level5". Is this just another RUclips scam.? Your videos are very informative and smart.
Wipe it on in one direction. Wipe it off the opposite. First pass traps a bubble in one side. You have to push the mud the other direction to get it out.
Loved the demonstration of how the “Lite Taping” mud goes on smoother, which is a HUUUUUGE deal when you start trying to get the wall smooth. Spend a day sanding the “green” mud off a ceiling (after making newbie mistake #1 which is; using too much mud!), and you’ll NEVER make that mistake again. For that matter, I’d suggest starting with the ceiling. Your body will force you to learn how to drywall efficiently. But, I digress…. *Short of the viscosity of the two, I’m a little confused as to what should be used at what points. General drywall info says too use the green mud (albeit with water added to varying degrees to solve the mentioned moisture issues) for taping, given it dries harder, then using thinner mud when applying the 2nd/3rd layers.” Based on the bucket labels this is self-explanatory, it seems* Is that just typical bad internet info? Short of that, this channel, and Jeff’s Home Improvement channel, are damn-near all a DIY’er needs to accomplish 99% of their home improvement projects. I just built a 12X12 foot soundproofed drum room inside my garage, based on the info from these two channels exclusively. These two channels have single-handedly legitimized RUclips. OH! Don’t want to leave out “See Jane Drill” either. She’s got an exceptional channel.
A struggle I come into regularly in my area is matching Santa Fe/Skip trowel texture in patches, I can never get it to blend quite right. A video on that would be appreciated
Out east Rona/Lowes has boxed CertainTeed ProRoc Lite Taping Joint Compound, I think it's the same as your bucket, since both are yellow label. Home depot only has CGC though and no taping mud.
In my limited experience so far, I’ve found the plus 3 blue lid is great both for taping , joints and small patch repair. I’ve used all purpose for smaller patching and just seem to have to use more coats because it cracks and shrinks more
Yeah I was gonna say Plus 3, also made by USG, works well and I'm guessing it's similar to the taping compound in this video. Definitely much easier to sand.
This is the first video I’ve seen claiming lighter weight isn’t good for the final (3rd) coat. Here in Tennessee we have both USG All Purpose and Plus3. They aren’t always available boxed. This newbie will use 45-min quickset for some big gaps and prefill, and Plus 3 for the rest. The advantage of lighter weight mud would seem to help the DIYer who couldn’t even mud a room in one weekend if they wanted to do so. Waiting until next week is plenty good for successive coats.
Light weight all purpose and finish muds are better for coating. This AP heavy VS light taping not AP heavy VS AP light. You don’t finish with taping mud.
I turned a dining room into a bedroom at a rental I bought and used GP, and then Plus 3 after a guy told me it was just fine for taping. He was right. Took me more than a weekend, but this city where the rental is located has a bar with a really good happy hour, and that kind of hampered progress.😂
@@mhub3576I did buy AP after my comment. Might as well learn to use both, but I will now tape with AP. I have a large house to rehab and one of my investments is the TapeBuddy dispenser. Might as well skip one step and just apply mud and tape all at once.
You are an inspiring person. Thank you, brother. Kindly, I have a necessary question that I hope you can answer for me regarding decoration. What is the material that I can use in Canada to make fake cement for decoration and decoration in general? I want a material that is close to Venetian plaster. What do you advise me? Please help me.
Great video and great explanation of both muds. I have made the rookie mistake of mudding and taping my first big drywall job using the green all purpose and mesh tape. What mud do I use after the first coat that I applied, and, is there any other advice/recommendation for my massive screw up??
If the board wicking the moisture out of the mud too fast is what is trying to be controlled, to get a good adhesion, would it make since to lightly dampen the joints with a sponge just before applying taping mud?
I find that taping mud is stickier. Its super slick, shiny, smooth, slippery. You dont want to sand taping. Makes sense why one is called taping and the other is all purpose. But if they job is big enough and I need to buy multiple boxes of product, I like using taping mud on the tape and topping for the rest of the coats.
I've always thought all purpose was the best choice. This video has set me free from that heavy stuff. My current project is removing the popcorn ceiling and I've been using all-purpose to skim with ,but it is hard to work smooth and look flat. So what another choice?
@@vancouvercarpenter I'm talking about lightweight all purpose vs heavy or taping mud, since it's the only thing I can get my hands on and it's clearly not the same as the heavy all purpose you showed in this video. Sorry if that was confusing
But you said you had the taping myd much more loose, so to me that makes sense it should stick down better, bc the paper can get even mote saturated. Now if you made the AP mote wet would it have down the same thing?
Thanks. One thing that I thought my be a factor in what is popular in what regions is, the West coast of the US, typically has a lower humidity as opposed to the East coast that can be humid as hell in the summer. So, maybe the all purpose would stay workable longer and not be as problematic as it might be on the West Coast. What are your thoughts about this.
Plus 3 is a lighter weight AP mud like the green top. I've recently used it to do some patches for cracks, dings, and so forth, and also used it to do all my ceiling corner joints. It works incredibly well, but you really need to thin it for any kind of taping. That's pretty much all versions of AP mud though. I think all AP is packaged thicker so it can be substituted for some of the more specialty "pro" muds like topping, and taping. All you'd need to do is apply it straight for dings, and boo-boos, and thin it for tape, and tight finishing coats. What I wanna try is adding a bit of quickset to AP mud to see if the quickset makes it even stronger. If so it could increase the work time, and cut down on hot mud cost.
@@vancouvercarpenterBen, in your taping series you describe Plus 3 as what you have in this video: A lighter weight all purpose. I’ve seen Plus3 characterized similarly by other pros as well. What’s going on?
Director, can I use 90 to apply some thickness? Is it solid? Can I mix colors with it or on top of it? I want a material close to Venetian plaster. What do you advise me? Thank you for everything you provide.
I accidentally used lightweight finishing mud taping my drywall patches that are about 1’*1’ big. Did quite a lot of wood backing for the patches though. One patch on the ceiling and two on the wall. Do you think I should redo it with taping mud?
So, for those of us weekend homeowner hacks, taping mud might be the solution, since most of us are kind of slow when it comes to applying and removing mud 🙂
Could a guy use the all purpose mud for texturing walls? I have a property that has 1/4" wallboard and want to texture the walls instead of filling in 1000 nail holes from the past tenant.
Appreciate the comparison, thank you! I went through maybe 4 buckets/boxes on the last major job I had (maybe because it mighta been more? I honestly don't remember) and at that level I should have been looking into different types of mud instead of just going "all purpose light weight". One hopes I don't too soon dig into another job of that size, but any thoughts on the differences between All Purpose Light and Taping? I caught a little at the end, but not a APL v. Taping thought. PS: I did a bit of blob-type recording for the project via FB since seeing YT Mechanics videos educated me to expect a 2x extension of project duration if I tried to turn it into a channel (so I gave up any monetization and didn't convert when offered). FB doesn't do a great job to find things, but at least the hashtag is unique! #SirWilliamEdwardsMcGonnagalTheGreatAndEverlasting I learned a LOT from you (more than any other YT channel, at least on drywall!), so a sincere thank you. Be nice to chat in person someday.
I'd love to see how these compare to quick-set for taping (specifically USG Easy Sand). I did all my taping with quickset because I'm impatient, and I'm hoping I don't regret it several years down the line.
@@vancouvercarpenter A great reason to make a short video showing that and what types you use instead would probably be popular. Either way thanks for the content!
Ben, do us a favor and ramp up the complaints about the lack of taping mud in the northeast U.S. This so the distributors feel bad about not meeting market needs and start distributing it! 😉
@@vancouvercarpenter Don’t underestimate your influence! Chickanic’s comments about Husqvarna’s parts pricing led to them meeting with her and drastically changing their pricing. You could help us get the best products in our hands!
The Taping Compound is excellent for pre-filling, especially when "V" the butts., really bonds the joint together when shrinks inwards Where to find USG in Vancouver? I only have access to it's sister CGC . Ive wanted to test it also Great video, I'm tired of explaining to my US friends what yellow taping is, lol
Is it reasonable to use lightweights for taping (and maybe first coat), then a heavy for the final coat, to give it a thin layer of toughness? Too thick it'd crack, too thin and it wouldn't do much - is there a happy medium?
Ben, thank you again for all the educational videos. Question, when skimming the ceilings with bare drywall exposed (been scraped to paper), is it best to prime the ceilings first? If so, water- or oil-based primer?
You don’t usually need to. Try a test are to see what happens. I would probably use water based. If your ceiling can’t handle the application of a water based paint then there are issues that need to be fixed.
Mr Drywalliest Drywaller, if you were forced to use a paper+vinyl bead (No-Coat ultraflex 325) on the inside corner where the wall meets the ceiling, would you still opt for the lite taping compound? Or lite All Purpose? (Located in AB so we dont get the green lid all purpose)
The Vancouver Carpenter is in possession of the heaviest stickiest mud on the planet, the USG All-Purpose Mud, and he brought it up to Canada to compare to all the thousands of different lightweight muds up there
So how many types of mud do you use? 3? a cement based product to pre fill, then a lightweight taping compound, and then a topping compound to float out your joints, skim coat your walls, and do tech work and touch ups?
@@vancouvercarpenter So you would skim coat and float out your joints with all purpose light? good to know, thanks. I was not sure if you would still use it, after saying it wasn't that sandable, but I suppose the durability is too important to get a more sandable product for your final coats.
@@timmietimmins3780 no, in this video he's talking about heavy AP. kind of like how there's Bud Lite and Bud heavy, but the "heavy" isn't written on the can
It’s definitely my favorite for when I’ve accidentally kicked a hole in the ceiling and I don’t want to spend all weekend fixing it. Which I have never done, of course.
Hey man, I've learned pretty much everything about drywall from you. I'm in the Northwest U.S. We don't have the light weight taping mud but do have USG Plus 3 compound. Is there any big difference between those?
Hey Ben, I too am in the lower mainland. When I started there was no lite muds, that came along later. I was wondering if there is any heavy weight taping mud still available, and where do you currently get your heavy weight all purpose from?
Hi. The only place I have ever seen it is in Canadian Tire. They have slightly smaller pails of all purpose. Just try lifting it up to make sure. If it feels weirdly heavy it’s the real thing. Personally I would just use taping. The Canadian tire ones are overpriced anyway.
In previous videos, you've "thinned down" the All-Purpose Mud with water, prior to taping. Should I still be doing that before taping with the "Green Lid"??? I've been a subscriber for quite a while. . .
Honestly, your videos have taught me SOOOO much since I last did drywall work on the house that I built and live in. If I had know some of this info 20-years ago. . . I wouldn't have to be FIXING things. Your show is the best! @@vancouvercarpenter
I live in Michigan and only ever see the green lid. I just did some walls in my basement with setting prefill for gaps and then green lid for tape. And then two coats with the blue lid for top coats. Looks great and definitely learned how to do it from this channel thanks!
with the prefill, did you do that on every joint or only when there was a big enough gap?
@@johnnychaos3 1/8” or more
Hey buddy, long time follower here.
Basically learned how to tape and finish drywall from you over the course of a few years. I am now a union taper living West of Toronto, you and a couple other guys in real life basically guided me through my self taught apprenticeship and I appreciate you for it. Now I'm taping-sand around 4500 sq ft every 6-7 days depending on bead and dry time solo. Just wanted to chime in and say thanks for what you do, I always look forward to your new videos.
Here we do have a yellow label certainteed lite taping mud, not to be confused with the orange machine mud. I havn't seen a CGC equivalent here yet. I personally can smell the glue in green (CGC) or black (certainteed) box mud, the stuff stinks, it's harder to wash off tools and your hands when using the super taper (which I learned to use from you... ceiling shhlap). Like you said, the weight is noticeably heavier and the consistency is just different.
Thanks for all the work you put in educating people.
Oh and I also wanted to say those green handle stainless richard knives are so fantastic, I own a 4 5 and 6" myself, and almost exclusively use them over my marshaltowns. I use the 8" marshaltown for wiping tape and a 12" when my hawk and trowel are on another site. Thanks for teaching me about hawk and trowel too, definitely saved my wrists on that one.
Thank you!! and yes I agree. The heavy stuff has a unique smell. I kind of like it. I've never tried machine mud. We don't have it over here.
I've become addicted to your videos before starting a relatively simple drywall project with more complex projects planned. Your movie-star good looks, earnestness, and John Mulaney voice is no doubt contributing to your success lol. Mostly I like many others appreciate the mastery of craftsmanship. For example, I can watch bricklayers for seemingly an indefinite period of time. Much respect. Thanks.
Thanks!!!
I've used Hamilton "blue dot", heavy taping for 46 years! It's made for sticking stuff together, that's all!
I really appreciate the explanations about the different types of mud, it's very helpful!
Thank you Ben.. It is always so confusing for a novice & once in a while home owner doing their own taping! Keep Up The Good Work.
I love watching your videos. Learned quite a bit over the years.
I’ve been taping and finishing with USG45. The tape seems to hold up pretty well but never did a test like you did. I only use fast set bcuz I’m mostly doing patch & paint jobs so I can’t take the chance of the mud not drying the next day with the premixed muds
I love your content brother. I think you're the best resource on RUclips for everything drywall.
I have learned some much from ur channel over the last couple of years. You are hands down one of the best drywallers i have ever seen. The carpenter part still be leaving scratching my head 😅 I’m a carpenter and in the last 12 years I have had to install drywall in 3 or 4 occasions at max with the occasional side job ( in which ur videos came in handy)
The Vancouver Drywaller. Much respect
I use all purpose for everything. I thin it for taping and final feathering, straight up for everything else. Sometimes I use the 45 for taping when I’m pressed for time. The thinning for taping I learned here and was a game changer.
Sounds like a neat trick for sure. So, it gives you a happy medium between the heavy AP mud and the Light Taping mud? Sounds great!
Thanks! Appreciate your demeanor, content, and scientific/engineering approach! 😊
I put wood glue in Easy Sand 45 because you said so and it works brilliantly. Thank you! (I am just a DIY home remodel junkie so I don't need production speed)
I’m in Maine and we have the blue lid lightweight mud but over time I’ve found that it seems to dent easier. I used to use it as the final coat but now I’m sticking with the green lid because it seems stronger.
Very nice! I'm new to DIY drywalling and was DEFINITELY wondering what the differences were, and should I be concerned about mostly just using the general purpose stuff. Sounds like for my small-ish DIY type work that general purposes is just what it says it is and is fine for most stuff. Just know the limitations and drawbacks, including the potential of e LOT of sanding. Especially with my amateur putty knife skills lol. Thanks for all your great videos. I've watched so many of them to give myself the knowledge and confidence to do this myself. Your logical explanations and tone are perfect.
I work at a USG joint compound facility in the rocky mountain region and have always wondered how much each of our different types of mud get used. we make All Purpose, Plus 3, Total, Topping, Topping lite, Taping Lite, Total Lite, Ultralightweight All Purpose, and Dust Control. In our area we make mostly cartons but some pails but back east they make primarily pails. We also ship all the different hot muds that are manufactured at a different facility.
You should do a more in depth video like this. I would be curious to see how well other tape and mud combos would compare. Like quickset and paper tape or fiba fuse, or confil compared to other quicksets.
Out here in North Dakota I use durabond 45 for prefill, green ap to tape and first coat and final coat with pro form lite blue
Wow wish we had the taping mud type in the US. That example of leaving the mud on the drywall made sense. I have coated with the dark green all purpose just once in a while when that’s all I had and it was much more difficult
Yeah, idk why on earth we don't have a light-taping mud type in the US by now? That's weird. The only equivalent we seem to have is USG blue lid and that's it and I think that's only most of the US that has it available.🤦♂️
I would like to see you paint the lightweight taping mud properly with a PVA drywall primer for a vinyl drywall primer One coat then do two coats of regular paint.
After all that do scratch testing and dings See if the lightweight taping mud will show marks easier than the all-purpose
... I'm going to think the paint's going to make the surface so hard that you will have very similar almost equal results making it where you don't need to use all purpose for anything unless you have a huge buildup that's necessary 🤷♂️
Great job...haven't seen anyone else do this comparison
Ive never used green lid. Ive always used blue lightweight stuff. Its common here in detroit MI
I've had good experience with CGC lite line (all purpose) for prefill, taping and finishing. Doesn't shrink, nice and light, sands nicely and has a nice finish.
That’s the mud I use the most.
Rocking video! Luv the content and have brushed up my skills and learned some new! Thank you🙏🙏😎👍👍
Interesting how much more squishy outty the taping mud is
From your lessons I have learned to thin all purpose mud to suit the task; really sloppy for my taping buddy and medium for most all else. Still learning from your vids, many thanks. senior from Toronto
This is great to know….Im still learning.
We use EZ Sand durabond for first coats usually and finish with tinted yellow
I have used All purpose but water it down. Ive used it to tape joints and never had it crack. I was always told that light weight mud has less adhesive
Love this video comparing products!
I appreciate your videos. Interesting though, in your drywall for beginners video part 1. You choose to use the all purpose for taping. 🤔
Long time follower and been building confidence from you to joint and tape a new garden room I’ve built. (Learnt all skills from you tube 😂)
Do you know what similar products are comparable to the products you mention in all you videos for here in the Uk? Many thanks.
We have green top, red top, black top, purple and light blue. Way to many options. The light blue is kind of soft but finishes so easy
Here in Minnesota: use green lid USG for that first taping, blue-lid USG Plus-3 for topping and sanding. If you are using the ProForm brand, then black-lid AP for taping, and Lite-Blue for topping and sanding. Both USG and ProForm are relatively equivalent, though I really like USG Plus-3 Lightweight. I saw a CertainTeed light green lid at Menards, I would guess that might be AP for sticky taping.
Maybe. Out here green means topping. Funny how it’s different everywhere.
I’ve done a little bit of taping and floating but by no means a finisher. But just by looking at the light taping mud it looked creamier out of the container. Great info 👍. Great video
Everyone online says that USG green top has glue in it but if you look at it's ingredients, it doesn't have glue. It's just really hard setting, high shrinking premixed mud. USG Plus 3 has glue and is better taping mud. Plus 3 is better at everything than green lid except skim coating. Green top is great at skim coating.
Interesting! I tried skim coating with green as the first coat, blue for the subsequent, and did not really see any difference between that and using blue for all the coats.
I use All Purpose mud for everything, but especially for taping. I thin it out with water and add wood glue when using it for taping. The extra "stickiness" of the All Purpose helps with adhesion and I rarely get bubbles when using it properly. It also dries relatively quickly as long as you scrape off the excess properly and by leaving just enough mud under the tape to ensure adhesion. All purpose is NOT good to fill large gaps - it will never completely dry and will definitely shrink and crack. Use hot mud (20min or 45min) to fill gaps then use All Purpose to tape. Thin down the All Purpose for the 2nd coat and thin it even more for use on the final coat. Never fails me.
Here in Iowa at my local Menards, we have green lid and blue lid “lightweight Plus 3”. Says it “bonds like a taping compound and sands with the ease of a topping compound”. I’m gonna give that a go on my next drywall job.
Lies. Sure you can tape with it but it’s not as strong and the adhesion is not as good.
I use a lightweight AP that is identical to plus 3. I will tape very small jobs with it. It will get the job done but I sleep better using stronger muds for taping.
@@vancouvercarpenter thanks for the info!
Great review! I was wondering the actual difference in weight, say equal parts 1litre, unmixed straight out of package.
I always thin down the green lid stuff with water
Great video! I'm surprised you didn't compare the USG All Purpose Green to their All Purpose Lightweight Blue. I've been using it on a project with Vinyl on Gypsum boards (Mobile Home remodel) and found that it bonds well to the vinyl covered gypsum as long as it is first cleaned with TSP. Have you ever done any work with removing the slats on a mobile home to give it a regular drywall finish? It might be a great topic if you've not covered it in the past, though I've not seen anyone professional doing so yet. I've certainly learned a lot from you, not just drywall and am grateful for your sharing.
@Vancouver Carpenter - I only use 20min quick set lately and mix it differently depending upon the task. When I'm doing tape, I make pancake batter and when I'm layering passes, I make peanut butter. The viscosity of the mud is what I'm referring to. Am I doing it wrong? I get really good results. Thanks for all the awesome videos! I landed here (your channel) from those viral skim coat knives shorts. Someone called the "Contractor's Daughter" and she was using a knife system called "level5". Is this just another RUclips scam.? Your videos are very informative and smart.
(homeowner) mudd on the screw heads gives me fits. It tends to bubble, like trapped air under mudd in screw head.
Wipe it on in one direction. Wipe it off the opposite. First pass traps a bubble in one side. You have to push the mud the other direction to get it out.
@@vancouvercarpenter thank you. I will be trying it soon ✌️
Loved the demonstration of how the “Lite Taping” mud goes on smoother, which is a HUUUUUGE deal when you start trying to get the wall smooth. Spend a day sanding the “green” mud off a ceiling (after making newbie mistake #1 which is; using too much mud!), and you’ll NEVER make that mistake again. For that matter, I’d suggest starting with the ceiling. Your body will force you to learn how to drywall efficiently. But, I digress…. *Short of the viscosity of the two, I’m a little confused as to what should be used at what points. General drywall info says too use the green mud (albeit with water added to varying degrees to solve the mentioned moisture issues) for taping, given it dries harder, then using thinner mud when applying the 2nd/3rd layers.” Based on the bucket labels this is self-explanatory, it seems* Is that just typical bad internet info? Short of that, this channel, and Jeff’s Home Improvement channel, are damn-near all a DIY’er needs to accomplish 99% of their home improvement projects. I just built a 12X12 foot soundproofed drum room inside my garage, based on the info from these two channels exclusively. These two channels have single-handedly legitimized RUclips. OH! Don’t want to leave out “See Jane Drill” either. She’s got an exceptional channel.
A struggle I come into regularly in my area is matching Santa Fe/Skip trowel texture in patches, I can never get it to blend quite right. A video on that would be appreciated
I really don't know how. No one does it here.
Out east Rona/Lowes has boxed CertainTeed ProRoc Lite Taping Joint Compound, I think it's the same as your bucket, since both are yellow label. Home depot only has CGC though and no taping mud.
In my limited experience so far, I’ve found the plus 3 blue lid is great both for taping , joints and small patch repair. I’ve used all purpose for smaller patching and just seem to have to use more coats because it cracks and shrinks more
Yup. Not user friendly.
Yeah I was gonna say Plus 3, also made by USG, works well and I'm guessing it's similar to the taping compound in this video. Definitely much easier to sand.
This is the first video I’ve seen claiming lighter weight isn’t good for the final (3rd) coat.
Here in Tennessee we have both USG All Purpose and Plus3. They aren’t always available boxed.
This newbie will use 45-min quickset for some big gaps and prefill, and Plus 3 for the rest.
The advantage of lighter weight mud would seem to help the DIYer who couldn’t even mud a room in one weekend if they wanted to do so. Waiting until next week is plenty good for successive coats.
Light weight all purpose and finish muds are better for coating. This AP heavy VS light taping not AP heavy VS AP light. You don’t finish with taping mud.
I turned a dining room into a bedroom at a rental I bought and used GP, and then Plus 3 after a guy told me it was just fine for taping. He was right. Took me more than a weekend, but this city where the rental is located has a bar with a really good happy hour, and that kind of hampered progress.😂
@@mhub3576I did buy AP after my comment. Might as well learn to use both, but I will now tape with AP.
I have a large house to rehab and one of my investments is the TapeBuddy dispenser. Might as well skip one step and just apply mud and tape all at once.
You are an inspiring person. Thank you, brother. Kindly, I have a necessary question that I hope you can answer for me regarding decoration. What is the material that I can use in Canada to make fake cement for decoration and decoration in general? I want a material that is close to Venetian plaster. What do you advise me? Please help me.
Love the bond on that USG All purpose ❤❤❤
Great video and great explanation of both muds. I have made the rookie mistake of mudding and taping my first big drywall job using the green all purpose and mesh tape. What mud do I use after the first coat that I applied, and, is there any other advice/recommendation for my massive screw up??
What mud do you reccomend for after scraping pipcorn ceiling, sanding and then skim coating for a smooth finish? Say about 1800sq ft
Yay more Vancouver drywaller
If the board wicking the moisture out of the mud too fast is what is trying to be controlled, to get a good adhesion, would it make since to lightly dampen the joints with a sponge just before applying taping mud?
I find that taping mud is stickier. Its super slick, shiny, smooth, slippery. You dont want to sand taping. Makes sense why one is called taping and the other is all purpose.
But if they job is big enough and I need to buy multiple boxes of product, I like using taping mud on the tape and topping for the rest of the coats.
I've always thought all purpose was the best choice. This video has set me free from that heavy stuff. My current project is removing the popcorn ceiling and I've been using all-purpose to skim with ,but it is hard to work smooth and look flat. So what another choice?
Plus 3 for the win
For small repairs… any issues using a 60/90 for all aspects??
Pre-filling, tapping and top coat. Thanks
Lightweight all purpose is pretty much the only thing I can find here, so I'd love to see a comparaison between the heavy weight or taping mud.
Isn’t that exactly what this video was?
@@vancouvercarpenter I'm talking about lightweight all purpose vs heavy or taping mud, since it's the only thing I can get my hands on and it's clearly not the same as the heavy all purpose you showed in this video.
Sorry if that was confusing
@@vancouvercarpenter Oh we also have "machine mud" from USG, I wonder how that compares to the taping mud.
But you said you had the taping myd much more loose, so to me that makes sense it should stick down better, bc the paper can get even mote saturated. Now if you made the AP mote wet would it have down the same thing?
What would be the outcome if I tried to use AP to fill the grooves in 1970s paneling?
Thanks! On a small bathroom remodel, is it safe to use up the rest of my lite taping mud for my first coat on my joints and corner beads?
Thanks.
One thing that I thought my be a factor in what is popular in what regions is, the West coast of the US, typically has a lower humidity as opposed to the East coast that can be humid as hell in the summer. So, maybe the all purpose would stay workable longer and not be as problematic as it might be on the West Coast. What are your thoughts about this.
It's possible. But I'm pretty sure they sell lightweight all purpose everywhere.
Is there a difference between lightweight all purpose (Plus 3) and taping mud? Or would it be the same type of situation?
Yes. A pretty big difference. Much less adhesion in the plus 3. You can’t thin it down so much without losing a lot of strength and adhesion.
Plus 3 is a lighter weight AP mud like the green top. I've recently used it to do some patches for cracks, dings, and so forth, and also used it to do all my ceiling corner joints. It works incredibly well, but you really need to thin it for any kind of taping. That's pretty much all versions of AP mud though. I think all AP is packaged thicker so it can be substituted for some of the more specialty "pro" muds like topping, and taping.
All you'd need to do is apply it straight for dings, and boo-boos, and thin it for tape, and tight finishing coats. What I wanna try is adding a bit of quickset to AP mud to see if the quickset makes it even stronger. If so it could increase the work time, and cut down on hot mud cost.
@@vancouvercarpenterBen, in your taping series you describe Plus 3 as what you have in this video: A lighter weight all purpose. I’ve seen Plus3 characterized similarly by other pros as well. What’s going on?
Director, can I use 90 to apply some thickness? Is it solid? Can I mix colors with it or on top of it? I want a material close to Venetian plaster. What do you advise me? Thank you for everything you provide.
Coloured lids? Here (Australia)is just base coat and top coat or all purpose, seems simpler.
I accidentally used lightweight finishing mud taping my drywall patches that are about 1’*1’ big. Did quite a lot of wood backing for the patches though. One patch on the ceiling and two on the wall. Do you think I should redo it with taping mud?
Would you recommend watering down the AP mud to have a lighter consistency for taping?
Ben, another good vid.
So, for those of us weekend homeowner hacks, taping mud might be the solution, since most of us are kind of slow when it comes to applying and removing mud 🙂
Yup👍
Could a guy use the all purpose mud for texturing walls? I have a property that has 1/4" wallboard and want to texture the walls instead of filling in 1000 nail holes from the past tenant.
Yellow is always gold for taping
I know this video is about tape. What about skim coating over textured painted walls?
Cool video. I wonder why they don't sell light taping mud in the US
They do. Just not everywhere. Mud is a regional thing. Different everywhere.
Appreciate the comparison, thank you!
I went through maybe 4 buckets/boxes on the last major job I had (maybe because it mighta been more? I honestly don't remember) and at that level I should have been looking into different types of mud instead of just going "all purpose light weight". One hopes I don't too soon dig into another job of that size, but any thoughts on the differences between All Purpose Light and Taping? I caught a little at the end, but not a APL v. Taping thought.
PS: I did a bit of blob-type recording for the project via FB since seeing YT Mechanics videos educated me to expect a 2x extension of project duration if I tried to turn it into a channel (so I gave up any monetization and didn't convert when offered). FB doesn't do a great job to find things, but at least the hashtag is unique! #SirWilliamEdwardsMcGonnagalTheGreatAndEverlasting
I learned a LOT from you (more than any other YT channel, at least on drywall!), so a sincere thank you. Be nice to chat in person someday.
I'd love to see how these compare to quick-set for taping (specifically USG Easy Sand). I did all my taping with quickset because I'm impatient, and I'm hoping I don't regret it several years down the line.
Should be fine 👍
@@vancouvercarpenter
So why not always use quick set for taping?
This was great! How about the next step comparison - Lite All Purpose vs Lite Finish.
I never use finish/topping mud. Waaaaay too soft for my liking.
@@vancouvercarpenter A great reason to make a short video showing that and what types you use instead would probably be popular. Either way thanks for the content!
I've had trouble with light weight muds cracking if I need to put it on thick at all.
They do for sure. Anything thicker than 1/4" cracks a lot.
Ben, do us a favor and ramp up the complaints about the lack of taping mud in the northeast U.S. This so the distributors feel bad about not meeting market needs and start distributing it! 😉
If I could actually have an effect on that I would try.
@@vancouvercarpenter Don’t underestimate your influence! Chickanic’s comments about Husqvarna’s parts pricing led to them meeting with her and drastically changing their pricing. You could help us get the best products in our hands!
Dude I just thought about you earlier this morning. Havent heard from you in a while and it got me concerned! Glad you popped up 🙂
Have you ever tried the black lid AP from Pro-form? I wish I could obtain the light-taping mud in New England
I haven't. There is no pro-form in Canada.
The Taping Compound is excellent for pre-filling, especially when "V" the butts., really bonds the joint together when shrinks inwards
Where to find USG in Vancouver? I only have access to it's sister CGC . Ive wanted to test it also
Great video, I'm tired of explaining to my US friends what yellow taping is, lol
I bought it in Washington
Is it reasonable to use lightweights for taping (and maybe first coat), then a heavy for the final coat, to give it a thin layer of toughness? Too thick it'd crack, too thin and it wouldn't do much - is there a happy medium?
Not worth it. It will be like an eggshell. Easy to dent anyway.
Ben, thank you again for all the educational videos. Question, when skimming the ceilings with bare drywall exposed (been scraped to paper), is it best to prime the ceilings first? If so, water- or oil-based primer?
You don’t usually need to. Try a test are to see what happens. I would probably use water based. If your ceiling can’t handle the application of a water based paint then there are issues that need to be fixed.
Mr Drywalliest Drywaller, if you were forced to use a paper+vinyl bead (No-Coat ultraflex 325) on the inside corner where the wall meets the ceiling, would you still opt for the lite taping compound? Or lite All Purpose?
(Located in AB so we dont get the green lid all purpose)
Use taping to set the bead and all purpose lite to coat
The Vancouver Carpenter is in possession of the heaviest stickiest mud on the planet, the USG All-Purpose Mud, and he brought it up to Canada to compare to all the thousands of different lightweight muds up there
Here in Ontario we have CGC all purpose conventional weight with a BLUE lid…the containers have the same wording as your green lid…
I've got a urgent question, do you tape inside closets that have less then half inch of drywall on the doorframe?? Please!!!
In canada..
So how many types of mud do you use? 3? a cement based product to pre fill, then a lightweight taping compound, and then a topping compound to float out your joints, skim coat your walls, and do tech work and touch ups?
Concrete fill is plaster based. Kind of a misleading name. I use setting type muds of various set times, taping mud and all purpose light.
@@vancouvercarpenter So you would skim coat and float out your joints with all purpose light? good to know, thanks. I was not sure if you would still use it, after saying it wasn't that sandable, but I suppose the durability is too important to get a more sandable product for your final coats.
@@timmietimmins3780 no, in this video he's talking about heavy AP. kind of like how there's Bud Lite and Bud heavy, but the "heavy" isn't written on the can
I think all purpose is really more for smaller jobs, where you don't want to carry around three or four different types of compounds.
It’s definitely my favorite for when I’ve accidentally kicked a hole in the ceiling and I don’t want to spend all weekend fixing it. Which I have never done, of course.
If u doing a repair over painted drywall, do u need to add glue to the green lid all purpose so that it will stick??
It will stick
Hey man, I've learned pretty much everything about drywall from you. I'm in the Northwest U.S. We don't have the light weight taping mud but do have USG Plus 3 compound. Is there any big difference between those?
Yes. The taping has way more glue in it. The plus 3 is exactly the same mud I use for all my general coating and skimming
I wonder if adding white glue to the blue (or even the green, "ultralight") mud would approximate the taping mud?
It doesn’t. I’ve tried. It still dries out under the tape. There is something that keeps it slick in the taping mud. It’s special.
@@vancouvercarpenter Thanks, Ben. Saved me some wasted time.
Hey Ben, I too am in the lower mainland. When I started there was no lite muds, that came along later. I was wondering if there is any heavy weight taping mud still available, and where do you currently get your heavy weight all purpose from?
Hi. The only place I have ever seen it is in Canadian Tire. They have slightly smaller pails of all purpose. Just try lifting it up to make sure. If it feels weirdly heavy it’s the real thing. Personally I would just use taping. The Canadian tire ones are overpriced anyway.
Vancouver carpenter, drywaller, skateboarder, concreter. What will he do next? 💪🏽
Great vid as per usual 🇨🇦👍
What would you use for ceiling stomp texture?
I use Plus 3, watered-down and rolled on with roller then skim it with wide knife.
Can I thin out all purpose mud as to act like taping mud? CAN'T GET IN THE MIDWEST USA.
Yes. That’s what people need to do to use it in banjos and bazookas.
What's the US equivalent to the Canadian taping mud?
Depends where you are. If there is taping mud in your area it will be called taping mud. If not then go with a heavyweight all purpose
When possible, can you do a review of TNT Joint compound from the US?
Might be hard for me to get.
Is the light taping mud the same as as the USG PLUS-3 (blue lid)?
No. We have lite all purpose here that is exactly the same as plus 3. I use it all the time for finish coats.
Taping mud seams to be more like spackle?
🤔
In previous videos, you've "thinned down" the All-Purpose Mud with water, prior to taping. Should I still be doing that before taping with the "Green Lid"??? I've been a subscriber for quite a while. . .
Yes. It helps. Just enough to make it easy to work with.
Honestly, your videos have taught me SOOOO much since I last did drywall work on the house that I built and live in. If I had know some of this info 20-years ago. . . I wouldn't have to be FIXING things. Your show is the best! @@vancouvercarpenter