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Can you tape with all purpose and then apply plus 3 after it dries? I have a situation where I have to skimcoat my bathroom due to someone applying the wrong paint and or not priming it before applying the specific paint. I want to use something easy like the +3 but I want to make sure that the tape sticks good.
I have recently retired but I hung drywall and finished for 40 years. We used to put a couple of capfuls of Joy dish detergent in a 5 gallon bucket of mud with a 16 oz bottle of clean water. Makes the mud easier to pull and finish slick as glass!
Recently started muddin'. I never used the all purpose pre mix but i have tried the ultra lightweight. i struggled with it a few times and decided to try powder quick set (45), and just mixed my own. I quickly got better. Mixing my own mud, to different consistencies, based on different applications. Working with powder really helped me understand the materials i was working with. im sure quickset isnt the "do all" that i use it for however, doing so helped me form the foundation of a new skill. Which i find highly valuable. I really appreciate tradesman that are willing to share there knowledge and skill. To you sir, 10 years good luck.
Finally, a video that actually explains the whys and why nots, pros and cons, dos and don’ts. What really makes me mad is I’ve watched your videos before. Your content is always very informative. I’m a handyman by trade and have pretty good skills in many areas. But not fast or efficient as any specific tradesman in their area. I completely forgot about your channel. However, I’m not about to make that mistake again. As soon as I post this, I’m subscribing! Thank you for your shared knowledge. It’s a little late for the project I just finished, (a foyer plaster ceiling tear out with drywall replacement), but I have my house gutted to studs and will be eventually putting drywall back up. For the foyer project, I used Plus 3 for everything from taping to topping. And it came out beautiful. The client loved it. Surprisingly, to even myself, I had perfect tape adhesion. That’s the first time ever that I didn’t have to cut out and edge of tape and resmooth. When I go to do my walls, I’ll try the All-purpose for taping and see if I can make it even better.
I pre-fill 1st with 5min.or 20min. hot mud. Then I use All Purpose for my semes, inside corners, and outside corners and texture ceilings. Then I use Plus-3 mud for coating my 3rd, and 4th coating of everything else. Sometime a 5th coating. Yes it sands up really nice
Adding wood glue to plus 3 for taping is probably the best tip I have ever gotten. I am just a diy type and now I can just keep one type of mud around and get the rest of my renovation projects done. Thanks!
I've found that plus 3 works good on painted surfaces. It Virtually eliminates bubbles from a reaction with the paint. There's several ways to deal with that issue. You can sand the painted surface before applying mud, this helps. You can also seal the old paint out with a good primer before applying mud, this also helps. Using AP you can put it on, wipe it off tight and reapply the mud which eliminates >90% of this reaction. With plus 3 you can apply it normally and it will still have a reaction, but not as severe as with AP applied without the extra step.
Yes, that is common problem with most joint compounds.And your correct on the using a sealer to stop that issue. I was doing a big remodel for the last company I worked for back in the 90's. I had to putty coat over a huge kitchen ceiling that had numerous patches. This was in a 7,000 sq. ft. custom home in one of the high end country clubs around here. At the time, the us guys that work for that company were having a war with the foreman on the brand of compound we were using. He liked Hamilton's (now Wespack) we wanted USG. So here i was, floating this ceiling with Hamilton's "Red DOT" A.P. What a joke. I was bubbling so bad, you could hear the bubbles pop! Just like Rice Krispies. After that, I went to the owner of the company and he told his dufus foreman to get us what we wanted. We had an issue on another country club that was building 50 condos on a golf course... a nice production job. They were tough units to work on 11 foot tall ceilings through out, 9"-10' everything else, high windows, skylights lots and lots and lots of corner bead and ell metal trim. They paid great, so I made decent money. Tough work. I would string tape with my bazooka, on stilts with a Ames bazooka extension on it. Crazy stuff. I even modified a box handle to make it 8' long to box those tall joints. Our foreman got a bug up his butt saying that the Plus 3 we were using was causing a reaction with the texture. When, in reality, the problem was Plus 3 doesn't have tint in it usually. So some clown that was working around us was opening up his skim boxes to "bury the tape" causing the joints to crown. So we had to start using Hamilton's Soft Top topping mud to finish over everything for a final coat. So it wouldn't "burn" through the texture. I had a partner at the time working with me... I normally did stuff by myself. We found out pushing that stupid Soft Top through any of the tools was a joke. It drug so bad I thought we were all going to get hernias! The Plus 3 pushes through the tools so easy there's no comparison. We ended up using "sneekely" the Plus 3 tinting it to match the Soft Top. And no one figured out what we were doing. LoL!
i've been finishing drywall for 20+ years and through the years i've tried many products. i personally don't care for any of the USG products. especially the lightweight stuff. yes it sands easy but it also leaves scratches from sanding. i've been using pro form for the past ten years and love the stuff. their black lid bucket mud is a great all around mud and their fast setting muds are far superior to USG's.
I agree, the green is great for the first 2-3 coats for the adhesion strength. We generally make sure we mud so well that we don't need to sand in-between layers. We do three layers of green, use the power sander then two layers of blue with a wide yet light skim coat.
I'm ready to skim coat and it's back to the big box to get a different kind of mud. I'm afraid to start because if you don't start, you haven't failed, but I've got to finish this. I used the green joint compound on the ceiling the other day, my arm got so exhausted it was shaking and I had to stop for the day.
Home DIYer but come from a trades family and was doing framing and slate roofs by Jr. High (43 now). Personally I use Durabond 45 for holes/patches, taping ect. Easy Sand 90min with 10 to 1 Water/PVA as the liquid for mud framing & skimcoating. Regular Mixed Easysand 90 for 2nd coat then do 3rd/final coat with Plus3 before sanding, prime and paint. I don't mind the harder to sand but then again I only do the occasional remodel help in exchange for beer. If I did it every day I am sure I would feel differently. I might be a little over concerned about durability and adhesion. If you feel that is wrong please let me know, always looking for better options.
Thanks so much for this video… I do a lot of drywall work for a contractor, but I never knew… Took the time… To figure out the differences between the mud. As for your sore shoulder, or any sore muscle, that’s typical of a person who has used the same repetitive motion for decades. It’s muscle memory, what the doctors renamed carpal tunnel. If you want to loosen up your shoulder and get rid of the pain, tight muscles, go to a deep tissue massage therapist… Or get your wife, or girlfriend, or anyone, to put their thumb into your shoulder muscles to find out which ones are painful. Pain equals too tight! If you watch TV and see someone getting strangled, you’ll notice they go limp after a while. So do your muscles! A lack of blood will cause your muscles to relax after 45 seconds. Someone using their thumb on a tight muscle will actually feel it roll out from underneath their thumb. Your brain will try to numb the pain After 15 seconds. The reason I know this is because I was a medically retired railroad engineer with a bad back and partial carpal tunnel in my right arm caused by “nailing” in a new floor by hand and hammer. My back took 15 years of research testing, and trying different ways to fix it naturally because the doctors couldn’t guarantee surgery. For my back hamstrings and in between, I use softballs and baseballs! It took me a couple of months of daily and nightly treating myself before I was able to return to a nearly normal lifestyle with my back.
Try Turmeric for sore joints and shoulders, I have bad shoulders that I believe is torn rotator cuffs, several years back it got so bad I couldn't hold my right hand up over my head, my mother told me she read where Turmeric helps with it so I got some capsules of it and gave it a try, 3 capsules in the morning and 3 in the evening and two weeks later I couldn't believe the difference it made in my shoulders. In no way shape or form am I telling you it's a cure, but what a difference it made, now I can do things like sand drywall on a ceiling where before something like that was entirely out of the question, I can still "feel" my shoulders if you get what I mean but now they're well with in the limits of being "useable" where before my right shoulder I would always describe to people as being "junk". Hope if you try it that it helps you, it certainly did turn my life around concerning my shoulders.
All of us who've been in the construction/labor trades for years know or should be quite aware with pain & injuries that come along with it? Even when always practicing safety first on the job, Sh!t Happens! However, don't get it twisted, this isn't an insult or dismissing a helping hand to anothers insight to fix the pain or injury. Yet, as a retired union steward in commercial roads & buildings, I read & understand your solutions were said with cation to answers of the problem that helped you personally overcome some of the pain. Still, practicing in a work safe environment doesn't stop when clocking out on your F/T job, it's a life job! The problem could be easily fixed with heat & ice, aspirin, Turmeric, or a shot & a beer to reduce the pain. Although, shoulder injury & pain risk factors could also be caused by Cartilage tear, Rotator cuff tear, Frozen shoulder, Impingement, Bursitis, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Tendinitis, Bone spurs. Also, if your shoulder hurts it's 1 of the related signs especially the older we get in Heart attacks. Thoughts for concern are commendable, yet sometimes possibly unsafe if injury is taken lightly, when the majority of us in the labor force have this tough guy & girl mindset, to either ignore it, work it out exercising with more work, an aspirin or whatever. Just saying... there's reasons we do what we do, & reason for doctors, injuries aren't always the same common cause in everybody, that's all. I say this from first hand experience with fellow workers who ignored or took the word of his buddy at the lunch table as the answer, which related to far worse consequences. So, be safe & responsible!
I've been doing this since 1984 and you are spot on with your advice. All purpose green to apply the tape , and plus 3 to coat. I have used topping mud in the past, but only used it for texturing. I've found that the average do it yourselfer will get more blisters by using plus 3 to apply the tape as it takes a light touch to not wipe out too much mud from behind the tape although the wood glue would help cure that problem I'm sure
Will the lightweight wirh wood glue work as well? I am about to do a full tear down to studs and going to try my hand at doing the drywall. Kind of would prefer just one product.
I am not a professional, but I have used both products. I did hear from professionals that if you have steel corner beads, to use the USG All Purpose Green bucket (if u want pre-mixed) and not use the USG Plus 3 Blue bucket. You are right though about adding a little wood glue to the USG Plus 3 Blue bucket which will make taping better. But not sure how the USG Plus 3 Blue bucket would be for steel corner beads.
Thanks, Guy! Finishing a recording room project. 1st time DIY-er on nearly all aspects as it’s nearly impossible to get professionals locally to give up $$$ jobs just to help with my little $ job! Used the Heavy All Purpose mud for my first 2 coats, corner beads, and tape joints. Only tripped onto the Plus 3 because it was the right size and the local box was out of H-AP. Your info has affirmed my accidental choice, and I’m loving the quasi-L4 look I’m getting as my wall portion of this project nears conclusion. Thanks for all you do for us DIY’s! Godspeed, my good Sir!
I bought one bucket of the green label all purpose and liked it well enough. Then I tried Plus 3 and I never went back to the green label all purpose. Plus 3 is a bit easier to work with and sands better. But I still use the bucket from the green label to mix my Plus 3 in. I just do this on weekends while remodeling my house.
There's another good all around choice from the big box stores. USG's Total mud, comes in a red box. Has more adhesive than Plus 3 and it's much easier to sand than all purpose mud, but not as easy to sand as Plus 3. I use it a lot, but I think I'll try your suggestion and use Plus 3 for coating then add some wood glue to it for tapping.
I like both products. I power sand most of my work so the all purpose really is all purpose for me. Big jobs its pretty much all I use anymore. Its heavy though. I like blue top but I just have some (maybe irrational?) fear that it wont stick to slick surfaces as well. For those quick one day repairs I typically use 5 min for fill, then 20 min mud with glue added for taping, then skim everything with all purpose and let a fan blast on it for a few hours before sand and prime.
I have done ceilings in my home a few times. One time i decided to try a heavy weight version of the all purpose to cover the texture. It was so hard to sand so i used my power tool and i was like why didn't i ever think of that lol. I think you get a smoother finish hand sanding but the power tool speeds it along. I still havent found the perfect mixture i like, i dont like it too thin for first coat when covering texture
Great video, thanks so much. I'm a total newbie to this. I'm currently restoring arched top pocket doors in our 1880s queen anne and dealing with removing wallpaper and the non original trim that hid the pocket doors for decades has left a ton of plaster repairs to be done... as well as learning to properly integrate new drywall with 120 plus has been challenging. These videos are a great asset to the uninitiated. Thanks so much.
45 minute hot mud for joint filling, mesh tape, and outside corners; USG Sheetrock taping compound for embedding paper tape; USG Sheetrock Plus 3 for 2nd and 3rd coat; and USG Sheetrock topping compound for "last" coat if required.
@@Arr5503 Prior to taping, any gap that is 1/4" or more, I fill with hot mud because hot mud does not shrink like taping or joint compound. Hot mud dries fast, after which you can put down taping compound and tape without the problems associated with shrinkage or the taping compound not being dry. Joint compounds dry from the outside in and take much longer to dry when they're applied 'thick".
I'm a handyman/DIYer. I used to use All Purpose (green lid) for everything when I first started. But I quickly learned to use EasySand 20 hot mud for all my prefill, then depending on the size of job/work I will use EasySand 45 or 90 and make it runny for my taping because I'm typically not sanding my tape coat. I finish with Plus3 (or lightweight) mud and add 2-3 beads or passes of wood glue in my pan to my top / finish coat mud. I usually get pretty good results with that.
@@LeverPhile Using glue will help make your mud sticky and add a bit of strength BUT if you're dealing with repairing stress cracks like around corner bead, then remove all loose debris from the affected area and fill the crack with DynaFlex 230. Wait till its dry and sand. Cover with your glue mud, sand and paint.
I've been finishing drywall for almost 49 years now. I use all of the Tape Tech (Ames) taping tools still. Not as much production as I used to do. But I get a whole house of 180- 250 sheets of 4'x12' every month or so. The prices are so cheap because there's too much imported labor running around right now. I can still outperform those guys... at about eight to one. Most of them do not use the tools. I was taught by some guys that were really pros. I'm talking about two rolls an hour of 500' rolls of tape with a bazooka. No lie. I saw it. There were some legends here in the Coachella Valley. And their work was perfect. My dad started me off in the trade. He didn't start until he was in his early 30s. He always fought the taping tools. He ended up doing pick up in the latter part of his life. He was really good at it. Yes to the Plus 3! USG brought the company I used to work for the early 80's the first prototype Plus 3 for us to try out. They said if it'll work in the Coachella Valley... it will work anywhere. And for stringing tape I prefer USG Taping Mud. It really is only good for running through a Bazooka. It has lots of glue, shrinks bad, lots of "sitckhen", lots of open time and is slicker than snot. In fact, when I do any putty coating for smooth wall, it's my go to for the final coat. Just like glass. Unfortunately, all material yards around here don't stock it anymore. Because I was the only one using it. These geemos out here like Westpac (Hamilton's) joint compound. They have no clue of what works the best. They never have never been taught... so I feel sorry for them. But now I suffer for their ignorance. At east I can still get Plus3.
i redid a room with green all purpose, just watered it down when it came time to skim coat.. 7 years later and it all looks the same as when I painted it.. except for the memories of how annoying the sanding was.. this time around in the hallway going to try the blue top. Thanks for all your videos!
Guy, I agree 100 percent with all of your info. I like the plus 3 especially for skip trowel and skimming. And regular All purpose for taping and second coat. When available, I prefer the black lid all purpose by national gypsum company. I've used many pails and boxes of USG though because once upon a time USG was a little less than national gypsum and gold bond. we all have are preference with brands naturally, when available. Thanks 👍
Pro comment. That's right tapping or setting compound followed by topping. I have found USG products not to be my favorite. I always try to use Westpac products the inventors of smooth lay down easy sand .
Glad I found this Have put in the ceiling patch and it is not perfect. Think I left some trash under the furring strip causing the patch to be a little to far in. Very confusing on mud. This is a small task and I now feel the green top general will do ok. Thank you for the lesson. Of course all sanding is too much!
Very informative video. We are remodeling 2 rental properties and drywall is coming up next. This helps in deciding what to get. We have done drywall before and sanding is my least favorite part, though we have learned to use the wet sponge method, which helps cut down on the sanding. Thank you for your videos.
In the 70’s and 80’s I did a lot of drywall finishing. Typically I’d feather the joints wide rather than sanding a lot. Since then I’ve done finishing for myself as needed. Recently I’ve noticed these new compounds just don’t apply smoothly. There’s always a ridge or raised spot and they never feather to a perfectly smooth edge. They’re incredibly easy to sand and they do sand as smooth as silk, but who wants to raise a bunch of dust or get vacuum attachments. What happened to good old fashioned joint compound? The only choices used to be USG or Goldbond. It would stick to anything and feather to a perfectly smooth transition. In the old days I did small jobs and used a single sheet of sand paper. Now, the two bad points were length of time to dry and shrinkage on thicker layers. But, I’d take that over all this dust any day. So, does this new stuff apply easily? yes, Does it sand easily? yes. Does it get dust all over? Yes Can it be used to feather edge and fill to avoid sanding? No, in that it’s worthless. For any occupied renovations it’s a pain in the _____.
I solve the edge problem by wet sanding with a sponge. I don’t like wet sanding in the middle of a swatch of mud because it doesn’t really flatten it out but on the thin edges it just takes a quick swipe and it’s feathered and gone with no dust.
Thanks, I’ll give that a try on the next job. This one came out fine, but as I noted I prefer to minimize dust. After an eggshell paint finish, you couldn’t find the joints even using a flashlight shined across the wall. The Plus 3 came out nice, I’ll definitely finish the feathered edge with a light wet sand next time. @@ThatKiltedGuyDIY
This helped so much! I am brand new to home repairs and I am removing popcorn ceiling for the first time ever. Glad to know I researched and purchased the Plus 3. Thank you for the info and affirmation that I’m doing something right!
You are so welcome! I teach even more drywall skills tips and tricks in my drywall channel, all in more logical order at www.drywallacademy.com . You can also pick up my free eBook about choosing the right drywall tools and materials at www.drywalltoolsbook.info
I’m an old lady fixing up a rental unit for retirement income. I don’t know what they did in there - looks like there was a bull fight, lol, lots of holes and gouges in the walls. I’m a beginner at this and used the 45 minute powder for the two base coats, then the Plus 3 in the blue bucket for the final coat. It looks ok, but still trying to figure out how to use the tool for smoother, crease-free swipes. Takes more practice, I suppose.
We did a habitat for humanity house one time and ,all they gave us was green lid mud shown here , and the volunteer rockers used these super thick gauge drywall screws that were 2 inches long , talk about erasing 5 years of your career , between ruining my wrist trying to turn in screws and sanding that green stuff . I was very close to giving up . but i really like the brown box taping light for taping and any brand lightweight for coating .
I've used the Plus-3 for a lot of skimming and finishing and I loved it! So easy to work with that it saves a ton of time. But, I figured out that it also scratches and dents really easily even after painted. I can take my fingernail and put a scratch in it. Now I've been experimenting with the All Purpose for the last coat. I'm working on my own home and rentals we own so not much volume. So far, I like the hardness of the All Purpose finish but boy do I miss the easy sanding
Parasite: I was actually wondering about that. Typically I don’t have a real purpose for totally smooth walls; I prefer even some subtle texture. I was sort of wondering if I watered down All Purpose mud, spread it THIN, then textured it ( aka skip trowel /Sante Fe-ish, with lots of flat areas already)…..would a last light sanding still be hard to do?
I am doing a bunch of repairs all over my house including patch, new drywall and all with texture. I have noticed the evaporative muds from buckets and boxes are all a little easy to dent or scratch. But one thing I have found to help with that is to use a sealer, I ended up going with Gardz. After using 2 coats of sealer drywall paints much nicer and is much much harder.
I like ProForm better than USG. The ProForm quick set sands better than the USG product. I used to prefer the USG AP over ProForm because it had a sandy kind of texture that just did what I wanted it to do on second coat. Now it is about the same as the ProForm product.... I believe the formula was changed with the new OSHA respirable silica standards in 2018. Again I like the way plus 3 performs on painted surfaces and it makes less dust when sanding which is a bonus. But I typically just use AP on new construction, I limit my sanding by doing really nice work, and keep that hard finish you get from regular AP mud. I also avoid super light weight compounds... They seem to sand too fast and are very easily damaged because the finish is so soft. Mud, mud, I love mud, the only thing about me is that I love mud 🤣
Thanks, i don't do it very often but i always got the green bucket for everything. Now im gonna just use it for the taping and first layer, then plus 3 for top coat, ill give it a try ! Doing my kitchen now and have the basement next 😁
I'm 55. Ive been a homeowner for 30 of those years and I have done my fair share of drywall in three homes as well as for friends and family. Kitchens, bathrooms, garages, basements, i started as a novice and learned along the way. I'm pretty good at it, now. All I ever use is the buckets of general purpose mud. I tried light weight muds and absolutely hated them. They go on like dry paste. no smoothness or spread-ability. I threw the buckets away. I havent tried plus 3, though. I prefer to use paper tape but I'll use mesh over corner beads and factory panel edge when I can be certain the mesh will be buried deep into the mud. Yes, I got into the habit of mesh taping over all my metal corner beads (not the beads! The other edge) after I nail them in even though I never saw anybody recommend it. I havent ever had a corner bead or inside corner taping Ive done crack and fail. I have had weird nail and screw heads pop on me from time to time but thats another story. Anyway, I guess I'm just saying Ive been really happy with the green buckets.
I have stomped painted ceilings in my house and just did the first room to make it smooth. I knocked down the texture with 60 grit first and then used the All purpose on the first coat because I read you need the extra glue going over a painted ceiling. I used the Plus 3 for second coat and it came out great looking, but after watching your video I might switch to Plus 3 for both coats.
I was walking by a residential construction site today and saw containers of All-Purpose and Plus 3 joint compound, wondering what the differences are. You have explained it very well. Thank you. You made a comment about adding wood glue to Plus 3 that would make it more like All-Purpose. During mu home build I saw the drywall guy mix clear Dawn dish detergent into the mud. Is this a good idea?
I like watching your videos because I like to keep an open mind to new ideas. But mostly you are saying and doing the same things that I have done hundreds of times. I can truly tell that you have been a taping and finishing for a long ass time.
Black lid all purpose for taping and ceiling stomping Plus3 when I can get it..LAfarge Beige avoid just because it scratches to easy even with a 150 grit plus when it drys it's the same color as the drywall paper and I mean you are fighting to see it.
"All purpose lite" is the way to go. 1 cup of water mixed in it (the square box) for taping. Another cup of water mixed in for the 1st coat. Another half a cup to a cup of water mixed in for second coat. Same for third. Same for forth if you need to go there. That gives me great results and is easy to work with.
I have always just used the green lid for everything and never had a problem. The blue lid seems too fluffed up and tends to pull off when I use it. Oh and in New England we don't get mud in a box, only buckets. I can tell you aren't them the Northeast because you have a mud pan and we use hawks.
My favorite method so far and I can get any job done in a day because of it follows as such V groove and prefill with durabond 90 embed mesh tape and paper tape with durabond 90 or fibafuse with durabond 90 (mind you I add a 50:50 mixture of glue water to regular water when mixing up all my muds I use to embed or fill corner beads) most of the time I use no coat though. Then for my next coats I use easy sand 90 and my last coat I still love to use plus 3 which I’ll add a tint to all muds besides the durabond. Easy sand I add red chalk too. Plus 3 I add blue chalk too because it hides easier behind paint and primer. I always do my final topping coat whether it’s the 2nd-4th coat depending on the level of finish I always use plus 3 just because I find it sands easiest and leaves the nicest texture especially after a spurt of dawn dish soap in the pan. The only warning id say is make sure you are wet feathering your durabond edges and easy sand edges cause the plus 3 will certainly sand down to a point so much quicker then the other muds. But with this method your seams will never pop. You’ll never have corner beads crack out or tape blister out. Settlement is never a problem for me. Just be mindful of how big your runs are generally you want a control joint ever 600SF if it’s a long run of drywall. Because durabond will essentially make all your dry wall panels one big drywall panel the only problem you can run into is buckling if you don’t leave minor expansion joints in some places but you be the one that controls the expansion not the settlement of the house! Hope this can help people cheers!
I just bought my first Blue and it curls off, takes more effort to get on the ceiling. The green or "taping lite" just went on so much easier, but the Blue does shrink less, it's just giving me a harder workout...
For patches I use 5 min (occasionally I use 45) for the first coat. For bigger jobs I use AP for the first coat. Either way I finish with light weight. Thanks for the vid
Thanks sir. I'm sitting outside lowes watching this. I scraped popcorn, getting ready to buy mud. I think first coat I'll do all purpose to get adhesion to drywall paper, then switch to plus 3
Very helpful! This explains a lot of my past experiences in mudding and will help a ton in the future for this weekend warrior type…thx! I never knew before that light weight compound had less glue.
Very informative! I'm building my own house and have been laboring away with the USG All Purpose, trying to get it perfectly flat for wallpaper. I'll try a final coat with the USG Plus 3 and see if that speeds it up. The resistance to damage is a bit concerning, but the sizing and wallpaper might help with that.
I've done quite a few drywall projects over the years, but got into it more heavily recently. The last time I used plus 3 for taping the seams cracked, because like you said, it doesn't have as much adhesive. After that, I've done all my taping with durabond 90. That's a much stronger bond, and then I do the topping with plus 3. I've never used the all purpose mud you recommended, but I would definitely be willing to give it a shot. Durabond is not very convenient to work with.
Thank you. Came across this just in time !. Drywallers on the job gave me a bucket of all purpose which I have started using on the taping and butt joints, screws, so just on the first coat. I will pick me up a bucket of plus 3 to finish and sand. The walls are getting papered in my construction of a 1900's era billiards room so I am glad I found this before tackling ceiling. Should I just add some wood glue to type 3? No butt joints and even the seams get covered with oak to make a tray ceiling but want to do it right
What great information I had no clue about the glue situation in the mud Thanks for the information. I use this to make faux brick or stone! Thanks much!
Recently using the plus three cut with water for stipple roller and if i pass over some areas it easily peels the previous layer of ceiling mud. I will probably have to come back and fix 50 spots in the end since the mud is not sticking well on ceiling. Just to add i am applying mud with knife first before passing roller, not my idea but almost 1/3 of room done already. Also i didnt sand, but fixed a lot of spots that weren't even after removing popcorn. I find the longer the mud dried the worst it is.
That sounds to me like the problem is in the first layer of mud, and it usually indicates that you put the mud over a glossy surface, or one that had some type of contaminants, making it harder for the mud to stick.
I like 20 minute or 45 for a filler coat if the installation is rough or uneven studs, all purpose if it’s new construction or an addition in tape, followed by plus 3 once my joint is built properly. Just depends on the iob
I'm looking for a super luxurious finishing mud, on plaster fix-ups. No drywall or taping here. An expensive, professional contractor once recommended Muralo Spackle for skim finishing, and I fell in love with that pre-mixed product. Smooth as silk, white as snow, tooled like French butter, and very little sanding needed after it dried. I got glass-like surfaces on pre-war plaster walls with Muralo. Sadly, they don't make it anymore. Died just prior to Covid. I'm wondering if Plus 3 might be similar to Muralo. Can anyone make recommendations please?
Hello from Edmonton Canda! Appreciate your work some of the products are different up here even though we have similar stores like Home Depot but I get the idea, have a great day.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been working on every step of my basement from scratch with no experience other then forums and RUclips and it’s coming out great. Now I’m at the tape and mud stage which kinda has me nervous but narrowing down the types of muds to use and your video helped out a lot! I just don’t know if I should get the stuff in a box to mix yourself or the pre mixed same stuff in the buckets. Not sure the difference
Good vid, but you never mention Durabond? Love that stuff for big holes or repairs. Have fixed some nasty wounds with it......(remodeling work in old old houses).
Have been using usg boral total lite and it is horrible scratches with 220 grit and delaminates on itself greating ridges when sanding. What other compounds do thy have that have easy sanding without these issues. Was using national gypsums easy finish joint and topping compounds before the pandemic but now can't get it. Easy finish is a far superior product
Hey Guy something that blew my mind recently is the cheap joint compound now is almost the equivalent of the USG joint compound...go figure...the cheap joint compound iam talking about is Panel Rey Lightweight joint compound...about 11 years ago it was 4.99 + tax ....now 8.00$ ..wow might as well buy the good stuff huh...anyways we use the cheap stuff because these builders down here in south Texas don't pay...I digress....great videos sir big fan...I have 18 years doing tape and float and iam still a rookie by my friends standards...have a blessed day or night sir
Can I use this mud instead of lime wash ? I just want to mix with water and put on walls make it looks lime wash. What do you think? Thank you so much for video!!!
I'm walking into an empty home next Monday that will be all mine.......yes, I have nightmares about taking care of the walls before painting. I will use a duster to get rid of all the cob webs, wash the walls, then begin. A senior lived in the home before and I will remove a lot of handles that were installed for safety and some have come off the wall and have left holes, so what do I use for that. Then the picture nail holes, do I use something different. I will purchase a small, six and ten inch trowls. Put the mud on with the small or six inch and finish with the ten. This will be a long slow process for me.
I use durabond to fill any big gaps then tape with all purpose mud. then I use 20 or 45 min hot mud depending how big the job then I finish with all purpose
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Can you tape with all purpose and then apply plus 3 after it dries? I have a situation where I have to skimcoat my bathroom due to someone applying the wrong paint and or not priming it before applying the specific paint. I want to use something easy like the +3 but I want to make sure that the tape sticks good.
Thank God someone finally did a video on the difference between the green and blue buckets.
I have recently retired but I hung drywall and finished for 40 years. We used to put a couple of capfuls of Joy dish detergent in a 5 gallon bucket of mud with a 16 oz bottle of clean water. Makes the mud easier to pull and finish slick as glass!
Yeah love sanding ceilings with that in it .Burns the eyes real good.
Recently started muddin'. I never used the all purpose pre mix but i have tried the ultra lightweight. i struggled with it a few times and decided to try powder quick set (45), and just mixed my own. I quickly got better. Mixing my own mud, to different consistencies, based on different applications. Working with powder really helped me understand the materials i was working with. im sure quickset isnt the "do all" that i use it for however, doing so helped me form the foundation of a new skill. Which i find highly valuable. I really appreciate tradesman that are willing to share there knowledge and skill. To you sir, 10 years good luck.
Finally, a video that actually explains the whys and why nots, pros and cons, dos and don’ts. What really makes me mad is I’ve watched your videos before. Your content is always very informative. I’m a handyman by trade and have pretty good skills in many areas. But not fast or efficient as any specific tradesman in their area. I completely forgot about your channel. However, I’m not about to make that mistake again. As soon as I post this, I’m subscribing!
Thank you for your shared knowledge. It’s a little late for the project I just finished, (a foyer plaster ceiling tear out with drywall replacement), but I have my house gutted to studs and will be eventually putting drywall back up.
For the foyer project, I used Plus 3 for everything from taping to topping. And it came out beautiful. The client loved it. Surprisingly, to even myself, I had perfect tape adhesion. That’s the first time ever that I didn’t have to cut out and edge of tape and resmooth. When I go to do my walls, I’ll try the All-purpose for taping and see if I can make it even better.
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I pre-fill 1st with 5min.or 20min. hot mud. Then I use All Purpose for my semes, inside corners, and outside corners and texture ceilings. Then I use Plus-3 mud for coating my
3rd, and 4th coating of everything else. Sometime a 5th coating.
Yes it sands up really nice
This is a great checklist for almost anyone to use. Thanks.
Adding wood glue to plus 3 for taping is probably the best tip I have ever gotten. I am just a diy type and now I can just keep one type of mud around and get the rest of my renovation projects done. Thanks!
Thank you. It's really helpful to hear from a pro, not just about how they do it, but how an amateur should do it. Not always the same thing.
All purpose for taping .Then easy sand with fiber 2 coats.Then Rapid coat for skimming and angles.30yrs experience
I've found that plus 3 works good on painted surfaces. It Virtually eliminates bubbles from a reaction with the paint. There's several ways to deal with that issue. You can sand the painted surface before applying mud, this helps. You can also seal the old paint out with a good primer before applying mud, this also helps. Using AP you can put it on, wipe it off tight and reapply the mud which eliminates >90% of this reaction. With plus 3 you can apply it normally and it will still have a reaction, but not as severe as with AP applied without the extra step.
Good to know. I have one room to do where I will need to skim over a painted surface to fix my first (bad) drywall work. This will help.
Yes, that is common problem with most joint compounds.And your correct on the using a sealer to stop that issue.
I was doing a big remodel for the last company I worked for back in the 90's. I had to putty coat over a huge kitchen ceiling that had numerous patches. This was in a 7,000 sq. ft. custom home in one of the high end country clubs around here. At the time, the us guys that work for that company were having a war with the foreman on the brand of compound we were using. He liked Hamilton's (now Wespack) we wanted USG. So here i was, floating this ceiling with Hamilton's "Red DOT" A.P. What a joke. I was bubbling so bad, you could hear the bubbles pop! Just like Rice Krispies. After that, I went to the owner of the company and he told his dufus foreman to get us what we wanted.
We had an issue on another country club that was building 50 condos on a golf course... a nice production job. They were tough units to work on 11 foot tall ceilings through out, 9"-10' everything else, high windows, skylights lots and lots and lots of corner bead and ell metal trim. They paid great, so I made decent money. Tough work. I would string tape with my bazooka, on stilts with a Ames bazooka extension on it. Crazy stuff. I even modified a box handle to make it 8' long to box those tall joints.
Our foreman got a bug up his butt saying that the Plus 3 we were using was causing a reaction with the texture. When, in reality, the problem was Plus 3 doesn't have tint in it usually. So some clown that was working around us was opening up his skim boxes to "bury the tape" causing the joints to crown. So we had to start using Hamilton's Soft Top topping mud to finish over everything for a final coat. So it wouldn't "burn" through the texture. I had a partner at the time working with me... I normally did stuff by myself. We found out pushing that stupid Soft Top through any of the tools was a joke. It drug so bad I thought we were all going to get hernias! The Plus 3 pushes through the tools so easy there's no comparison. We ended up using "sneekely" the Plus 3 tinting it to match the Soft Top. And no one figured out what we were doing. LoL!
Or you can clean the area with trisodium phosphate 1st! Then prime and do your thing
i've been finishing drywall for 20+ years and through the years i've tried many products. i personally don't care for any of the USG products. especially the lightweight stuff. yes it sands easy but it also leaves scratches from sanding. i've been using pro form for the past ten years and love the stuff. their black lid bucket mud is a great all around mud and their fast setting muds are far superior to USG's.
I agree, the green is great for the first 2-3 coats for the adhesion strength. We generally make sure we mud so well that we don't need to sand in-between layers.
We do three layers of green, use the power sander then two layers of blue with a wide yet light skim coat.
Green for base coat and taping, or if there’s a big float I need to do, then Plus 3 for finish coats.
I'm ready to skim coat and it's back to the big box to get a different kind of mud. I'm afraid to start because if you don't start, you haven't failed, but I've got to finish this. I used the green joint compound on the ceiling the other day, my arm got so exhausted it was shaking and I had to stop for the day.
Use plus 3.
Or LAD. Which is dust control
I agree 100% with the exception that I like to use All-Purpose for many textures.
Home DIYer but come from a trades family and was doing framing and slate roofs by Jr. High (43 now). Personally I use Durabond 45 for holes/patches, taping ect. Easy Sand 90min with 10 to 1 Water/PVA as the liquid for mud framing & skimcoating. Regular Mixed Easysand 90 for 2nd coat then do 3rd/final coat with Plus3 before sanding, prime and paint. I don't mind the harder to sand but then again I only do the occasional remodel help in exchange for beer. If I did it every day I am sure I would feel differently. I might be a little over concerned about durability and adhesion. If you feel that is wrong please let me know, always looking for better options.
One of the best explanations on ready to use drywall mud vs the setting type drywall mud that I've come across Thank you!
Thanks so much for this video… I do a lot of drywall work for a contractor, but I never knew… Took the time… To figure out the differences between the mud. As for your sore shoulder, or any sore muscle, that’s typical of a person who has used the same repetitive motion for decades. It’s muscle memory, what the doctors renamed carpal tunnel. If you want to loosen up your shoulder and get rid of the pain, tight muscles, go to a deep tissue massage therapist… Or get your wife, or girlfriend, or anyone, to put their thumb into your shoulder muscles to find out which ones are painful. Pain equals too tight! If you watch TV and see someone getting strangled, you’ll notice they go limp after a while. So do your muscles! A lack of blood will cause your muscles to relax after 45 seconds. Someone using their thumb on a tight muscle will actually feel it roll out from underneath their thumb. Your brain will try to numb the pain After 15 seconds. The reason I know this is because I was a medically retired railroad engineer with a bad back and partial carpal tunnel in my right arm caused by “nailing” in a new floor by hand and hammer. My back took 15 years of research testing, and trying different ways to fix it naturally because the doctors couldn’t guarantee surgery. For my back hamstrings and in between, I use softballs and baseballs! It took me a couple of months of daily and nightly treating myself before I was able to return to a nearly normal lifestyle with my back.
Try Turmeric for sore joints and shoulders, I have bad shoulders that I believe is torn rotator cuffs, several years back it got so bad I couldn't hold my right hand up over my head, my mother told me she read where Turmeric helps with it so I got some capsules of it and gave it a try, 3 capsules in the morning and 3 in the evening and two weeks later I couldn't believe the difference it made in my shoulders.
In no way shape or form am I telling you it's a cure, but what a difference it made, now I can do things like sand drywall on a ceiling where before something like that was entirely out of the question, I can still "feel" my shoulders if you get what I mean but now they're well with in the limits of being "useable" where before my right shoulder I would always describe to people as being "junk".
Hope if you try it that it helps you, it certainly did turn my life around concerning my shoulders.
All of us who've been in the construction/labor trades for years know or should be quite aware with pain & injuries that come along with it? Even when always practicing safety first on the job, Sh!t Happens! However, don't get it twisted, this isn't an insult or dismissing a helping hand to anothers insight to fix the pain or injury. Yet, as a retired union steward in commercial roads & buildings, I read & understand your solutions were said with cation to answers of the problem that helped you personally overcome some of the pain. Still, practicing in a work safe environment doesn't stop when clocking out on your F/T job, it's a life job! The problem could be easily fixed with heat & ice, aspirin, Turmeric, or a shot & a beer to reduce the pain. Although, shoulder injury & pain risk factors could also be caused by Cartilage tear, Rotator cuff tear, Frozen shoulder, Impingement, Bursitis, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Tendinitis, Bone spurs. Also, if your shoulder hurts it's 1 of the related signs especially the older we get in Heart attacks. Thoughts for concern are commendable, yet sometimes possibly unsafe if injury is taken lightly, when the majority of us in the labor force have this tough guy & girl mindset, to either ignore it, work it out exercising with more work, an aspirin or whatever. Just saying... there's reasons we do what we do, & reason for doctors, injuries aren't always the same common cause in everybody, that's all. I say this from first hand experience with fellow workers who ignored or took the word of his buddy at the lunch table as the answer, which related to far worse consequences. So, be safe & responsible!
I've been doing this since 1984 and you are spot on with your advice. All purpose green to apply the tape , and plus 3 to coat. I have used topping mud in the past, but only used it for texturing. I've found that the average do it yourselfer will get more blisters by using plus 3 to apply the tape as it takes a light touch to not wipe out too much mud from behind the tape although the wood glue would help cure that problem I'm sure
Will the lightweight wirh wood glue work as well? I am about to do a full tear down to studs and going to try my hand at doing the drywall. Kind of would prefer just one product.
I am not a professional, but I have used both products. I did hear from professionals that if you have steel corner beads, to use the USG All Purpose Green bucket (if u want pre-mixed) and not use the USG Plus 3 Blue bucket. You are right though about adding a little wood glue to the USG Plus 3 Blue bucket which will make taping better. But not sure how the USG Plus 3 Blue bucket would be for steel corner beads.
Thanks, Guy! Finishing a recording room project. 1st time DIY-er on nearly all aspects as it’s nearly impossible to get professionals locally to give up $$$ jobs just to help with my little $ job! Used the Heavy All Purpose mud for my first 2 coats, corner beads, and tape joints. Only tripped onto the Plus 3 because it was the right size and the local box was out of H-AP. Your info has affirmed my accidental choice, and I’m loving the quasi-L4 look I’m getting as my wall portion of this project nears conclusion. Thanks for all you do for us DIY’s! Godspeed, my good Sir!
I bought one bucket of the green label all purpose and liked it well enough. Then I tried Plus 3 and I never went back to the green label all purpose. Plus 3 is a bit easier to work with and sands better. But I still use the bucket from the green label to mix my Plus 3 in. I just do this on weekends while remodeling my house.
It sands better because it contains more latex. Which of course is (rubber) so it limits dust
There's another good all around choice from the big box stores. USG's Total mud, comes in a red box. Has more adhesive than Plus 3 and it's much easier to sand than all purpose mud, but not as easy to sand as Plus 3. I use it a lot, but I think I'll try your suggestion and use Plus 3 for coating then add some wood glue to it for tapping.
I like both products. I power sand most of my work so the all purpose really is all purpose for me. Big jobs its pretty much all I use anymore. Its heavy though. I like blue top but I just have some (maybe irrational?) fear that it wont stick to slick surfaces as well. For those quick one day repairs I typically use 5 min for fill, then 20 min mud with glue added for taping, then skim everything with all purpose and let a fan blast on it for a few hours before sand and prime.
I have done ceilings in my home a few times. One time i decided to try a heavy weight version of the all purpose to cover the texture. It was so hard to sand so i used my power tool and i was like why didn't i ever think of that lol. I think you get a smoother finish hand sanding but the power tool speeds it along. I still havent found the perfect mixture i like, i dont like it too thin for first coat when covering texture
Great video, thanks so much. I'm a total newbie to this. I'm currently restoring arched top pocket doors in our 1880s queen anne and dealing with removing wallpaper and the non original trim that hid the pocket doors for decades has left a ton of plaster repairs to be done... as well as learning to properly integrate new drywall with 120 plus has been challenging. These videos are a great asset to the uninitiated. Thanks so much.
45 minute hot mud for joint filling, mesh tape, and outside corners; USG Sheetrock taping compound for embedding paper tape; USG Sheetrock Plus 3 for 2nd and 3rd coat; and USG Sheetrock topping compound for "last" coat if required.
What exactly do you mean by “joint filling”. Is that not part of taping process?
@@Arr5503 Prior to taping, any gap that is 1/4" or more, I fill with hot mud because hot mud does not shrink like taping or joint compound. Hot mud dries fast, after which you can put down taping compound and tape without the problems associated with shrinkage or the taping compound not being dry. Joint compounds dry from the outside in and take much longer to dry when they're applied 'thick".
I'm a handyman/DIYer. I used to use All Purpose (green lid) for everything when I first started. But I quickly learned to use EasySand 20 hot mud for all my prefill, then depending on the size of job/work I will use EasySand 45 or 90 and make it runny for my taping because I'm typically not sanding my tape coat. I finish with Plus3 (or lightweight) mud and add 2-3 beads or passes of wood glue in my pan to my top / finish coat mud. I usually get pretty good results with that.
Does the wood glue in the last coat of plus3 help make it harder (more damage resistant)? Or is it just for bonding?
@@LeverPhile Using glue will help make your mud sticky and add a bit of strength BUT if you're dealing with repairing stress cracks like around corner bead, then remove all loose debris from the affected area and fill the crack with DynaFlex 230. Wait till its dry and sand. Cover with your glue mud, sand and paint.
Do you use the 45 or 90 for the first coat on top of the tape as well?
I've been finishing drywall for almost 49 years now. I use all of the Tape Tech (Ames) taping tools still. Not as much production as I used to do. But I get a whole house of 180- 250 sheets of 4'x12' every month or so. The prices are so cheap because there's too much imported labor running around right now. I can still outperform those guys... at about eight to one. Most of them do not use the tools.
I was taught by some guys that were really pros. I'm talking about two rolls an hour of 500' rolls of tape with a bazooka. No lie. I saw it. There were some legends here in the Coachella Valley. And their work was perfect. My dad started me off in the trade. He didn't start until he was in his early 30s. He always fought the taping tools. He ended up doing pick up in the latter part of his life. He was really good at it.
Yes to the Plus 3! USG brought the company I used to work for the early 80's the first prototype Plus 3 for us to try out. They said if it'll work in the Coachella Valley... it will work anywhere.
And for stringing tape I prefer USG Taping Mud. It really is only good for running through a Bazooka. It has lots of glue, shrinks bad, lots of "sitckhen", lots of open time and is slicker than snot. In fact, when I do any putty coating for smooth wall, it's my go to for the final coat. Just like glass.
Unfortunately, all material yards around here don't stock it anymore. Because I was the only one using it. These geemos out here like Westpac (Hamilton's) joint compound. They have no clue of what works the best. They never have never been taught... so I feel sorry for them. But now I suffer for their ignorance. At east I can still get Plus3.
I tape with all purpose, then embed the tape with a second coat. Then switch to light weight joint compound or topping to finish with 1 - 2 coats.
i redid a room with green all purpose, just watered it down when it came time to skim coat.. 7 years later and it all looks the same as when I painted it.. except for the memories of how annoying the sanding was.. this time around in the hallway going to try the blue top. Thanks for all your videos!
All purpose is taping mud. Plus 3 is filling and skimming mud. 5 minute and dry mix are great over mesh. Like kilted guy..great info
Guy, I agree 100 percent with all of your info. I like the plus 3 especially for skip trowel and skimming. And regular All purpose for taping and second coat. When available, I prefer the black lid all purpose by national gypsum company. I've used many pails and boxes of USG though because once upon a time USG was a little less than national gypsum and gold bond. we all have are preference with brands naturally, when available. Thanks 👍
Pro comment. That's right tapping or setting compound followed by topping. I have found USG products not to be my favorite. I always try to use Westpac products the inventors of smooth lay down easy sand .
I tape with plus3 all the time no extra additives works fine
Thanks for this. I taped with plus 3 and am scared it’s gonna crack. Been a few weeks and looks good atill
Glad I found this Have put in the ceiling patch and it is not perfect. Think I left some trash under the furring strip causing the patch to be a little to far in. Very confusing on mud. This is a small task and I now feel the green top general will do ok. Thank you for the lesson. Of course all sanding is too much!
Very informative video. We are remodeling 2 rental properties and drywall is coming up next. This helps in deciding what to get. We have done drywall before and sanding is my least favorite part, though we have learned to use the wet sponge method, which helps cut down on the sanding. Thank you for your videos.
In the 70’s and 80’s I did a lot of drywall finishing. Typically I’d feather the joints wide rather than sanding a lot. Since then I’ve done finishing for myself as needed. Recently I’ve noticed these new compounds just don’t apply smoothly. There’s always a ridge or raised spot and they never feather to a perfectly smooth edge. They’re incredibly easy to sand and they do sand as smooth as silk, but who wants to raise a bunch of dust or get vacuum attachments.
What happened to good old fashioned joint compound? The only choices used to be USG or Goldbond. It would stick to anything and feather to a perfectly smooth transition. In the old days I did small jobs and used a single sheet of sand paper.
Now, the two bad points were length of time to dry and shrinkage on thicker layers. But, I’d take that over all this dust any day. So, does this new stuff apply easily? yes, Does it sand easily? yes. Does it get dust all over? Yes Can it be used to feather edge and fill to avoid sanding? No, in that it’s worthless. For any occupied renovations it’s a pain in the _____.
I solve the edge problem by wet sanding with a sponge. I don’t like wet sanding in the middle of a swatch of mud because it doesn’t really flatten it out but on the thin edges it just takes a quick swipe and it’s feathered and gone with no dust.
Thanks, I’ll give that a try on the next job. This one came out fine, but as I noted I prefer to minimize dust. After an eggshell paint finish, you couldn’t find the joints even using a flashlight shined across the wall. The Plus 3 came out nice, I’ll definitely finish the feathered edge with a light wet sand next time. @@ThatKiltedGuyDIY
This helped so much! I am brand new to home repairs and I am removing popcorn ceiling for the first time ever. Glad to know I researched and purchased the Plus 3. Thank you for the info and affirmation that I’m doing something right!
You are so welcome! I teach even more drywall skills tips and tricks in my drywall channel, all in more logical order at www.drywallacademy.com . You can also pick up my free eBook about choosing the right drywall tools and materials at www.drywalltoolsbook.info
@@ThatKiltedGuyDIY , thanks and will do!
I’m an old lady fixing up a rental unit for retirement income. I don’t know what they did in there - looks like there was a bull fight, lol, lots of holes and gouges in the walls. I’m a beginner at this and used the 45 minute powder for the two base coats, then the Plus 3 in the blue bucket for the final coat. It looks ok, but still trying to figure out how to use the tool for smoother, crease-free swipes. Takes more practice, I suppose.
We did a habitat for humanity house one time and ,all they gave us was green lid mud shown here , and the volunteer rockers used these super thick gauge drywall screws that were 2 inches long , talk about erasing 5 years of your career , between ruining my wrist trying to turn in screws and sanding that green stuff . I was very close to giving up . but i really like the brown box taping light for taping and any brand lightweight for coating .
Thanks Guy!Green Box All-pupose is harder to sand and has more adhesive, but good for tape.
Drywall is an art and you always provide the best instructions and help. Thank you Kilted Guy!
I've used the Plus-3 for a lot of skimming and finishing and I loved it! So easy to work with that it saves a ton of time. But, I figured out that it also scratches and dents really easily even after painted. I can take my fingernail and put a scratch in it. Now I've been experimenting with the All Purpose for the last coat. I'm working on my own home and rentals we own so not much volume. So far, I like the hardness of the All Purpose finish but boy do I miss the easy sanding
Parasite: I was actually wondering about that. Typically I don’t have a real purpose for totally smooth walls; I prefer even some subtle texture. I was sort of wondering if I watered down All Purpose mud, spread it THIN, then textured it ( aka skip trowel /Sante Fe-ish, with lots of flat areas already)…..would a last light sanding still be hard to do?
I am doing a bunch of repairs all over my house including patch, new drywall and all with texture. I have noticed the evaporative muds from buckets and boxes are all a little easy to dent or scratch. But one thing I have found to help with that is to use a sealer, I ended up going with Gardz. After using 2 coats of sealer drywall paints much nicer and is much much harder.
I have reached the same conclusion. If it's your own home, all purpose is the way to go for its durability.
I think if you use an acrylic primer on top of the skim coat it will harden it right up.
I like ProForm better than USG. The ProForm quick set sands better than the USG product. I used to prefer the USG AP over ProForm because it had a sandy kind of texture that just did what I wanted it to do on second coat. Now it is about the same as the ProForm product.... I believe the formula was changed with the new OSHA respirable silica standards in 2018. Again I like the way plus 3 performs on painted surfaces and it makes less dust when sanding which is a bonus. But I typically just use AP on new construction, I limit my sanding by doing really nice work, and keep that hard finish you get from regular AP mud. I also avoid super light weight compounds... They seem to sand too fast and are very easily damaged because the finish is so soft. Mud, mud, I love mud, the only thing about me is that I love mud 🤣
You’re right on !!! Great 👍 info Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks, i don't do it very often but i always got the green bucket for everything. Now im gonna just use it for the taping and first layer, then plus 3 for top coat, ill give it a try ! Doing my kitchen now and have the basement next 😁
Green lid well mixed for bedding tape and 2nd coat. 3 coat on beads The. Blue lid Lite weight well mixed till done.
Plus-3 plus wood glue really works great on the taping coat.
I'm 55. Ive been a homeowner for 30 of those years and I have done my fair share of drywall in three homes as well as for friends and family. Kitchens, bathrooms, garages, basements, i started as a novice and learned along the way. I'm pretty good at it, now. All I ever use is the buckets of general purpose mud. I tried light weight muds and absolutely hated them. They go on like dry paste. no smoothness or spread-ability. I threw the buckets away. I havent tried plus 3, though. I prefer to use paper tape but I'll use mesh over corner beads and factory panel edge when I can be certain the mesh will be buried deep into the mud. Yes, I got into the habit of mesh taping over all my metal corner beads (not the beads! The other edge) after I nail them in even though I never saw anybody recommend it. I havent ever had a corner bead or inside corner taping Ive done crack and fail. I have had weird nail and screw heads pop on me from time to time but thats another story. Anyway, I guess I'm just saying Ive been really happy with the green buckets.
Straight to the point thanks for sharing your knowledge that’s what I would be using all purpose for taping and plus 3 for finish coats
Green for 1st coat, blue for finish coats
Quickset for first coat green for finish
@@mandujanojuan437 yes i think i confused the two
@@brandonterzic no you didn't i just commented the way i do it
Whatever works for you brother. Take care
@@mandujanojuan437 thanks for sharing bro. Have a good day
Same 🤘😎🤘
I have stomped painted ceilings in my house and just did the first room to make it smooth. I knocked down the texture with 60 grit first and then used the All purpose on the first coat because I read you need the extra glue going over a painted ceiling. I used the Plus 3 for second coat and it came out great looking, but after watching your video I might switch to Plus 3 for both coats.
Thanks for the tips …. I just stared using plus 3 and in my short experience it does feel better and easier to work with ….
This man knows his stuff. Couldn't have said it better my self👍👍👍
I was walking by a residential construction site today and saw containers of All-Purpose and Plus 3 joint compound, wondering what the differences are. You have explained it very well. Thank you.
You made a comment about adding wood glue to Plus 3 that would make it more like All-Purpose. During mu home build I saw the drywall guy mix clear Dawn dish detergent into the mud.
Is this a good idea?
I like watching your videos because I like to keep an open mind to new ideas. But mostly you are saying and doing the same things that I have done hundreds of times. I can truly tell that you have been a taping and finishing for a long ass time.
Thanks
Hello I use durabond for prefilling a 2 levels of mud and than I plaster full surface with all purpose and sand and touchups
Black lid all purpose for taping and ceiling stomping Plus3 when I can get it..LAfarge Beige avoid just because it scratches to easy even with a 150 grit plus when it drys it's the same color as the drywall paper and I mean you are fighting to see it.
"All purpose lite" is the way to go.
1 cup of water mixed in it (the square box) for taping.
Another cup of water mixed in for the 1st coat.
Another half a cup to a cup of water mixed in for second coat.
Same for third.
Same for forth if you need to go there.
That gives me great results and is easy to work with.
I have always just used the green lid for everything and never had a problem. The blue lid seems too fluffed up and tends to pull off when I use it. Oh and in New England we don't get mud in a box, only buckets.
I can tell you aren't them the Northeast because you have a mud pan and we use hawks.
I usually use for under tape durabond 45 because dries harder and looks more strong on cracks, and as a topcoat I use plus3 because is easier to sand
I'm not a pro by any means but I have used a combination of both products. I start taping with the green label all purpose and finish with the Plus 3.
Yeah. All purpose for taping and Plus 3 the rest of the way. That’s what I learned from all the pro’s on commercial jobs and it works well for me.
For general repair I used the plus3 and it worked really well. Thanks.
My favorite method so far and I can get any job done in a day because of it follows as such
V groove and prefill with durabond 90 embed mesh tape and paper tape with durabond 90 or fibafuse with durabond 90 (mind you I add a 50:50 mixture of glue water to regular water when mixing up all my muds I use to embed or fill corner beads) most of the time I use no coat though.
Then for my next coats I use easy sand 90 and my last coat I still love to use plus 3 which I’ll add a tint to all muds besides the durabond. Easy sand I add red chalk too. Plus 3 I add blue chalk too because it hides easier behind paint and primer. I always do my final topping coat whether it’s the 2nd-4th coat depending on the level of finish I always use plus 3 just because I find it sands easiest and leaves the nicest texture especially after a spurt of dawn dish soap in the pan. The only warning id say is make sure you are wet feathering your durabond edges and easy sand edges cause the plus 3 will certainly sand down to a point so much quicker then the other muds. But with this method your seams will never pop. You’ll never have corner beads crack out or tape blister out. Settlement is never a problem for me. Just be mindful of how big your runs are generally you want a control joint ever 600SF if it’s a long run of drywall. Because durabond will essentially make all your dry wall panels one big drywall panel the only problem you can run into is buckling if you don’t leave minor expansion joints in some places but you be the one that controls the expansion not the settlement of the house! Hope this can help people cheers!
I just bought my first Blue and it curls off, takes more effort to get on the ceiling. The green or "taping lite" just went on so much easier, but the Blue does shrink less, it's just giving me a harder workout...
For patches I use 5 min (occasionally I use 45) for the first coat. For bigger jobs I use AP for the first coat. Either way I finish with light weight. Thanks for the vid
If you install a sheet of Saran Wrap over the mud and press it firmly in place so that air can’t get to it it should last longer.
I use all purpose for tapping and the ultra light lime green in the box for finish coat.. it makes the best finish at the end..
Thanks sir. I'm sitting outside lowes watching this. I scraped popcorn, getting ready to buy mud. I think first coat I'll do all purpose to get adhesion to drywall paper, then switch to plus 3
Very helpful! This explains a lot of my past experiences in mudding and will help a ton in the future for this weekend warrior type…thx! I never knew before that light weight compound had less glue.
Thank you, happy to help
I’m from California and I love using red dot 🔴 joint compound . Ver great product
Very informative! I'm building my own house and have been laboring away with the USG All Purpose, trying to get it perfectly flat for wallpaper. I'll try a final coat with the USG Plus 3 and see if that speeds it up.
The resistance to damage is a bit concerning, but the sizing and wallpaper might help with that.
I just add water to the plus 3. Ive had trouble sanding all purpose and plus 3 layers. Its almost like sanding compressed mud
Durabond90 for mesh. Blue Plus 3 to cover, purple midweight to top/finish.
I've done quite a few drywall projects over the years, but got into it more heavily recently. The last time I used plus 3 for taping the seams cracked, because like you said, it doesn't have as much adhesive. After that, I've done all my taping with durabond 90. That's a much stronger bond, and then I do the topping with plus 3. I've never used the all purpose mud you recommended, but I would definitely be willing to give it a shot. Durabond is not very convenient to work with.
Thank you. Came across this just in time !. Drywallers on the job gave me a bucket of all purpose which I have started using on the taping and butt joints, screws, so just on the first coat. I will pick me up a bucket of plus 3 to finish and sand. The walls are getting papered in my construction of a 1900's era billiards room so I am glad I found this before tackling ceiling. Should I just add some wood glue to type 3? No butt joints and even the seams get covered with oak to make a tray ceiling but want to do it right
+3 actually has plenty of adhesion without the glue for normal applications
What great information I had no clue about the glue situation in the mud Thanks for the information. I use this to make faux brick or stone! Thanks much!
Recently using the plus three cut with water for stipple roller and if i pass over some areas it easily peels the previous layer of ceiling mud. I will probably have to come back and fix 50 spots in the end since the mud is not sticking well on ceiling. Just to add i am applying mud with knife first before passing roller, not my idea but almost 1/3 of room done already. Also i didnt sand, but fixed a lot of spots that weren't even after removing popcorn. I find the longer the mud dried the worst it is.
That sounds to me like the problem is in the first layer of mud, and it usually indicates that you put the mud over a glossy surface, or one that had some type of contaminants, making it harder for the mud to stick.
Thank you for your video. I just bought All Purpose (green one), but I did not use it yesterday because I have a different brand.
I like 20 minute or 45 for a filler coat if the installation is rough or uneven studs, all purpose if it’s new construction or an addition in tape, followed by plus 3 once my joint is built properly. Just depends on the iob
Thank you. Really appreciate your comments and knowledge! Direct and to the point video!
I'm looking for a super luxurious finishing mud, on plaster fix-ups. No drywall or taping here. An expensive, professional contractor once recommended Muralo Spackle for skim finishing, and I fell in love with that pre-mixed product. Smooth as silk, white as snow, tooled like French butter, and very little sanding needed after it dried. I got glass-like surfaces on pre-war plaster walls with Muralo. Sadly, they don't make it anymore. Died just prior to Covid. I'm wondering if Plus 3 might be similar to Muralo. Can anyone make recommendations please?
Use GP for taping, patching etc.
Use +3 for skim coating.
Correct?
Hello from Edmonton Canda! Appreciate your work some of the products are different up here even though we have similar stores like Home Depot but I get the idea, have a great day.
This was very helpful. I had no idea about the differences between products. Good discussion.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been working on every step of my basement from scratch with no experience other then forums and RUclips and it’s coming out great. Now I’m at the tape and mud stage which kinda has me nervous but narrowing down the types of muds to use and your video helped out a lot! I just don’t know if I should get the stuff in a box to mix yourself or the pre mixed same stuff in the buckets. Not sure the difference
They’re the same
Good vid, but you never mention Durabond? Love that stuff for big holes or repairs. Have fixed some nasty wounds with it......(remodeling work in old old houses).
Have been using usg boral total lite and it is horrible scratches with 220 grit and delaminates on itself greating ridges when sanding. What other compounds do thy have that have easy sanding without these issues. Was using national gypsums easy finish joint and topping compounds before the pandemic but now can't get it. Easy finish is a far superior product
Hey Guy something that blew my mind recently is the cheap joint compound now is almost the equivalent of the USG joint compound...go figure...the cheap joint compound iam talking about is Panel Rey Lightweight joint compound...about 11 years ago it was 4.99 + tax ....now 8.00$ ..wow might as well buy the good stuff huh...anyways we use the cheap stuff because these builders down here in south Texas don't pay...I digress....great videos sir big fan...I have 18 years doing tape and float and iam still a rookie by my friends standards...have a blessed day or night sir
Yellow Box For Taping. Blue box for finish. All purpose is harder to sand.
Thanks a lot! This really helped me out! I’ve been looking for a video that explains those two specifically.
Can I use this mud instead of lime wash ? I just want to mix with water and put on walls make it looks lime wash. What do you think?
Thank you so much for video!!!
Never tried it
I'm walking into an empty home next Monday that will be all mine.......yes, I have nightmares about taking care of the walls before painting. I will use a duster to get rid of all the cob webs, wash the walls, then begin. A senior lived in the home before and I will remove a lot of handles that were installed for safety and some have come off the wall and have left holes, so what do I use for that. Then the picture nail holes, do I use something different. I will purchase a small, six and ten inch trowls. Put the mud on with the small or six inch and finish with the ten. This will be a long slow process for me.
That's all I use. Tape with all purpose. 2 coats of Plus 3 and texture with all purpose.
I use durabond to fill any big gaps then tape with all purpose mud. then I use 20 or 45 min hot mud depending how big the job then I finish with all purpose
sounds convoluted
Thak you for all your help and teachings Sir.
I do the same
Green for tape
Plus 3 after that
Watching this guys like watching TV news, you get the information you want, but it's always right after this or let me tell you how this is done but first let me tell you about...
45 min tape ( not mesh) and corners. Second coat also 45 min or 90 depending on size of job. Then topping. Love topping. Plus 3 is too soft. IMHO
i used joint compound for everything mix hot warm water,