I used to hate fixing drywall until I found the right mud

For years I'd use the pre-mixed stuff from the hardware store and my patches always looked lumpy. Then a guy at a supply house in Tacoma told me to try USG Sheetrock 45 for taping and 20 for topping, mixing it myself. The control is way better and it sands smooth in half the time. What's your go-to mud for a small repair?

3 comments

3 Comments

eva_thompson102mo ago

Right, the pre-mixed stuff drying weird is exactly it. I had the same fight with a patch in my hallway that looked like a topographical map. Switched to mixing my own from a bag last year and it was a total game changer. It just behaves so much better on the knife and dries way more even. I still keep a small bucket of the pre-mix for tiny touch ups, but for anything bigger than a nail hole I'm mixing powder every time.

the_lucas2mo ago

Oh man, that's the truth. I fought with that pre-mixed junk for so long. My patches always dried weird and were a nightmare to sand. A painter I know finally told me to just get a bag of the powder. I use the all-purpose stuff for everything now, the one you mix with water. The difference is crazy. It goes on so much smoother and doesn't shrink up like the canned stuff. I'll never go back.

mason7281mo ago

Seriously, the powder is way better for old houses too. My place has these plaster walls that move a little with the seasons. The canned stuff just cracks again in a year, but the powder mix seems to have a tiny bit of give to it. I patched a hairline crack near my window two winters ago and it's still holding, no new lines. That stuff just bonds differently.