In order to learn the mistakes a lot of you are making, I have watched quite a few YouTube videos and I often see one really common mistake. So many of you try to do everything with a 4" to 6" mud knife.
Now mind you, that's my favorite tool and I often carry it around in my back pocket. I love this tool because it has many uses from cutting open a box of mud to taping, coating the screws, and more, but it really has no place in finishing or floating out a joint or a repair. What I mean by this is when you are coating something like a drywall joint, those often need to be coated 10 to 12 inches wide or more, and this forces you to make multiple passes with a narrow knife. Plus this knife is too stiff for this task. Or when you're coating something like a drywall repair, those often need to be floated out anywhere from 24 inches to four feet wide depending on what you are doing. So if you learn to use a wider mud knife, you will make fewer passes, and get a much flatter surface with less work. Here's an illustration I drew up to show you what you are trying to accomplish when floating out a wider repair or joint.
The picture below shows a good set of drywall knives that will get you through most of these scenarios.
If you want to see how I use wider knives, including skim coating blades, to float out wide joints, watch the video below.
Now if you want to understand all the drywall mudding and hanging tools, check out my new 56 page book below. I will explain terminology, tool descriptions and uses as well as recommend what you need depending on how much you do. And I'll do the same with the drywall materials.
Here's the 1st page of the Table of contents for the book
Don't be afraid of the larger mud knives. Yes, they may be a little harder to use at first, but practice with them, watch my videos on how to use them, and you're skill level will improve.
Hey, I've started hosting Raffles where I can give away some cool drywall and home improvement related tools and such. Check them out at: https://raffall.com/345505/enter-raffle-to-win-a-free-skim-coating-blade-hosted-by-that-kilted-guy-video-productions
Thank you,
Guy Purcella
aka That Kilted Guy
https://www.youtube.com/@ThatKiltedGuyDIY
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