Compared two drywall mudding techniques last week and one was way smoother

I've always been a fan of the 'blue top' all purpose mud, but my buddy swore by the Plus 3 lightweight stuff. Tried doing a patch in my kitchen with the heavy mud and it took forever to sand down, then switched to the Plus 3 on another hole and it went feather edge perfect in half the time. Anyone else find certain muds just make or break a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara3999d ago

Got a different angle for you - try mixing the two together. I've been doing this thing where I use the all purpose blue top as a base coat cause it's got better adhesion, then switch to the Plus 3 for the top coats. The heavy stuff grabs onto the mesh tape way better and I swear it's harder to crack that way. Plus when you feather out the lightweight stuff over top, you get that easy sanding finish without losing the strength underneath. One dude I know even adds a splash of water to the heavy blue top to thin it out for a middle ground.

sean_murray9d ago

Hang on, you're telling me some guy is just... adding water to the blue top? Like, right in the bucket? That feels so wrong to me, man. I've always heard that stuff is formulated specific and messing with it just kills the bond. I'd be terrified it would just crumble off the wall in a month.