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Hot take: I think the 6-inch taping knife is a waste of time for most first coats.
Last week in a Charlotte condo, I used a 10-inch knife for the first coat on a long ceiling seam and my partner said I was nuts, but it laid down way more mud faster and the second coat with a 12-inch was flawless.
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ninas701mo ago
You ever read that old article from that guy who does the drywall school? He said the same thing, that starting with a bigger knife is a total game changer. I tried it after reading that and it just makes sense, you cover more ground and get a better base layer. My buddy who's been doing this for twenty years still fights me on it, says it's too hard for beginners. But like your ceiling seam, a 10-inch holds more mud and you get a flatter start, so the next coat is way easier to clean up. Sticking with a tiny knife for the first pass just means more work later to fill in all the low spots.
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evan1511mo ago
That drywall school guy's article saved me from my own stubbornness. I fought using a bigger knife for years because my first try looked like a toddler finger-painted with mud. Turns out I just needed more practice, not a smaller tool.
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