Smoothing and priming drywall
There´s a knack to the wrist action needed to smoothly lay on joint compound.
Until you master it, you can expect your first few tries to come out on the
rough side. Lightly sand away imperfections with fine-grit sandpaper clamped in
a sanding block or wrapped around a block of wood. Avoid roughening the surface
paper when you sand. If you do accidentally roughen the paper, repair the damage
by applying a small amount of the compound with the broad knife.
After
your taping skills improve, try wet sanding minor blemishes with a sponge.
This eliminates dust and does not scuff the surface paper. Use a small-celled
sponge that looks like carpet padding. Saturate the sponge and wring it to prevent
dripping. Remove high spots with as few strokes as possible. Clean the sponge
frequently.
Look at some walls at an angle or under certain lighting
conditions and you can see pots where joint compound appears to be bleeding
through the finish coat of paint. This phenomenon, known as joint banding happens
because of differences in porosity and texture between the panel´s face paper
and the compound at joints and fasteners. To eliminate joint banding, prime
drywall with a paint specially formulated to equalize surface porosity and texture
differences, such as USG´s First Coat.
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