Applying smooth coat, or skim coating, is the final step in your preparation before priming and painting your walls and ceiling. It requires a careful eye, but with a little practice you can give surfaces that professional look.
Instructions
Finish Coat on Walls
1. Sand all joints smooth.
2. Check joints for uneven spots (depressions, humps, ridges and waves). Hold the edge of a mud knife across a joint and try to rock the knife back and forth. If you get a rocking motion, you'll need to feather the joint out farther.
3. Feather the joint out if necessary. ("Feathering" refers to the process of spreading the drywall compound out to a wider and wider, ever-thinning edge. It's a trick used to keep the eye from noticing the slightly higher center of the joint.)
4. Sand the joint if one side is too high, or feather more drywall compound (a.k.a. "mud") on any low spots.
5. Let dry and check again, repeating steps until smooth.
Finish Coat on Ceiling
6. Sand all joints smooth.
7. Apply a thin layer of mud over entire ceiling. Use a 12-inch-wide trowel and, with even pressure, smooth mud over ceiling.
8. Go back over area with trowel until smooth. You'll remove most of the mud, leaving only a very thin layer.
9. Allow this coat to dry.
10. Sand the entire ceiling to remove any rough spots.
11. Turn a light on and step back at an angle and look for any uneven areas on the ceiling.
12. Sand the area or apply more mud if you have uneven areas.
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