Joint compound skim coat???

[Pennsyltucky]

Can I use joint compound to skim coat a room that has patched and primed drywall? I'm talking about a very thin coat. Just enough to fill in the imperfections and hide the orange peel from the old paint. I don't mean texture paint. Just layers of old latex.

Does USG (or anyone) make a product more suitable for this? Will joint compound work?

Thanks.

Adam
Collegeville, Pa.

[Sophist]

I renovated a bathroom that had wall paper. The customer wanted to get rid of the wall paper and paint the room white.

After steaming the wallpaper to remove it and doing a skim coat with joint compound I realized that it would have been cheaper and a lot less of a hassle to just hang new board.

Of course this was just a bathroom.

You can use a joint compound to do this but it may be difficult to get good results. depends how much experience you have.

If the room has lots of light your skim coat needs to be perfect or you will see blemishes everytime light is cast down the wall.

If you are inexperienced or if the room has lots of long wall surfaces I would recommend getting a drywaller in for that bit of the job.

[tkostal]

I am glad to see that I was not the only one to have this idea. Anyway, I tackled this project in a small bathroom that had been partialy remodeled. My house is 100 years old and the remodel left some of the old plaster behind and added new drywall. They used sand in the paint to "hide" the imperfections in the surface. This made it impossible to clean the walls or even wipe them down so I wanted a smooth surface. I had been advised against using joint compound. I was told that applying it too thick would cause it to crack and flake off but I threw caution to the wind; ie. ignored them!

1. I used USG Topping Joint Compound and went at it with a large taping knife. I'm no plasterer so it was a very time consuming job. It takes a light hand to rid the job of ridges caused by the uneven surface.

2. I also used a SOFT DAMP sponge to lightly feather the compound into a smooth surface.

3. A drywall sanding screen gave me the finish I was looking for. Use a gentle touch. Pressing too hard will create grooves in the mud. If you have ever sanded a joint before you know how much dust you can kick up, just imagine doing an entire wall of compound. Use plastic to separate you from the rest of the house and cover your mouth and nose with a particle mask. Long sleeves and gloves and a hat help keep you from drying your skin out. You could try using a shop vac attachment based sander but I haven't found one that traps dust that fine, the noise of doing an entire room is annoying, and lugging the hose and shop vac around makes doing it by hand more practical. SO BE LIGHT APPLYING THE MUD!

4. A bead of paintable caulk in the inside corners eliminate the need to perfectly sand them smooth. It also adds to the effect of a gentle "imperfect" plaster corner and also reduces the amount of shadow line created by a corner, adding to the "softer" effect.

5. Joint compound really soaks up the paint so either seal like you would with drywall or get ready to paint several coats. I used a shorter nap roller so as not to cover or hide the random pattern left behind from applying the mud. I used a semi gloss to add some depth and pop to the room.

As with most projects, I wondered what I had gotten myself into while I was in the middle of it. I'm not sure I would try this in a large room due to the effort of sanding and working with the mud. But once painted I have a finish that I have never seen before. I find it to be soft and deep in its texture. The light doesn't penetrate all the way into the tiny crevices of the mud like it would on a flat paper/painted surface and provides the interest of shadows and the softer characteristics described. Another damp sponging removes the dust. I applied a lighter color paint to show off the texture of the wall and 2 years later I still marvel at how it turned out. While I had been advised that applying joint compund too thick would cause it to crack, I've not had any cracks or flaking appear. I used 2 very thin coats so they would dry quickly. I applied the mud directly over the painted wall. If I had to guess, I believe the sand in the paint gave the mud something to adhere to. If I try this finish again on fresh drywall, I think I may add sand to the drywall sealer to both seal and provide a rough surface to hold the mud.

I hope this helps and would be very interested in hearing from others who have tried it or have something to add to the project. Good luck and keep trying until you come up with the look you want.