Finishing drywall is an art form. Some people make it look easy and some people struggle with the basics. However, drywall finishing does not have to be complicated. As long as you butted the tapered ends of the drywall together when you screwed it to the wall, you should have no problems taping and sanding your walls to achieve a professional look.
Instructions
1. Inspect all of the screws you used to hang the drywall. They must be countersunk into the drywall and should not stick up above the surface of the board. If they do, turn them in with a screwdriver. Also, tear away any loose paper from the drywall.
2. Mix the drywall plaster in the 5-gallon bucket with a mixing paddle connected to your hand drill. Check that water does not rest on the top of the plaster.
3. Fill your 5-inch plaster putty knife half way with plaster and cover all of the screw holes on the entire wall with plaster.
4. Refill your putty knife and place a layer of plaster across several drywall joints. Complete this on five to 10 joints at a time.
5. Unroll 3 feet of drywall tape and center the tape over the joint and press the tape into the wet plaster. Unroll more tape and complete the seam. Place the knife against the edge of the tape at the end of the seam and tear the tape off the roll. Complete this with all of the seams you placed plaster on.
6. Place the blade of your putty knife onto the edge of the tape and hold it at a 25-degree angle. Firmly press the putty against the tape as you slide the putty the full length of the tape. Place the excess plaster back into the 5-gallon bucket. Do this with all of the tape.
7. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 until you have plastered and taped all of the drywall. Give the plaster adequate time to dry before sanding. The plaster will turn white when dry. If it is dark gray it is still wet.
8. Place a piece of 600-grit sandpaper onto a pole sander and sand the seams. Remove the rough plaster but do not sand down to the paper. Also, sand the plaster on the screw holes flush with the drywall.
9. Add a second coat of plaster to the seams in the wall. Do not add more to the screw holes. Give the plaster adequate time to dry and sand the surface again.
10. Inspect the wall to see if it looks flat. If you still have indentations over the joints, add a third coat and then sand.
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