Joint compound and drywall tape make wall seams invisible.
Drywall panels give interior walls a smooth, professional look. Made from tightly compressed gypsum particles and covered with thick paper, you can't tell where one drywall panel ends and another begins, when you tape out the joints correctly. While taping drywall isn't difficult, for the best results, you'll need a little knowledge about the properties of joint compound. A few techniques used by the pros will also help you obtain a flawless wall finish.
Instructions
1. Apply premixed drywall compound to the joint where two drywall panels meet with a 6-inch taping knife. This knife, with a wide blade, lets you scoop up about ½ cup of compound at one time and smooth it into the joint.
2. Fill the entire joint with compound but wipe off excess bulges, using long, smooth strokes with the wide end of the knife, along the joints.
3. Cut a piece of drywall paper tape about 2 inches shorter than the length of the seam you're taping and position it directly over the joint.
4. Smooth the drywall tape into place with the taping knife, using light pressure and pulling from the middle of the tape to each end. If the tape moves, readjust it with your fingers and smooth it out again.
5. Switch the 6-inch taping knife for the 10-inch taping knife and pull the wider blade lightly along the joint to remove more compound and to feather out the edges over a larger expanse of wall. Don't use any more joint compound at this time.
6. Repeat the process on the rest of the joints, ensuring that you do not overlap the drywall tape at corners, and then let the joint compound dry completely.
7. Sand away rough edges or patches with a drywall sander. A drywall sander features a rectangular pad that holds replaceable drywall sanding screens that will not scratch your wall.
8. Reapply joint compound to the taped seams. You won't use any more paper tape, but you'll need one, or more, additional coats of joint compound. As it dries, joint compound shrinks slightly, so multiple thin coats are better than one thick coat.
9. Sand your entire wall with a drywall sander after the final coat of joint compound dries and wipe off the wall with a tackcloth to remove drywall dust before painting or applying wallpaper.
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