Had a conversation with my 80 year old neighbor about mudding that made me rethink everything

I was out in the driveway last Saturday cleaning my hawk and trowel when old Mr. Henderson from two doors down walked over. He saw my tools and said he used to hang rock back in the 70s for a living. I asked him about finishing and he told me he never used a banjo or even a corner trowel, just a 6 inch knife and a lot of patience. He showed me how he would feather his edges by eye and said the key was keeping your mud a little looser than most guys do. I tried it on a small repair yesterday and honestly the finish came out smoother than when I use my fancy tools. Has anyone else had luck ditching the gadgets and going old school?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilymurphy1d ago

My grandpa was the same way with drywall actually lol. He used to say if you gotta buy a special tool for every little thing you're just making the job harder. I remember watching him tape a whole basement with a 4 inch knife and a bucket and he never even touched a corner tool. The weirdest thing he taught me was to mix a little dish soap into the mud which sounds insane but it made it spread like butter. I tried it once and it worked but my buddy said I was crazy so I stopped lmao. Now I kinda wanna try that looser mud trick your neighbor mentioned cause my corners always crack.

the_john1d ago

The dish soap thing sounds like a good way to get your mud to bubble up if you're not careful. But hey, whatever works for a 80 year old guy who's been doing it since bell bottoms were cool.