My neighbor's comment about my mud work made me stop and think

I was finishing a basement in Springfield and my neighbor, Frank, who used to be a painter, watched me for a minute. He said, 'You know, you're sanding that second coat like it's the third. You're just making more dust for yourself.' He was right. I was overworking a fill coat on a long wall, adding maybe 30 minutes of extra sanding for no real gain. Anyone else catch themselves doing extra steps that don't actually improve the finish?

3 comments

3 Comments

raymartin1mo ago

Totally get that. I've been there with drywall mud. I'll catch myself going over a seam three times when two would have been fine. It's like you get in a zone and forget what step you're even on.

the_lisa1mo ago

Saw my buddy sand a patch smooth as glass, then mud right over it again.

alice_mitchell1mo ago

Yeah, and then you stand back and realize you've just undone all of @the_lisa's buddy's perfect sanding. I've left the shop vac running in an empty room for twenty minutes because I was in that mudding trance. At some point you're just moving paste around for fun.