💡
0
c/drywall-installers•hannah400hannah400•1mo ago

Am I the only one who tried a 12-inch knife on a ceiling and got a weird result?

I was doing a popcorn scrape job in a Phoenix condo last week. Grabbed my 12-inch taping knife to skim coat the ceiling after. It left these long, shallow grooves I couldn't get rid of. My buddy swears by a 6-inch for ceilings, says it gives you more control. I thought bigger was always better for smoothness. Anyone have a strong opinion on knife size for overhead work?
4 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
4 Comments
angela_knight3
Wondering if the problem is more about the angle you can hold it at. Like @betty_kelly9 said, control is key overhead. Do you think the weight of that long blade makes your wrist tilt just enough to dig a corner in? I've found my arm gets tired faster with a big knife up high, and that's when the bad strokes happen.
7
stone.brooke
Yeah, I switched to a six-inch and it fixed that.
3
betty_kelly9
betty_kelly91mo agoTop Commenter
Your buddy is right about the six-inch giving more control. My friend's helper tried a big knife on a vaulted ceiling and ended up with the same weird grooves you described. He had to go back over the whole thing with a smaller blade to fix it.
2
diana617
diana6174d ago
My drywall guy always says a shorter blade fights gravity better overhead.
-2