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Why does nobody talk about mud drying too fast in winter...
I was working a basement job in Denver last January and my all-purpose mud was skinned over in like 10 minutes. Had to keep adding water to the bucket just to get it to spread right... ruined my whole taping rhythm. Has anyone else ran into this with colder weather messing up their mix?
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oscarc1229d ago
...and then the humidity dropped like a rock that same week and my hot mud was setting up before I could even get it on the knife. I mean I get that dry air in winter is gonna pull moisture out of everything but it felt like the mud was fighting me the whole way. I ended up mixing smaller batches and keeping a spray bottle handy just to mist the surface while I worked. It's annoying because you think you got your technique down and then the weather just laughs at your plans.
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williams.sage28d ago
You might want to double check that spray bottle thing. Misting the surface while you're working can actually mess up the bond between coats if you hit it too heavy, and it can make the mud crumble instead of smoothing out. What worked better for me in dry winter air was keeping a damp sponge in a ziplock and dragging it across the knife before each pass, just a light touch to keep things slick without flooding it. Did you ever try adding a tiny splash of vinegar to your mixing water? It slows down the set time just enough to give you some breathing room.
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ellioth3728d ago
Saw @oscarc12 mention the spray bottle trick, I read that a wet rag over the bucket helps keep mud from skinning over too.
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spencer7826d ago
Man I feel your pain on that Denver dry air. I was doing a living room in Golden last winter and had the same issue with my all-purpose mud skinning over before I could even get it on the tape. I started adding a splash of white vinegar to my mixing water, like maybe a teaspoon per quart, and it slowed the set just enough to keep it workable for a solid 20 minutes or so. Also switched to a plastic mud pan with a tight lid instead of a bucket, made it way easier to keep the mud fresh between refills without stirring all the time.
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