What to use for drywall repair/painting prep
 

We removed old wall paper and the drywall (walls & ceiling) in our
bathroom needs some prep work to get it to the point where the surface
would be similar to new drywall. I've scraped off all the loose glue
etc but the surface is uneven all over. I need to lay a skim coat over
the whole surface area to smooth it out. What would be best to do this
with?

I've tried 'spackling paste' and this has turned into a nightmare. It
dries too fast. I end up created lines in the spackle as I go over it
with the 12" knife. I had no trouble getting my joint compound to
smooth out over my joint tape without a crease anywhere. This
spackling paste seems to be for smaller areas I guess. It doesn't
really work well when doing a whole wall. And yes I tried watering
down the spackling paste so it didn't dry as fast.

I have not used this, but I believe they make a wall paper like material
that can be painted. After putting it up you use some drywall mud to hide
the seams. Might be the easiest way to go.

Good luck.
wrote in message
oups.com...
We removed old wall paper and the drywall (walls & ceiling) in our
bathroom needs some prep work to get it to the point where the surface
would be similar to new drywall. I've scraped off all the loose glue
etc but the surface is uneven all over. I need to lay a skim coat over
the whole surface area to smooth it out. What would be best to do this
with?

I've tried 'spackling paste' and this has turned into a nightmare. It
dries too fast. I end up created lines in the spackle as I go over it
with the 12" knife. I had no trouble getting my joint compound to
smooth out over my joint tape without a crease anywhere. This
spackling paste seems to be for smaller areas I guess. It doesn't
really work well when doing a whole wall. And yes I tried watering
down the spackling paste so it didn't dry as fast.

wrote in message
oups.com...
We removed old wall paper and the drywall (walls & ceiling) in our
bathroom needs some prep work to get it to the point where the surface
would be similar to new drywall. I've scraped off all the loose glue
etc but the surface is uneven all over. I need to lay a skim coat over
the whole surface area to smooth it out. What would be best to do this
with?

I've tried 'spackling paste' and this has turned into a nightmare. It
dries too fast. I end up created lines in the spackle as I go over it
with the 12" knife. I had no trouble getting my joint compound to
smooth out over my joint tape without a crease anywhere. This
spackling paste seems to be for smaller areas I guess. It doesn't
really work well when doing a whole wall. And yes I tried watering
down the spackling paste so it didn't dry as fast.


You mentioned a 12" knife so I will use that as reference. I prefer a 6 or
8".

Use regular or setting drywall mud based on your time preferences.

Looking at your wall lay a thin even coat of mud from left to right at the
ceiling level.
Drop down and lay another coat at 20" from the ceiling (based on a 12"
knife).
Drop down leaving the same amount of un-skimmed wall and repeat until you
get to the floor.
At this point you will have bands of mud separated by un-skimmed wall.
Allow the mud to set or dry based on what you chose.
Go back and fill in the voids.
Sand or scrape the ridges.
Repeat as necessary to achieve a uniform appearance.

It really isn't as hard as I made it sound. The real trick is applying a
uniform thickness. That does take a little practice.

Colbyt

I had no trouble getting my joint compound to smooth out....

You could just float the walls with that. If the paper facing of the
drywall is damaged, sand it lightly to knock it down some. Then prime
it with oil-based primer and snad again after it dries. Then float the
walls.

What do you mean by 'float' the walls?

The original poster said "the surface is uneven all over. I need to
lay a skim coat over
the whole surface area to smooth it out".

To "float" a wall is to do what the OP said he needed to do --
basically applying a thin layer for the purpose of evening out a
surface that isn't flat.

You said in your first post "the surface is uneven all over. I need to
lay a skim coat over
the whole surface area to smooth it out".

To "float" a wall is to do just that -- basically applying a thin layer
for the purpose of evening out a surface that isn't flat.