Old timer told me to pre-fill nail holes before mudding and I ignored him for years

Been hanging board for about 6 years now. Met this guy Frank on a job in Cleveland back in 2019, must've been 65, been doing drywall since the 70s. He told me to go around and hit every nail/screw hole with a quick dab of mud before doing the full coat. Said it saves sanding time. I thought he was just old and slow. Finally tried it on a ceiling job last month where I had like 400 fasteners. Took an extra 20 minutes up front but I swear I saved at least an hour on sanding. Anyone else do this or am I late to the party?

3 comments

3 Comments

janarivera6d ago

Four years back I did a job in a house that had maybe 350 fasteners total and I tried Frank's trick for a whole afternoon. It was a waste of time for me. @claire_gibson, I get why you liked it but here's the deal. That extra thin coat of mud just dries weird and creates hard edges you have to knock down anyway. I'd rather spend more time sanding than messing with two step filling. On a ceiling, those tiny dabs also dry uneven and leave shadows under certain light. Frank is a nice guy but I'll stick to one smooth pass every time.

price.gavin6d ago

Yeah that part about shadows on ceilings got me too. I was one of those guys who swore by one thick pass for years but last summer I had to fix a bunch of dried dabs from a previous job and saw exactly what you mean about the uneven drying. @claire_gibson I get why you like it for closets though, low light hides those issues. Maybe Frank's trick works better on walls with texture or something but for flat ceilings I'm with you on sticking to one smooth pass.

claire_gibson6d ago

HOLD UP, 400 fasteners? Did you just say 400 on a ceiling? My arms get tired just thinking about that many screws! Frank knew what he was talking about though. I tried this trick last year on a small closet job and felt like a fool for not listening sooner. Those little dabs really do save you from chasing every popped nail later.