Taping mud finally clicked for me after 15 years in the trade

I always fought with my taping mud getting too stiff or drying out too fast on the pan. Last month I was working a job in Nashville and the guy next to me showed me his trick. He adds a tiny splash of warm water to the pan before he loads it up and mixes it in with his knife. Tbh I thought he was crazy but I tried it and my corners came out way smoother. Anyone else got a weird mud trick that actually works?

2 comments

2 Comments

perez.mia7d ago

That warm water trick is a good one, I've been doing it for a few years now and it really does make a difference on the consistency. Another thing that helped me was switching to a stainless steel pan because the mud doesn't seem to stick to it as bad as the plastic ones. Glad you found something that works for you, the little tweaks are what keep this trade interesting.

mason.mary6d ago

@perez.mia you're right about the warm water, I started doing that last year and it cuts down on the clumps. For the pan, try wiping a thin layer of vegetable oil on the stainless before you mix. The mud slides right off when you're done, no scraping needed. Keeps the pan from rusting too.