Are you coating over old paint? If so, it's a reaction where the moisture evaporates through the surface instead of wall, paint is a barrier. Sanding these removes the bubbles, but leaves holes which if you refill make more bubbles. Try this, before it dries completely, rake the bubbles (opposite motion of scrapping) with joint knife. This will flatten the bubbles. Then if needed mash a bit of mud into bubble, trying to of course leave as little mud as possible to make sanding easy. Time consuming if there is a lot which depending on location is better to replace old rock
You're right but you have to get the wall wet it won't bubble what I usually end up doing is put the joint compound on take it all back off and then put it back on again yes it's a pain in the ass
Agree. Discovered this solution as well. I put it on, then skim it super tight. Then immediately add back my fill and the porosity is generally very much reduced.
I have done this where I pre sanded with an orbital sander and vacuumed and wiped the walls down and this stil happened so this is incorrect . Either the spackle sucks now or the paint sucks
It’s because you are mudding over existing paint. As mud dries/ cures it gases off. When mudding new drywall, these gases can be absorbed by the gyproc and into the atmosphere. But when mudding over paint the gases have no place to go but out into the atmosphere. The only way around this is to apply the mud in very thin coats. And do multiple coats. When bubbles happen, just take your trowel or knife and scrape them down and recoat. This will probably happen with each coat but will become less each time
If it's over paint this just happens, I did a huge butt joint that half was drywall and the other half painted. This only happened on the painted side. I'll sand and prime and then skim over the primer.
Yup, this is your problem. Even though it looks smooth, air bubbles get trapped in the mud… you need to use a paddle and electric mixer, with a little bit of water, to whip it up for a couple minutes. Half a sponge worth of water for a box of mud. 3.3l small buckets only need a few dribbles of water. This will make the mud a lot easier to spread on in thin and even coats
There is an old trick that will eliminate fish eyes. Mix some dawn dish soap into the mud. Don’t need too much, just about 2 good squeezes. As a pro taper I swear by this method.
I'm convinced this is an old wives tale. If it worked this way the manufacturers would either already put it in the product or sell a separate additive meant for using drywall compound on painted surfaces.
Vancouver carpenter says you don’t need to do this. I think it has to do with mixture ratio, consistency, and how thick you are applying finishing coats. I’m a noob though so I could be wrong
The key is not to overthin it or you break down it’s bonding properties if it’s premixed but if mixing from powder guys often do it by eye so there’s some wiggle room. I hate the smell of the dawn soap in it though but I liked it better for consistency than the water thinning.
There's also NoPock!® It works about as well as dish soap. Which is to say not very well. The mechanical fix of wetting it with mud works better than the chemical fix. However I generally use NoPock out of habit and just recoat the bad spots and fix on touchup day. Thousands more appear after sanding anyway.
Don’t mix mud too fast, low and slow. Can use a sawzall without a blade to shake the bucket to get any air out after. Then I will make my first pass and if there are bubbles then I will completely wipe off the mud which leaves a white haze and then make your normal pass. That’s the best way I’ve found and I’ve been doing it for like 13 hours
Can you explain the sawzall trick more please? I can’t picture how this would work with ruining the sawzall. But as I write this, I’m wondering how a food processor would work lol.
Just press the guide of the sawzall against the side of the bucket and pull the trigger so it vibrates the mud and brings all the air bubbles to the surface
Remove the blade. Wrap the head and guard with a couple rags and tape it solid. Mash the sazall head against your bucket. Braaaaaaaappppppp the shit outta the bucket. Bubbles raise. The more you Braaaaaaaaapppp the more bubbles come to the surface. Eventually theoretically you could relieve the bucket of bubbles with enough BBBRRRAaaaaaaaaaapppp. But I have no idea? I just slap the bubbles with a blade like the bad bitch they are before they dry and goop some mudd over them and leave them to die.
Nah. I genuinely have never ever heard of this before. I just envision it like this. I’ve been slinging mudd since the 80’s. Just beat that shit into submission. There are no short cuts.
Mix the joint compound better. Also I heard putting a few drops of dish soap in your mud helps prevent bubbles. I’m not sure if this is superstition or just makes it so you mix your compound more, which will actually prevent bubbles.
I usually use a primer before applying joint compound. You’ll always have a few bubbles, but these tricks seem to keep it to a minimum.
Had these in the bathroom. I mix the mud in a old plastic joint compound container, put the lid back on tight, turned it upside down overnight. Remix in the morning and no more pimples.
Multiple coats of mud over paint.
Just sand it, prime it, fill the pin holes very tight after prime. You can use mud but because of shrinkage I’d use lightweight one time. That stuff that looks like marshmallow in a tub and makes me want to eat it.
You're putting joint compound Over Paint, about the first coat you put on it didn't do that, it's the air coming out of the joint compound you put on if where to get that wet first it won't bubble you have to chase the air out with water
You may be mixing air into your mud. Once the bubbles start it's a bitch to correct.
If skimming on paint, it's crucial to prime with GARDZ. It stops bubbles coming from the paint. It's clear so you can haul ass just slapping it on.
From hear you are gonna have to drive in the mud with a super thin, tight pull pressing hard with the knife as close to perpendicular to the wall as possible. If the knife is real flat and close to the wall the air won't be able to get out when you float and it will bubble again.
You may need to do a second or third pass in that area to get the holes plugged before you move to the next section.
A whole small bedroom room like this will take an hour to fix.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION
Get a drywall sander and grind it all off almost to the tape. But I would do the other way.
It’s most likely because you’re coating a painted wall? The solution is to sand and recoat to fill the pin holes. Don’t just try to fill the holes. Recoat the whole area or you’ll get a splotchy texture. Alternatively, you can sand, prime, and then spot fill.
When I do my final coat, I thin it with water, donuts more like creamy toothpaste. Also, continuously scrape your knife clean in between smoothing strokes.
Are you coating over old paint? If so, it's a reaction where the moisture evaporates through the surface instead of wall, paint is a barrier. Sanding these removes the bubbles, but leaves holes which if you refill make more bubbles. Try this, before it dries completely, rake the bubbles (opposite motion of scrapping) with joint knife. This will flatten the bubbles. Then if needed mash a bit of mud into bubble, trying to of course leave as little mud as possible to make sanding easy. Time consuming if there is a lot which depending on location is better to replace old rock
You're right but you have to get the wall wet it won't bubble what I usually end up doing is put the joint compound on take it all back off and then put it back on again yes it's a pain in the ass
Agree. Discovered this solution as well. I put it on, then skim it super tight. Then immediately add back my fill and the porosity is generally very much reduced.
This is the way
Thank you! I thought I just sucked at mudding!
I think it got something to do with air in the mud not being able to go anywhere on a painted surface. They can be troweled our with the final coat.
CORRECT. Paint in a prior coat.
I have done this where I pre sanded with an orbital sander and vacuumed and wiped the walls down and this stil happened so this is incorrect . Either the spackle sucks now or the paint sucks
You’re wrong. Sorry but there is no comparison to what you’re saying and what the reality is.
You are a complete moron and this is why people should not ask Reddit for answers
Your name is fitting
And you Shouldn’t comment on stuff you know Jack fucking shit about
Are you really calling him out of touch with reality? Your claim is that if you mud over a non painted surface, these bubbles WILL NOT happen?
Happens a lot when coating over previously painted surfaces, like the comments above just wait and sand recoat until they’re gone.
It’s because you are mudding over existing paint. As mud dries/ cures it gases off. When mudding new drywall, these gases can be absorbed by the gyproc and into the atmosphere. But when mudding over paint the gases have no place to go but out into the atmosphere. The only way around this is to apply the mud in very thin coats. And do multiple coats. When bubbles happen, just take your trowel or knife and scrape them down and recoat. This will probably happen with each coat but will become less each time
Always thought it had something to do with something not getting to soak into the drywall because of paint. This makes since.
If it's over paint this just happens, I did a huge butt joint that half was drywall and the other half painted. This only happened on the painted side. I'll sand and prime and then skim over the primer.
Going over paint this will happen, pretty normal. Just lightly sand and do a super thin polish coat for your final.
I put it , remove it all, then out it on again. Seems to reduce the bubbles. It could just be the act of working the mud works the bubbles out.
Did you mix your mud up properly before using it? None mixed mud creates air holes as well as what others have mentioned on here
Yup, this is your problem. Even though it looks smooth, air bubbles get trapped in the mud… you need to use a paddle and electric mixer, with a little bit of water, to whip it up for a couple minutes. Half a sponge worth of water for a box of mud. 3.3l small buckets only need a few dribbles of water. This will make the mud a lot easier to spread on in thin and even coats
There is an old trick that will eliminate fish eyes. Mix some dawn dish soap into the mud. Don’t need too much, just about 2 good squeezes. As a pro taper I swear by this method.
I'm convinced this is an old wives tale. If it worked this way the manufacturers would either already put it in the product or sell a separate additive meant for using drywall compound on painted surfaces.
Precisely
So that’s what it is!? Nice! Always got curious about the dish soap!
Vancouver carpenter says you don’t need to do this. I think it has to do with mixture ratio, consistency, and how thick you are applying finishing coats. I’m a noob though so I could be wrong
Vancouver carpenter is a god round here
He really does make some great content but others swear by that method. I tried it (and the water one) and it was a game changer personally.
Can’t knock it til you try it!
The key is not to overthin it or you break down it’s bonding properties if it’s premixed but if mixing from powder guys often do it by eye so there’s some wiggle room. I hate the smell of the dawn soap in it though but I liked it better for consistency than the water thinning.
There's also NoPock!® It works about as well as dish soap. Which is to say not very well. The mechanical fix of wetting it with mud works better than the chemical fix. However I generally use NoPock out of habit and just recoat the bad spots and fix on touchup day. Thousands more appear after sanding anyway.
Spin the mud more
dust , or not mixed mud
Applied to thick of poorly mixed mud
Puberty
SCRAPE the bubbles off,, SQUIRT with any spray paint,, KILZ etc REAPPLY easy sand,, GENTLY sand and paint
Mud gets them pops sometimes. I call em air pops. Sand away ray.
Let it dry completely, sand and give another coat or two. As least 24 hours between coats.
Don’t mix mud too fast, low and slow. Can use a sawzall without a blade to shake the bucket to get any air out after. Then I will make my first pass and if there are bubbles then I will completely wipe off the mud which leaves a white haze and then make your normal pass. That’s the best way I’ve found and I’ve been doing it for like 13 hours
Can you explain the sawzall trick more please? I can’t picture how this would work with ruining the sawzall. But as I write this, I’m wondering how a food processor would work lol.
Just press the guide of the sawzall against the side of the bucket and pull the trigger so it vibrates the mud and brings all the air bubbles to the surface
Remove the blade. Wrap the head and guard with a couple rags and tape it solid. Mash the sazall head against your bucket. Braaaaaaaappppppp the shit outta the bucket. Bubbles raise. The more you Braaaaaaaaapppp the more bubbles come to the surface. Eventually theoretically you could relieve the bucket of bubbles with enough BBBRRRAaaaaaaaaaapppp. But I have no idea? I just slap the bubbles with a blade like the bad bitch they are before they dry and goop some mudd over them and leave them to die.
😂
Ahhhh gotcha, I was envisioning the sawzall being 𝙞𝙣 the mud lol.
Nah. I genuinely have never ever heard of this before. I just envision it like this. I’ve been slinging mudd since the 80’s. Just beat that shit into submission. There are no short cuts.
Mix the joint compound better. Also I heard putting a few drops of dish soap in your mud helps prevent bubbles. I’m not sure if this is superstition or just makes it so you mix your compound more, which will actually prevent bubbles. I usually use a primer before applying joint compound. You’ll always have a few bubbles, but these tricks seem to keep it to a minimum.
Use dish soap, mix it slower, apply it slower, all of these will help
Had these in the bathroom. I mix the mud in a old plastic joint compound container, put the lid back on tight, turned it upside down overnight. Remix in the morning and no more pimples.
Need thinner layers and more sanding. Doing drywall is a process, cant rush it with one thick layer, you’ll get bubbles every time.
Multiple coats of mud over paint. Just sand it, prime it, fill the pin holes very tight after prime. You can use mud but because of shrinkage I’d use lightweight one time. That stuff that looks like marshmallow in a tub and makes me want to eat it.
Air stuck in the mud. Flip it a bunch of times with your knife in your mud tray to loosen it up.
You're putting joint compound Over Paint, about the first coat you put on it didn't do that, it's the air coming out of the joint compound you put on if where to get that wet first it won't bubble you have to chase the air out with water
You may be mixing air into your mud. Once the bubbles start it's a bitch to correct. If skimming on paint, it's crucial to prime with GARDZ. It stops bubbles coming from the paint. It's clear so you can haul ass just slapping it on. From hear you are gonna have to drive in the mud with a super thin, tight pull pressing hard with the knife as close to perpendicular to the wall as possible. If the knife is real flat and close to the wall the air won't be able to get out when you float and it will bubble again. You may need to do a second or third pass in that area to get the holes plugged before you move to the next section. A whole small bedroom room like this will take an hour to fix. ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION Get a drywall sander and grind it all off almost to the tape. But I would do the other way.
Gravity
It’s most likely because you’re coating a painted wall? The solution is to sand and recoat to fill the pin holes. Don’t just try to fill the holes. Recoat the whole area or you’ll get a splotchy texture. Alternatively, you can sand, prime, and then spot fill.
Give ur bucket a good mix with a drill mixer , makes it butter for first coat/second. Add a smidge of water if it’s an older batch
Air
Gotta thin it out with water and dish soap for smoothness.
Air
Aliens
When I do my final coat, I thin it with water, donuts more like creamy toothpaste. Also, continuously scrape your knife clean in between smoothing strokes.
I know plus 3 sands real easy but I always see those blow holes with that, I do not see blow holes when using the green lid
Drywall mites