@@jedimindtrick8966 definitely considered it and seen others go searching for boxes/pots with a hammer but personally always tried best to find them without damage or let the contractor know something is buried and go from there.
Lemon fresh mud with auto grease cutting capability. Dawn - powerful enough to effectively remove oil from birds' feathers, while remaining gentle on feathered edges.
Your daughter did a great job of letting us see what was happening with the mud while you were working until you thought she was too close. Hire her & then let her do it her way.
Like actually ha ha. Watching you is frustrating because now that I'm fairly good at this, it's even more insane how it looks like you're not doing anything, but knowing just how much is going on with each stroke. With her zoom, I could see what you think is a good coat, such a good reminder to just leave it be and fill the little holes and bumps on the next coat.
Without you and your videos, I would never have been able to remodel my parents' old house so they could afford assisted living and hospital bills. I just wanted to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Also, my wife makes fun of me every time she sees me watching what she calls your "drywall porn" videos.
You may want to test paint the section with soap. I'm not sure what caused my problem but paint would not stick to the mud when my house was built. I could peel sheets of paint off areas where mud was applied. Not sure what sheetrock crews did.
The plus 3 mud is a composition with soap already added to it by USG. I have completed well over a million sq ft since the 1990s and I add about a cup to 2 cups of water and around a teaspoon of dawn or a little less to each box or pale. The dawn creams the mud and gets rid of the poc issues. When you first spin the mud stop and pop the air bubble that forms around the mixing head, it helps to keep the poc issues away.
Bro Iâve been a Drywaller since I was eight years old because my dad owned his own business and so subsequently my brother and I were scrapping houses and spotting nails since i was at a young age⊠I usually watch political stuff on CZcams⊠Iâm about your age⊠However I find you to be probably one of the most relaxing personalities on this platform. I have always been very reluctant to add the soap⊠Thanks for doing the experiment for me. Lol One thing I will say man⊠I use a pan and knife not a hawk and trowel âŠ. The trowel looks cooler. Good work
â@@panzerfaust1322 Can I ask you a question since you're a drywaller? I am using joint compound for a project, and found out this through research. I haven't tried it yet because I don't want to waste money, so I'm hoping your experience can help!! I found out that joint compound reactivates when water is added to the surface. Is there anything I can apply over it to keep it from absorbing water or humidity? Like a sealer? Also I read that it scratches or scrapes up easily. Is there anything I can add to increase the strength of it so it doesn't damage or dent easily if you bump it? I heard something about pva & I think someone said laquer on a reddit thread I was reading lol, but not sure if there are other things I can look into.
I have spent almost 15 years working at a series of apartment complexes, doing allot of small repairs, and lots of drywall patches. As far as soap in the mud, mudding wise I haven't noticed any difference until the painting. Oil based paint defiantly didn't adhere as good, and in a few odd cases, didn't dry thoroughly. The top dries fine, the underside didn't seem to dry properly, and would cause the paint to sluff off with moderate effort. But could have situational as well. Thanks for showing this on a larger scale.
"Are you paying me for this?" Haha, you and your daughter have great rapport. Good on you. I feel like if adding dish soap to your mud made *that* much of a difference, Procter & Gamble would have partnered with someone and marketed the hell out of that, long ago. Anyhow, thanks for the content and a happy (early) Father's Day, Vancouver Hippie!
I was also taught by old mudders to thin the mud more. Thinner coats-not as thick-less bubbles-less sanding. Soap is a binder. It binds to things, which can then be removed. Or to adhere. Great video!!! Thanks for all your videos.
Try adding about 2 teaspoons of soap to a 16oz bottle of water, and use that water to mix your mud. Iâve found it to leave a much smoother glass like finish, highly recommend any finishers out there to try it
@@Bambino4123 I thin however much mud I need using the soapy water to a consistency Iâm comfortable with, I also add a little plaster of Paris to my mix
I live in a secluded small town with few options. I love plus 3 for finishing because it's much easier to sand. However plus 3 is rarely available here. Green box all purpose is readily available. I've found that by adding 3 or 4 Oz of dish soap makes all purpose almost as easy to sand as plus 3 and it goes on smoother during application. No adverse effects aside from the stinging eyes during sanding
I can see how this might work. Soap breaks the surface tension in water, so the water will flow more smoothly. You should try adding just plain liquid soap with no dyes or scents in it. Then add it to the water. Mix thoroughly but not so that it's foamy....that traps air. Mix it gently, and you should't need very much. Maybe even half of what you added in this video. I think this would give the best results if you're going to do it. This is how I'd do it.
This. Add the soap right before you are done mixing and it only take about half as much as you added. You don't need to add this every coat, but when it's going on thick and likely to bubble, a little soap makes it much better because it breaks the surface tension of the water in the mud and makes it go on smooth. I like to mix up Easy Sand really thick, add some soap and I can put a single coat on corner bead that only requires a light skim to finish. If you don't add soap, you will get a lot of bubbles in mud that thick and it will need more than a skim to finish.
I love how, even with your daughter filming, you still talk to us like we're all right behind her. And to get your daughter involved with your videos shows how much you trust her. She did a great job. And thank you for trying the dish soap experiment.
If you want to ge rid of bubbles, wipe down the wall with a moist sponge after the first coat is completely dry. Wet it just enough so that it darkens the dried drywall mud, and skim it immediately. If the wall dries out, you'll get bubbles again
I've done it both ways soap or no soap it's all a preference thing. As far as the mud not sticking I haven't seen any or had any issues with that, nor have I had any issues with painting it. Just my two cents from a painting and drywall contractor. And as always very informative, keep up the good work.
"Shut it! I'm filming for Dad!" Spoken like a true big sister lol. She did a solid job. Got in close when needed and added some humor. NGL, the wife did much better. Thank you for the video.
My drywall guy has been adding laundry detergent to his mud for over thirty years and his drywall finishes are flawless. Itâs funny how you commented about the nice smell, we have been saying the same thing forever. The entire job sightâs smells so clean. Not for first coat just for finishing.
She did a great job! Could shoot a little lower when you are working on the bottom half of the wall... center on your active hand, keeping your face and knees in the frame, would be my preference during mud application.
I just started doing renovations on my house for the first time. I was skim coating my popcorn walls to make them flat. It was frustrating because it took 2-3 weeks to get a decent look. I watched one of your videos and I was mind blown how many mistakes I did. I'm so grateful and I'm learning alot from you. So thank you to you and your daughter for these videos!
Darn . . . I know that feeling . . . I am living the feeling at the moment . . . great video's . . . I worry though that by the time I get the ceiling right anyone over 5 feet will have to bend down đ
The reason you are getting a lot of are bubbles on your second coat is because you are sanding. Scrape off any imperfections from each coat with a dry trowel, you will find this is very helpful. Lay the trowel fairly flat on the surface and move in opposite direction to applying mud, dose not require much pressure to remove trowel marks ect. A very light sand on your final coat with 400 grit sandpaper if required is all the sanding that is done on the hole job. This includes skim coating. I have 30+ years Esperance , Hope this helps.
I don't have 30 years. But I do much the same. Apply it smooth minimize trowel marks) on first and second. Whatever buggers are on the wall scrape em off. Doesn't hurt to wipe down the wall ( I like a damp sponge mop) to remove any dust. Final coat as flat as possible. Scrape off any buggers and then light sand. If your running heavy texture you can skip final coat and sand.
Adding soap turns regular mud into machine mud, I use machine for hand trowelling as it does tend to bubble less, smoother applications using less water and saving wrists, down side is the eye and nostril burn at sanding. Glad you made the vid as I shared your skepticism and still partially do, adding something that creates suds to remove air bubbles is a mind job.
The surfactant in the dish soap would reduce surface tension and also increase affinity to oils on the surface you are applying the mud to or oils that may happen to be in the mud. I think proper prep would negate the need to use surfactants but in some conditions surfactants in the mud may help. No expert here.
Hey Ben if you take the plugs out they wouldn't be in the way however the wires would be in the way! I see your daughter has your sense of humor. The two of you must have a great time cracking each other up. Enjoy the time together it goes by very quickly. Cheers...
So I learned about soap in mud from a Canadian taping crew. They put about 1 cup in a bucket and mixed it. Iâm not a career taper but if I do something, I intend to be good at it eventually. So I watch and learn and Iâve tried it and it did help with application and smoothness. Especially with setting compound. The only thing that concerned me was one job I was doing, there was a water event. A pipe burst and there was a lot of water damage on the ceiling I just finished, I mean like I did a detailed coffered ceilings, the works. Anyhow, the mud let go of the drywall. The drywall had to come down(everything had to come down) but I noticed it, dunno if regular mud or mix would have stayed. Thatâs my experience with it.
@@anthonyalagna8326 I painted the place after that taping crew. Primer and paint stuck despite me not thinking it would. Counter intuitive I know but thatâs how it went. I did the soap thing for a few years afterwards, I d every step in the process so from framing, hanging, taping, priming, trim work to final paint. Never had a problem. I donât need to do this anymore as Iâve gotten better at taping, but have you had a problem with it?
Been putting dawn in my mud for 30 years and never had a problem. I don't know about bubbles but it definitely makes it smoother, and stay smoother longer. Never had any adhesion problem, and I paint almost all of my own work.
Thanks for the info..I'm a 20 year painting guy,but ocassional mud guy as well (self taught mostly) an i always wondered if soap affected the mud in negative ways for painting.
Can I ask you a question since you work with joint compund? I am using joint compound for a personal project, and found out some info through research but not sure how accurate it is. I haven't tried it yet because I don't want to waste money buying the wrong things experimenting, so I'm hoping your experience can help!! I found out that joint compound reactivates when water is added to the surface. Is there anything I can apply over it to keep it from absorbing water or humidity? Like a sealer? Also I read that it scratches or scrapes up easily. Is there anything I can add to increase the strength of it so it doesn't damage or dent easily if you bump it? I heard something about pva & I think someone said laquer on a reddit thread I was reading lol, but not sure if there are other products I can look into that you may know off hand.
I am convinced that the bubbles come from dust on the wall when you apply mud... I dont sand between coats and I dont get bubbles.. I do add dawn to my mud because I always saw mud crews doing it on jobsites. I think it might also make it sand easier... if nothing else it adds a nice fragrance to the room while you are mudding... you added the right amount in my opinion... makes it easier to clean tools too!
Love the commentary from the fam in the background lol your daughter is a natural, and you can tell how much she enjoys spending time with you. I vote she stays!
The bonding factor of water molecules is lessened by the addition of soap. It helps more with hard water versus soft [or softened] water. Surface tension is what creates the bubbles.
What do you mean by surface tensiÉn.was told many reasons for bubbles(hate them)when i called USG.moisture in rock,mixing too fast.never heard that one
When I started mudding 25 years ago we would add it all the time, especially when using boxes (automatic taping tools). I've been back to many of those jobs and never had any complaints or fails. It seemed like most companies started adding something from the factory in the early 2000s and everyone I know stopped adding soap. Whatever usg started adding rotted out aluminum tools so started using other brands like proform.
I'm not a professional with drywall, but my father was. He always swore by soap in mud for all kinds of reasons. Mainly it was for adding less water, and removing the bubbles. He said it would be less work later because it finished easier. Less work = getting the job done faster. He also added more soap than you did, and he used the cheapest available from the dollar store. For a little bit of soap, he may have saved a ton of time on a job, and it was worth it to him.
Ahah! Soap being a surfactant, it would practically make âwater wetterâ so less water would be needed. Itâd be interesting to try just a liquid surfactant that is used in the horticultural/agricultural industry for spraying herbicides and such. Or yucca extract maybe. At least that theory I think makes sense.
I never leave tips because I accept that my 20 years has no bearing on your years because you've done it consistently, whereas I've only done it semi-professionally for 20 years and you've been doing this kinda stuff the whole time, even if it was just the carpentry sometimes. I've done so many things in my life, lived so many lives, but intertwined in that has been other sides and jobs and things... And the human brain sucks. After 8 concussions, I've forgotten a lot of what I was taught. But, that's where you become my CZcams hero. I'm so thankful your wife is just patient enough to say "help these poor idiots who need you, ignore the professional jerks who say you're wrong and you both get the same results". My inherited family thinks I may be lying about my experience, my natural family knows I've been there and not been careful enough to protect my brain đ so before I thank you, I want to thank your wife for being so patient with you so you can give us this level of help and hope â€ïžâ€ïž
I've added way less Dawn to my mud than you did for years. On and off depending on wheather or not I had it with. Never had an issue with paint adhesion. No call backs on flaking or peeling paint. I used it because that is what I was tought to do by an old mudder.
Knew an old timer taper that used dawn soap when would spray texture . He would say that it would help the mud stay moist to give you time to spray and knock down before drying up on you . Iâve used the soap technique to spray big rooms . Seems to help
You don't need to worry about soap in the mud affecting the paint! The long chain emulsifier molecules in the the soap are hydrophillic on one end and hydrophobic on the other. They strongly attach to the water suspended in the mud and, as you noted, make the mud more smooth (technically, more elastic). The other end of the emulsifier molecules will attach to oily substances. They'll make oil paints stick better and have no substantive effect on water-soluble paints and the "oily" end of the molecules slip off your trowel more easily. The amount of soap that you added at ~5:20 was a good start for the amount of mud in your bucket, but maybe 2x that would've been better (it's hard to see how much mud is in the bucket). In general, about 1/2 cup soap per bucket of drywall. Also, I only use it with the US all-porpoise mud on a finishing coat, not your Canadian Bud-light-variety mud. You can also cheat the mud a bit by mixing the mud up completely, first, then adding a small amount of soap and just mix the soap into the top cm or two of mud and skim the mud off the top for use. This leaves most of the mud mostly soap-free but with a good amount of slippery mud on top and you can mix a bit more of the soap-free mud in if you think it's too soapy - which I don't actually ever find. Finally, if you're going to add water to the mud, *thoroughly* mix it in beforehand and make sure there are no drops on the side (or mix the soap in first) to prevent the soap from forming bubbles with the water.
I'd suggest trying this again, and then go through the painting process as well. Consider using all-purpose mud rather than the light variety as I think it'll bring out a more pronounced difference in the material handling characteristics. I agree with others that your daughter did a good job with video. She could've centered more on the whole scene including the things you're working with instead of sticking mostly with you, but in general, she was awesome, especially getting up close to the action. You need to get comfortable with that. :-) Love your channel.
I once added vitamin water to a pail of mud and didn't use it for a while it took me a while to realize why it was so fragrant. Like crazy berry smell. It smelled even dried on the wall. Love the commentary between you and family members.
I also get yelled at from watching too many videos of taping and hanging after a day of doing it myself đ€Ł my daughter picked my profile picture donât judge haha.... it is always nice watching your videos man. đđ»
I use soap in mud to help with bubbles, dries a little faster and way easier to clean tools after work. Plus mud will become glass smooth if you put a bit more elbow grease into it. 40 % more work I get from same job when homeowner fills how smooth walls become. Try it
When they do natural walls from lime and more they put soup in the end for waterproof surface đđ»đđ» We just have to know all this natural reactions mix things together. So awesome! Iâm so excited learn more about walls composers đđ»đđ» Thank you so much for sharing with usđđ»
I used to work for a masonry contractor and occassionaly would use a grout pump for the joints on thinbrick. It was a major no-no to add soap to the grout mix, even though it would eliminate plugging up the hose and make the joints easy to tool. Boss would have a tantrum when he found out, as it affects adhesion and durability.
yea I wouldn't want it in my grout or mortar either . drywall mud is alot different application and purpose wise. I never used it taping or bedding. 2nd coats mostly . Works great hand finishing but works really really well when using box tools during 2nd coat. Being you don't want to wipe much if any of the mud off getting bubbles out and the boxes add the right amount of mud . Basically just lay your knife flat as possible and wipe the opposite way it was applied.
We use 'a squirt' of dish soap (dawn but also store brands) in our in-ground vinyl liner pool base vermiculite (40# bag and 5 gl. water) and it certainly helps with troweling it smooth. Never had an issue and the ready mix maker encourages using the soap (they recommend dawn by name) for this reason. Would think adding it to mud has same benefits.
The main ingredient in Dawn dish soap is Sodium Lareth Phosphate, which is a surfactant and makes the drywall mud more creamy and goes on smoother. However, causes paint adhesion problems and therefore I cannot imagine why anyone would do this
It peels texture off when it gets sprayed , im a supervisor for a painting company and it happens and we get the blame but the texture peeling of when sprayed doesnt have to do with paintđź
Ive added soap in my mud for years, I've even added soap and plaster of Paris to perfectly round out corners on arches. If you finish with a good coat of primer and a good coat of paint it will be beautiful.... Ive been doing this for over 20 years and the guy who taught me has been doing it since the 60's. I have yet to encounter a problem. Don't look at it like you're adding soap its just more chemicals for a smoother finish. Once you do a level 4 drywall finish with a squeegee and soap you will never go back.
@@Charlie9165 OK Dan, It is really hard to explain how to get a flawless finish in a comment section, but here goes it. After your 3rd sanded coat you apply another topcoat that is mixed with a pinch of soap and water. Use a mud mixer with the proper paddle bit till it is creamy enough to make you want to eat it. Apply it with a hawk and trowel, if you are using a drywall knife then stop. Hawk and trowel is far more natural feeling to use... trust me. Once the 4th coat is applied to the wall quickly grab you handy Marshall squeegee and go to work. Start from the top and work your way down. If you are in an area where it dries quickly you can use a sprayer to mist the wall as you go.The bigger the wall, the bigger the squeegee. It will level out bumps and valleys for a smooth finish. If you are going for the most perfect finish then after this coat dries you would skim coat over the whole section. You just put the same topcoat used for level 4 back on and scrape it off with the trowel. Vancouver carpenter has numerous videos explaining this technique... I don't think he uses a squeegee but I assure you he knows what he's doing. Good luck, hope this helps.
I've played around with this a few times. On one occasion, I used a lot more than a squirt. Everything smelled awesome, only problem was, despite the mud being buttery smooth, it developed more surface tension to the knife. So despite feeling like it would feather super thin and not worry about bubbles, it almost felt like it dragged a bit more. Haven't played around with it in quite some years but I've been wanting to dabble in the soap again soon
Itâs not a myth, iâve been a drywaller since I was five years old . I guess My dad figured this was old enough to learn the trade. That was 55 years ago. He trained me to only put a certain amount of liquid detergent in my mug when the mud has been sitting up for a while. (starting to have a smell but not spoil.) The liquid soap will not only help the characteristics of your mud Application but it will also cut the odor. This would be done only when the walls are getting a prime coat with flat paint or kills primer. I have yet to have a problem afterwards or have a callback dude to the walls flashing or peeling. This also applies to texture in.
I'm surprised how many experts in the comments don't know what this does Aside with your conclusion of making it a little more slippery and float out better it's more known to help with flash setting. It's weird, it does not necessarily retard drying time or delay but yet make it more evenly dry. Say you have 20 minute mud; well it doesn't really allow you to do a second coat in 20 minutes yet it sets up in 20 minutes. Adding the soap will help it set more evenly set in like 25 minutes. You have to play around with it because humidity, heat and cold changes how much soap you need to add. I guess you can relate it to using penetrol or floetrol paint additives, sort of. One more thing I have even used hardeners and dies along with using soap all at the same time mixed in and haven't noticed any bad changes to finish product or problems with painting. It goes with anything try something new if you don't notice it helping you making it easier then don't use it any longer. Good luck guys great content enjoy your videos đ
I recall reading an explanation for how soap works: it makes water"wetter". Therefore, it would make adhesion even BETTER inasmuch as the mud has to penetrate the paper to a degree to stick at all. That said, the same may not be true for the paint, as it has chemical, not physical bonding.
Dawn is excelent at relieving surface tension. I use it on my grass before I fertilize as it breaks surface tension and allows water to penitrate. Do you wash your care at home? Were do you pour out the suds? Much greener huh? Surface tension. Static charge, porosity isn't anything, think surface tension and static electricity. We in the northern climates can relate. Not so much in California.
Adding Dish detergent without a doubt cuts down on the surface tension, gives the mud a bit more open time as well. Gives a slick and smooth finish. Especially great for skim coating.
I donât suggest adding The detergent for 1st coating. You donât want to compromise adhesion of the tape and mud. I Use it only for polishing mostly.
Yes I've been using sunlight soap for some years now definitely the biggest benefit ive notice when doing a big area you dont fatigue as easy never had a paint or mud issues
The dish soap is a surfactant, it allows the bubbles to rise up to the top of the mud during mixing and keeps them out of the mud when you spread them.
Late to comment but one small note that doesnât seem to be mentioned in the other comments. Mixing dish soap with water then mixing in the dry mud mix is where you really see the difference. Dry mix blends astoundingly faster and smoother with a water soap mix. Not such a big deal if youâre using easy sand 90 or 45 but if you need to burn and turn an easy sand 5 patch, the water soap mix will make a world of difference.
I always added detergent to dry mortar or concrete fix. It acts as a plasticizer and makes it easier mix and work. My father was in the concrete business and said to always do this and that commercial plasticizers are basically the same as detergents.
The reason they started putting dish soap in mud dates back to the 90s for me an probably even earlier to combat Pocking. You get this more in Quickset muds when air gets trapped under the mud while setting. The dishsoap would help alleviate this greatly and was used more in Commercial apartments when drywall finished. Most of those were all finished in 1 or 2 coats of quickset and textured. They actually make a product called No Pock....
Iâm using 40 minute compound dry powder. Having a heck of a time with bubbles. Just used The tiniest amount of soap, and it went on like butter. I didnât use as much as this video, or even close. Hoping for the best after it dries. It did make cleanup easier, which may be a bad sign.
Had an experienced drywaller do my new house. He used Dawn because after years of the trade he found applying the mud was easier on his shoulder. Only reason he used it.
Love Dawn soap. Never added to mud tho. Works great after automotive work. Cleans me up perfect. And my dishes are all sparkly đ Kid did a fine job filming. Might have her on full time. At least till school starts up again.
Instead of soap I just use a scoop of the all purpose mud on my regular mud. For the second coat never had an issue sanding and sponging. Unless you add way to much of all purpose that's a big problem!
Gotta say, daughter is really good at getting the close up shots WHILE you are mudding. Typically we only get the close ups after the finish passes are done. I feel like I could see your texture much clearer on each coat than most videos. So takes less coats to get smooth and cleanup is cleaner because there is already soap in the cleanup if needed. Curious if you have any paint problems.
So for the most part I never add it when doing regular drywalling, but when doing patches on painted surfaces where bubbles become a real issue, I have occasionally added a tiny drop of the soap, but only ever in combination with adding some glue, that seems to result in less bubbles. I also add a whole lot less soap than you added. I tend to do the soap thing in a pan rather than creating a whole bucket full of soapified mud. The real issue about adding the dish soap is that you can void any warranty provided by the mud manufacturer if for some reason your installation fails. PS Daughter did great job as camera person. As did your Lady Wife. Also I somehow got unsubscribed from your channel, not sure how that happened but its fixed now :)
I've only ever heard it helps make it easier to work with and for fish eyes for first coat. Mainly when running flat boxed or coating bead, that way second coat you can do a tight skim. I've seen one guy do it and aside from his house smelling good I seen no real benefit LOL
Interesting... you have two things going on. Reducing drag and eliminating water surface tension by adding a surfactant. It would be really interesting to just add a commercial surfactant like they add in herbicides. To eliminate bubbles. Instead of soap add a little glycerin.
Glycerin looks like it might work, as it mixes readily with water and (as you mentioned) acts as a surfactant, just like the dish soap. The question of course is just how much glycerin to add, just like the soap.
@jfl4066, yes that's what it does! Actually when I was a kid I worked for a couple of years in a horticulture nursery. We used dish soap with Roundup. It was readily available & inexpensive. It didn't take much for our backpack sprayers which were 4-5 gallon capacity. It worked well to "extend" the herbicide & cover plants better without having to soak them with herbicide.
Read the Labels about additives guys I just spoke to USG 2 weeks ago, builder getting sued for over $250K because his drywaller used "additives" in the mud, also DO NOT mix different muds with each other, just water. Pros do NOT add shit to your mud, the lawsuits are going around. Also USG emphasized, FULLY DRY before applying another coat, I know sometimes we rush the guys to finish fast and get paid. đ
i did comment before about dawn... We used it in batches of hot mud. And it was drops not a squirt (mixing in the square metal handheld box). Ha. There is no question it smooths easier in hot mud. And i did learn from an old timer. That being said, his customers were repeat and it was common to go back to jobs from 20 years before. no issues.
35 years doing wall finishing and it still makes me cringe when people use trowels. They are for concrete on the ground not walls IMO. Use knives that's why they made them. My wrist hurts watching this. LOL It's very cool that you spent time with your daughter this way. She'll always remember this and not just because she probably liked the video too.
I've been a professional painter for about 10 years. I use dish soap to clean my paint sprayer and brushes because dish soap contains the same surfactants as water based paint so they are compatible. I have a titan 440 sprayer and I've been storing it in soapy water between jobs for 2 years with no problems, except for winter time when I use antifreeze, then clean with soapy water before using again. If your paint sprayer is making a clicking sound or running rough, you can put soapy water into the rig, tape the handle down on the gun and put it in the soapy water bucket so it just cycles through the unit and after about 15 or 20 minutes you can hear the clicking noise from the dirty piston ball stop. My titan has an auto clean mode and I always cycle soapy water through till it sounds happy again at the end of each job. Once I didn't rinse out the sprayer thoroughly before running the paint and the first couple gallons wanted to run because soap makes water wetter. Other than that I've had absolutely no problems, I've been told the dish soap conditions the rubber gaskets as well but can't verify that specifically. I suppose the degreasing aspect of dish soap may make oil based coatings fail if it's in the mud but this isn't 1976 and there's no good reason to put oil primer on fresh drywall. So from a painters perspective , I don't think you'd have any major issues having a bit of soap in the mud, especially if you're back rolling the primer as recommended. Thanks for all your videos they've helped me out a lot lately
Your channel is awesome & very helpful! Man I wish I had your help for some drywall I'm doing for my brother at his house! All sorts of uneven framework behind the wall, it's tough & puzzle like. Normally the whole wall doesn't need a coat of mud though right? I've got all the screws covered, the inside & outside corners taped & next to tape the butt joints (already prefilled them).
Great videos. Thank you. Iâm now off and muddying my own rooms. I also loved having your daughter filming. Her up close filming and conversations were so much fun!
I do mostly stucco, and I have used dish soap in our scratch mud. We don't worry about bubbling, but it helps heaps with troweling. My main thoughts is that it creates microbubbles which allows the mud to slip off the trowel easier. We use a product called Hospifer made specifically for scratch mud that I swear is just laundry soap. It smells just like Tide, and looks like it too. As for your hippy microbiome all natural comment: drywall mud has silicone in it so not natural either =) I've played with making my own lime putty and that is a fun rabbit hole to go down especially if you are in a part of the world that no longer uses lime putty anymore, like us in western Canada.
I think this episode was great, your daughter did a great job, especially when she did a very close up of the mud, showing all the imperfections, now I feel good about my project. LOL The soap just replace the water you normally would of added. with a little fragrance. Oh, Kudos to your wife she did a great job filming as while. Keep you the great work.
Ben!!.... seeing you clean your hawk with a brush & seeing the condition of your oldest/older tools makes me feel much better about myself... People constantly poke at me over how clean my tools are (before,during & after mudding). For that matter, they poke fun at how clean I keep ALL of my tools. I work better in a clean environment, with clean tools & a vit of organization. Also, if others want to purchase several of the same tools over the course of their careers/jobs, that's fine by me.... but I will stick to recognizing & appreciating the value of my tools & making great efforts to give them long, healthy lives! I mean, some of them will surely die (that's life), but you will not find pure negligence, of any variety, in their obituaries or eulogies!!!
On the bubbles sometimes, load up the wall and wait a few minutes before making final passes....let mud sit for a minute or so and bubbles disappear It's just air pockets Can try lightly misting wall with water too
Why hasn't your family been shooting for you this whole time? They are so much better at following what you are doing, and are able to focus on the wall and you so we can see what you want us to see. Also great banter with your daughter, felt like a live comments section. Your wife had a much steadier hand.
As a painter, we regularly clean walls down with dish soap, especially kitchens and baths. I have never had issues with adhesion or streaking. It even sands fine, when you want to get rid of any orange peeling left from the last 10 coats of paint. Quick tip for anyone who paints regularly, after cleaning your brush an kicking out most of the water, dab a small amount of hair conditioner into it mix it in, train in wrapped in plastic or the keeper. Then store in the fridge for your next paint job. That brush will be better than new!
And yes when using soap layering can occur much easier when sanding! I hope you at least turned the power off, although I always enjoy watching rookies hit the connections with their metal tool!
Hey Vancouver carpenter...I've seen guys that use the automatic taping tools use Dawn dish soap in their mud because according to them it helps the joint compound "glide"....I work by hand though so I really wouldn't know but what I do know that's a fact is USG will not guarantee their products if you add foreign stuff to it ...sorry so long peace âïž
3:15 I feel that way about all carpentry lately. I'm 57yrs old and been working this trade since I was about 15 yrs old. I've made a decent living at it, but it just doesn't turn me on much anymore, unless I'm doing some really custom work, that most carpenters won't even touch. I pride myself on doing custom fancy stuff, that's the only thing that still gets my motor running. All the other stuff is just another day on the job. Since you've tried the soap in the mud trick and kinda gave it a nod of approval, I might give it a shot. I usually let the mud sit on the wall for about a minute or so before I give it a final wipe and that seems to help a lot with getting rid of most of the bubbles. I do mostly remodeling, and most of the time I'm patching into already painted surfaces, perhaps the soap might make it a little more slippery for the bubbles to be able to escape.
The weekend warriors don't get it. Sometimes a job is a job and all the years of stress and grind have a way of sapping the love from the work. It doesn't mean we hate it we just don't wake up with that burning desire to rush to the job and get started anymore.
Love your videos. Thanks! I hope I can return a bit of a favor by mentioning your air bubbles are from your mixer. You're pumping air into the mud with the blades whipping that wide open hole in the center. Try mixing the stuff below the surface without creating a whirlpool on top. Decades ago, I realized whipping air into latex paint promoted a really thick layer of dried paint in the can.
Youâre flippen good man . Tips are great , but youâve done your time and have it figured out . My late brother could apply mud so good , ( and he was primarily a millwork/cabinet maker , âŠ. you hardly had to sand it ! .
Ive watched a ton of your videos and have gone from the wide knife to a the church of the trowel. OH MAH GAWD how much easier it is to get a good result.. as a DIY. I recently did a lvl5 finish on a ceiling, I had to re-do all the drywall and I was so damn proud of the taping job. Took me a solid week to get there. inside corners were my bane. but you literally can not see a single hump or blemish even with a halogen light at a low angle. So thanks for all the tutorials. But I could never do it wearing black clothing, thats pure insanity.
I've done this a couple times and works like a charm. I just do it do in small patches or repairs. And just as a finish coat. You get that really smooth nice finish and then just light sand is needed.
Interesting. Thank you for doing the experiment for us! I feel like if soap were a magic additive with no drawbacks, the manufacturers would have added it in there already? By the way, your daughter did a great job filming. I liked the close up shots, as I could see the texture better. It was helpful to see what you consider "good enough." I did my first drywall job a few weeks ago, and I was trying to get each of my coats to look as perfect as yours normally do on video. Took me forever, haha, and I eventually figured out I had to settle for good enough. I hope you paid your daughter well! She did excellent work, and added some humor too.
Thank you for taking the time to do that for us. I had heard about dish soap in the mud. I think I'll try it. I'm doing my daughter's house right now & she's staying with me until it's done. (Right next door!) She comes over here every day after work nit picking about everything I do LOL She didn't like the texture I put in the bedroom she said it looked like it was from the '70s OMG!! It's good to see the bantering you and your daughter have, my daughter and I are the same way.
I add a small bit of water plasticizer also known as bycol it's what's added to cement mixtures to stop water separation, its good for slowing down set time in quick set
i dont have much experience with any of this.. but i do know dish soap is mostly glycerol (glycerine), which is hydrophilic (it's got a water fetish..). i was wondering if adding dish soap to the mud would cause the mud to "draw" moisture out of the air and promote mould to grow. i'd guess it would take larger quantities but still, just wondering.
As a professional drywall finisher and painter with 35+ years experience I can say that it's true that adding soap to the mud will help eliminate the bubbles or shotgun in the mud however it also adversely affects the paint finish in that it makes anywhere there is mud on the wall the paint will appear as a flat finish on the wall. IMO soap is not a good thing to use ever!!!. With my experience I can easily identify the jobs that the finishers used soap by looking at the walls and seeing the dead spots. It's the best way to screw over the painter if you really hate him.
as one of the commenters talking about marking knife curve....I'll say again I was only suprised you didn't do this because so many of your techniques focus on efficiency. I think it's a real time saver. then again it doesn't seem to slow you down much!!
We've been skimming walls for years, the only thing we add to our mud is acrylic ad mix (adhesion) and water. We don't use trowls or hawks just roll it on with paint roller and scrape most of it off with a 10" broad knife (round off those corners), no lines, no hills or valleys, second coat slightly thinned..... like butter. Takes about 15 min to do an average wall. We use a dustless rotary sander but barely needed. I would never add detergent or surfactants. The only reason we use admix is because we're paperhangers and we want a good bond to that wall when the paper dries it has a mechanical pulling action on the surface, I don't do jobs other contractors have skimmed because they don't add adhesive and probably use detergent to make up for their lack of plastering skill, had jobs fail with mud flaking of the wall from that.
I used to soap my mud many years ago. It doesn't seem to affect adhesion in any way, but it also doesn't seem to minimize bubbles. Fact is, air has to escape through the 2nd and consecutive coats and there's only one way out, thus creating bubbles. Soap does make the mud smooth out a little easier, but only a little. Mostly I just found it not very worthwhile. My go-to soap was Murphy's Oil Soap. I've also used Dawn and others, all with about the same results. I used about the same amount you did.
Your daughter did a fabulous job operating the camera. I SAY GIVE HER ANOTHER BONUS JUST FOR THIS COMMENT. it is really hard to find a good camera operator especially when thy are filming someone working in types of construction. Great job to u both.
I can tell you are a professional drywaller by how well you fill my electrical boxes with mud!
"the electricians don't like it, but they are used to it!"
@@brendanmulhall they deserve it too.
I can tell you're an electrician by all the unnecessary holes you came back and put in my finished wall.
@@jedimindtrick8966 definitely considered it and seen others go searching for boxes/pots with a hammer but personally always tried best to find them without damage or let the contractor know something is buried and go from there.
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Lemon fresh mud with auto grease cutting capability. Dawn - powerful enough to effectively remove oil from birds' feathers, while remaining gentle on feathered edges.
Lol
đ Crushed it!
I knew I was fucked!
Your daughter did a great job of letting us see what was happening with the mud while you were working until you thought she was too close. Hire her & then let her do it her way.
Like actually ha ha. Watching you is frustrating because now that I'm fairly good at this, it's even more insane how it looks like you're not doing anything, but knowing just how much is going on with each stroke. With her zoom, I could see what you think is a good coat, such a good reminder to just leave it be and fill the little holes and bumps on the next coat.
Agreed more family involvement love it love â€ïž
Bless him and his family.. such decent person.. too bad the cat chewed his mic and seems to not like him haha
Yeah maybe back up sometimes to get the big picture but she was never really "too close" we have to see the texture
Without you and your videos, I would never have been able to remodel my parents' old house so they could afford assisted living and hospital bills. I just wanted to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Also, my wife makes fun of me every time she sees me watching what she calls your "drywall porn" videos.
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You are such a great son to look out for your parents like this!
You may want to test paint the section with soap.
I'm not sure what caused my problem but paint would not stick to the mud when my house was built. I could peel sheets of paint off areas where mud was applied.
Not sure what sheetrock crews did.
@@dannykinghamwestlake5339 I bet it was too much soap and a super cheap primer.
@@dannykinghamwestlake5339 Bet it was never primed!
"Shut it!" Good to hear the Canadian kids speak the same way to their siblings as our American kids.
The plus 3 mud is a composition with soap already added to it by USG. I have completed well over a million sq ft since the 1990s and I add about a cup to 2 cups of water and around a teaspoon of dawn or a little less to each box or pale. The dawn creams the mud and gets rid of the poc issues. When you first spin the mud stop and pop the air bubble that forms around the mixing head, it helps to keep the poc issues away.
The up close angles by your daughter were the most helpful! I could actually see the details in the mud. You should hire her!!
It's like watching an artist creating his masterpiece. Weather you add soap or not, I enjoyed watching you tackle that wall.
Bro Iâve been a Drywaller since I was eight years old because my dad owned his own business and so subsequently my brother and I were scrapping houses and spotting nails since i was at a young age⊠I usually watch political stuff on CZcams⊠Iâm about your age⊠However I find you to be probably one of the most relaxing personalities on this platform. I have always been very reluctant to add the soap⊠Thanks for doing the experiment for me. Lol
One thing I will say man⊠I use a pan and knife not a hawk and trowel âŠ. The trowel looks cooler. Good work
Iâm trying not to watch political stuff anymore đ. My mental health is improving.
@@vancouvercarpenter A lot of soap to clean up the politicians needed.
@@bay9876 amen brother
canadians are bear hunters too... for fun/keep the hock
â@@panzerfaust1322 Can I ask you a question since you're a drywaller? I am using joint compound for a project, and found out this through research. I haven't tried it yet because I don't want to waste money, so I'm hoping your experience can help!!
I found out that joint compound reactivates when water is added to the surface. Is there anything I can apply over it to keep it from absorbing water or humidity? Like a sealer? Also I read that it scratches or scrapes up easily. Is there anything I can add to increase the strength of it so it doesn't damage or dent easily if you bump it? I heard something about pva & I think someone said laquer on a reddit thread I was reading lol, but not sure if there are other things I can look into.
Love the honest conversation between you two. Awesome! Cherish those times. Thank you for the wisdom shared!
I have spent almost 15 years working at a series of apartment complexes, doing allot of small repairs, and lots of drywall patches. As far as soap in the mud, mudding wise I haven't noticed any difference until the painting. Oil based paint defiantly didn't adhere as good, and in a few odd cases, didn't dry thoroughly. The top dries fine, the underside didn't seem to dry properly, and would cause the paint to sluff off with moderate effort. But could have situational as well. Thanks for showing this on a larger scale.
"Are you paying me for this?" Haha, you and your daughter have great rapport. Good on you.
I feel like if adding dish soap to your mud made *that* much of a difference, Procter & Gamble would have partnered with someone and marketed the hell out of that, long ago.
Anyhow, thanks for the content and a happy (early) Father's Day, Vancouver Hippie!
they do. Its called NoPock
@@fiver-hoo Interesting! I didn't realize P&G owned Warner. Maybe a divested brand?
"Shut it! I'm filming for Dad!!" đ€Ł Love it!
I was also taught by old mudders to thin the mud more. Thinner coats-not as thick-less bubbles-less sanding.
Soap is a binder. It binds to things, which can then be removed. Or to adhere.
Great video!!! Thanks for all your videos.
Lots a shrinkage
Try adding about 2 teaspoons of soap to a 16oz bottle of water, and use that water to mix your mud. Iâve found it to leave a much smoother glass like finish, highly recommend any finishers out there to try it
Do I just add that one 16oz bottle to a new box of mud? Or should I thin it down with more water
@@Bambino4123 I thin however much mud I need using the soapy water to a consistency Iâm comfortable with, I also add a little plaster of Paris to my mix
Sorry for the late reply but give it a shot and experiment!
I live in a secluded small town with few options. I love plus 3 for finishing because it's much easier to sand. However plus 3 is rarely available here. Green box all purpose is readily available. I've found that by adding 3 or 4 Oz of dish soap makes all purpose almost as easy to sand as plus 3 and it goes on smoother during application. No adverse effects aside from the stinging eyes during sanding
I can see how this might work. Soap breaks the surface tension in water, so the water will flow more smoothly. You should try adding just plain liquid soap with no dyes or scents in it. Then add it to the water. Mix thoroughly but not so that it's foamy....that traps air. Mix it gently, and you should't need very much. Maybe even half of what you added in this video. I think this would give the best results if you're going to do it. This is how I'd do it.
This. Add the soap right before you are done mixing and it only take about half as much as you added. You don't need to add this every coat, but when it's going on thick and likely to bubble, a little soap makes it much better because it breaks the surface tension of the water in the mud and makes it go on smooth. I like to mix up Easy Sand really thick, add some soap and I can put a single coat on corner bead that only requires a light skim to finish. If you don't add soap, you will get a lot of bubbles in mud that thick and it will need more than a skim to finish.
I love how, even with your daughter filming, you still talk to us like we're all right behind her. And to get your daughter involved with your videos shows how much you trust her. She did a great job. And thank you for trying the dish soap experiment.
If you want to ge rid of bubbles, wipe down the wall with a moist sponge after the first coat is completely dry. Wet it just enough so that it darkens the dried drywall mud, and skim it immediately. If the wall dries out, you'll get bubbles again
I've done it both ways soap or no soap it's all a preference thing. As far as the mud not sticking I haven't seen any or had any issues with that, nor have I had any issues with painting it. Just my two cents from a painting and drywall contractor. And as always very informative, keep up the good work.
"Shut it! I'm filming for Dad!" Spoken like a true big sister lol.
She did a solid job. Got in close when needed and added some humor. NGL, the wife did much better. Thank you for the video.
My drywall guy has been adding laundry detergent to his mud for over thirty years and his drywall finishes are flawless. Itâs funny how you commented about the nice smell, we have been saying the same thing forever. The entire job sightâs smells so clean. Not for first coat just for finishing.
Fabric softener. Not detergent.
Can u give some details on this? What brand is added and how much?
She did a great job! Could shoot a little lower when you are working on the bottom half of the wall... center on your active hand, keeping your face and knees in the frame, would be my preference during mud application.
I just started doing renovations on my house for the first time. I was skim coating my popcorn walls to make them flat. It was frustrating because it took 2-3 weeks to get a decent look. I watched one of your videos and I was mind blown how many mistakes I did. I'm so grateful and I'm learning alot from you. So thank you to you and your daughter for these videos!
Darn . . . I know that feeling . . . I am living the feeling at the moment . . . great video's . . . I worry though that by the time I get the ceiling right anyone over 5 feet will have to bend down đ
The reason you are getting a lot of are bubbles on your second coat is because you are sanding. Scrape off any imperfections from each coat with a dry trowel, you will find this is very helpful. Lay the trowel fairly flat on the surface and move in opposite direction to applying mud, dose not require much pressure to remove trowel marks ect. A very light sand on your final coat with 400 grit sandpaper if required is all the sanding that is done on the hole job. This includes skim coating. I have 30+ years Esperance , Hope this helps.
I don't have 30 years. But I do much the same. Apply it smooth minimize trowel marks) on first and second. Whatever buggers are on the wall scrape em off.
Doesn't hurt to wipe down the wall ( I like a damp sponge mop) to remove any dust. Final coat as flat as possible.
Scrape off any buggers and then light sand. If your running heavy texture you can skip final coat and sand.
@ normankeoghan5298 thanks for sharing esperance knowledge with us
What about to high speed of a drill I do know that can whip air in the mud.
Adding soap turns regular mud into machine mud, I use machine for hand trowelling as it does tend to bubble less, smoother applications using less water and saving wrists, down side is the eye and nostril burn at sanding. Glad you made the vid as I shared your skepticism and still partially do, adding something that creates suds to remove air bubbles is a mind job.
The surfactant in the dish soap would reduce surface tension and also increase affinity to oils on the surface you are applying the mud to or oils that may happen to be in the mud. I think proper prep would negate the need to use surfactants but in some conditions surfactants in the mud may help. No expert here.
Hey Ben if you take the plugs out they wouldn't be in the way however the wires would be in the way! I see your daughter has your sense of humor. The two of you must have a great time cracking each other up. Enjoy the time together it goes by very quickly. Cheers...
So I learned about soap in mud from a Canadian taping crew. They put about 1 cup in a bucket and mixed it. Iâm not a career taper but if I do something, I intend to be good at it eventually. So I watch and learn and Iâve tried it and it did help with application and smoothness. Especially with setting compound. The only thing that concerned me was one job I was doing, there was a water event. A pipe burst and there was a lot of water damage on the ceiling I just finished, I mean like I did a detailed coffered ceilings, the works. Anyhow, the mud let go of the drywall. The drywall had to come down(everything had to come down) but I noticed it, dunno if regular mud or mix would have stayed. Thatâs my experience with it.
The painters would have your head
@@anthonyalagna8326 I painted the place after that taping crew. Primer and paint stuck despite me not thinking it would. Counter intuitive I know but thatâs how it went. I did the soap thing for a few years afterwards, I d every step in the process so from framing, hanging, taping, priming, trim work to final paint. Never had a problem. I donât need to do this anymore as Iâve gotten better at taping, but have you had a problem with it?
@@sawdustadikt979 had cÉntractor tell me the painters would get pissed off.not to do it again
@@anthonyalagna8326 were you subbing?
Been putting dawn in my mud for 30 years and never had a problem. I don't know about bubbles but it definitely makes it smoother, and stay smoother longer. Never had any adhesion problem, and I paint almost all of my own work.
Thanks for the info..I'm a 20 year painting guy,but ocassional mud guy as well (self taught mostly) an i always wondered if soap affected the mud in negative ways for painting.
Can I ask you a question since you work with joint compund? I am using joint compound for a personal project, and found out some info through research but not sure how accurate it is. I haven't tried it yet because I don't want to waste money buying the wrong things experimenting, so I'm hoping your experience can help!!
I found out that joint compound reactivates when water is added to the surface. Is there anything I can apply over it to keep it from absorbing water or humidity? Like a sealer? Also I read that it scratches or scrapes up easily. Is there anything I can add to increase the strength of it so it doesn't damage or dent easily if you bump it? I heard something about pva & I think someone said laquer on a reddit thread I was reading lol, but not sure if there are other products I can look into that you may know off hand.
I am convinced that the bubbles come from dust on the wall when you apply mud... I dont sand between coats and I dont get bubbles.. I do add dawn to my mud because I always saw mud crews doing it on jobsites. I think it might also make it sand easier... if nothing else it adds a nice fragrance to the room while you are mudding... you added the right amount in my opinion... makes it easier to clean tools too!
Love the commentary from the fam in the background lol your daughter is a natural, and you can tell how much she enjoys spending time with you. I vote she stays!
The bonding factor of water molecules is lessened by the addition of soap.
It helps more with hard water versus soft [or softened] water.
Surface tension is what creates the bubbles.
What do you mean by surface tensiÉn.was told many reasons for bubbles(hate them)when i called USG.moisture in rock,mixing too fast.never heard that one
When I started mudding 25 years ago we would add it all the time, especially when using boxes (automatic taping tools). I've been back to many of those jobs and never had any complaints or fails. It seemed like most companies started adding something from the factory in the early 2000s and everyone I know stopped adding soap. Whatever usg started adding rotted out aluminum tools so started using other brands like proform.
I wish I knew about usg before I bought it đđ
I like the proform hot mud over usg
@@Stevesbe Hamilton is the true shit
I'm not a professional with drywall, but my father was. He always swore by soap in mud for all kinds of reasons. Mainly it was for adding less water, and removing the bubbles. He said it would be less work later because it finished easier. Less work = getting the job done faster. He also added more soap than you did, and he used the cheapest available from the dollar store. For a little bit of soap, he may have saved a ton of time on a job, and it was worth it to him.
I'll bet he had trouble finding anyone to help on sand days soap in the mud equals soap 8n the eyes.
Ahah! Soap being a surfactant, it would practically make âwater wetterâ so less water would be needed. Itâd be interesting to try just a liquid surfactant that is used in the horticultural/agricultural industry for spraying herbicides and such. Or yucca extract maybe.
At least that theory I think makes sense.
alright. im putting soap in my walls.
I never leave tips because I accept that my 20 years has no bearing on your years because you've done it consistently, whereas I've only done it semi-professionally for 20 years and you've been doing this kinda stuff the whole time, even if it was just the carpentry sometimes. I've done so many things in my life, lived so many lives, but intertwined in that has been other sides and jobs and things... And the human brain sucks. After 8 concussions, I've forgotten a lot of what I was taught. But, that's where you become my CZcams hero. I'm so thankful your wife is just patient enough to say "help these poor idiots who need you, ignore the professional jerks who say you're wrong and you both get the same results". My inherited family thinks I may be lying about my experience, my natural family knows I've been there and not been careful enough to protect my brain đ so before I thank you, I want to thank your wife for being so patient with you so you can give us this level of help and hope â€ïžâ€ïž
Thank you Hannah!!!!!
I've added way less Dawn to my mud than you did for years. On and off depending on wheather or not I had it with. Never had an issue with paint adhesion. No call backs on flaking or peeling paint. I used it because that is what I was tought to do by an old mudder.
Knew an old timer taper that used dawn soap when would spray texture . He would say that it would help the mud stay moist to give you time to spray and knock down before drying up on you . Iâve used the soap technique to spray big rooms . Seems to help
You don't need to worry about soap in the mud affecting the paint! The long chain emulsifier molecules in the the soap are hydrophillic on one end and hydrophobic on the other. They strongly attach to the water suspended in the mud and, as you noted, make the mud more smooth (technically, more elastic). The other end of the emulsifier molecules will attach to oily substances. They'll make oil paints stick better and have no substantive effect on water-soluble paints and the "oily" end of the molecules slip off your trowel more easily.
The amount of soap that you added at ~5:20 was a good start for the amount of mud in your bucket, but maybe 2x that would've been better (it's hard to see how much mud is in the bucket). In general, about 1/2 cup soap per bucket of drywall. Also, I only use it with the US all-porpoise mud on a finishing coat, not your Canadian Bud-light-variety mud.
You can also cheat the mud a bit by mixing the mud up completely, first, then adding a small amount of soap and just mix the soap into the top cm or two of mud and skim the mud off the top for use. This leaves most of the mud mostly soap-free but with a good amount of slippery mud on top and you can mix a bit more of the soap-free mud in if you think it's too soapy - which I don't actually ever find.
Finally, if you're going to add water to the mud, *thoroughly* mix it in beforehand and make sure there are no drops on the side (or mix the soap in first) to prevent the soap from forming bubbles with the water.
I'd suggest trying this again, and then go through the painting process as well. Consider using all-purpose mud rather than the light variety as I think it'll bring out a more pronounced difference in the material handling characteristics.
I agree with others that your daughter did a good job with video. She could've centered more on the whole scene including the things you're working with instead of sticking mostly with you, but in general, she was awesome, especially getting up close to the action. You need to get comfortable with that. :-) Love your channel.
I once added vitamin water to a pail of mud and didn't use it for a while it took me a while to realize why it was so fragrant. Like crazy berry smell. It smelled even dried on the wall. Love the commentary between you and family members.
I also get yelled at from watching too many videos of taping and hanging after a day of doing it myself đ€Ł my daughter picked my profile picture donât judge haha.... it is always nice watching your videos man. đđ»
"Ben take the plug out!
NO!"
The delivery of this was top-tier comedy
I use soap in mud to help with bubbles, dries a little faster and way easier to clean tools after work. Plus mud will become glass smooth if you put a bit more elbow grease into it. 40 % more work I get from same job when homeowner fills how smooth walls become. Try it
When they do natural walls from lime and more they put soup in the end for waterproof surface đđ»đđ»
We just have to know all this natural reactions mix things together. So awesome! Iâm so excited learn more about walls composers đđ»đđ»
Thank you so much for sharing with usđđ»
I used to work for a masonry contractor and occassionaly would use a grout pump for the joints on thinbrick. It was a major no-no to add soap to the grout mix, even though it would eliminate plugging up the hose and make the joints easy to tool. Boss would have a tantrum when he found out, as it affects adhesion and durability.
yea I wouldn't want it in my grout or mortar either . drywall mud is alot different application and purpose wise. I never used it taping or bedding. 2nd coats mostly . Works great hand finishing but works really really well when using box tools during 2nd coat. Being you don't want to wipe much if any of the mud off getting bubbles out and the boxes add the right amount of mud . Basically just lay your knife flat as possible and wipe the opposite way it was applied.
We use 'a squirt' of dish soap (dawn but also store brands) in our in-ground vinyl liner pool base vermiculite (40# bag and 5 gl. water) and it certainly helps with troweling it smooth. Never had an issue and the ready mix maker encourages using the soap (they recommend dawn by name) for this reason. Would think adding it to mud has same benefits.
The main ingredient in Dawn dish soap is Sodium Lareth Phosphate, which is a surfactant and makes the drywall mud more creamy and goes on smoother. However, causes paint adhesion problems and therefore I cannot imagine why anyone would do this
It peels texture off when it gets sprayed , im a supervisor for a painting company and it happens and we get the blame but the texture peeling of when sprayed doesnt have to do with paintđź
Ive added soap in my mud for years, I've even added soap and plaster of Paris to perfectly round out corners on arches. If you finish with a good coat of primer and a good coat of paint it will be beautiful.... Ive been doing this for over 20 years and the guy who taught me has been doing it since the 60's. I have yet to encounter a problem. Don't look at it like you're adding soap its just more chemicals for a smoother finish. Once you do a level 4 drywall finish with a squeegee and soap you will never go back.
Squeegee? I would love to see that demonstration
Not sure what a level 4 is, and how would you finish using a squeegee? Can you explain for those of us who are new to this?
@@Charlie9165
OK Dan, It is really hard to explain how to get a flawless finish in a comment section, but here goes it. After your 3rd sanded coat you apply another topcoat that is mixed with a pinch of soap and water. Use a mud mixer with the proper paddle bit till it is creamy enough to make you want to eat it. Apply it with a hawk and trowel, if you are using a drywall knife then stop. Hawk and trowel is far more natural feeling to use... trust me. Once the 4th coat is applied to the wall quickly grab you handy Marshall squeegee and go to work. Start from the top and work your way down. If you are in an area where it dries quickly you can use a sprayer to mist the wall as you go.The bigger the wall, the bigger the squeegee. It will level out bumps and valleys for a smooth finish. If you are going for the most perfect finish then after this coat dries you would skim coat over the whole section. You just put the same topcoat used for level 4 back on and scrape it off with the trowel. Vancouver carpenter has numerous videos explaining this technique... I don't think he uses a squeegee but I assure you he knows what he's doing. Good luck, hope this helps.
@@KillerKlipsch Thanks a lot JBL. Very helpful Information and I greatly appreciate all the time taken to explain this to me.
@@Charlie9165 No problem, let me know how it turns out.
I've played around with this a few times. On one occasion, I used a lot more than a squirt. Everything smelled awesome, only problem was, despite the mud being buttery smooth, it developed more surface tension to the knife. So despite feeling like it would feather super thin and not worry about bubbles, it almost felt like it dragged a bit more. Haven't played around with it in quite some years but I've been wanting to dabble in the soap again soon
Itâs not a myth, iâve been a drywaller since I was five years old . I guess My dad figured this was old enough to learn the trade. That was 55 years ago. He trained me to only put a certain amount of liquid detergent in my mug when the mud has been sitting up for a while. (starting to have a smell but not spoil.) The liquid soap will not only help the characteristics of your mud Application but it will also cut the odor. This would be done only when the walls are getting a prime coat with flat paint or kills primer. I have yet to have a problem afterwards or have a callback dude to the walls flashing or peeling. This also applies to texture in.
5 years old ?
Lmao !!!!
@@somenteasescrituras4064 Yeah thatâs right
I'm a Mason and a little soap in the mix water keep the mortar more workable and longer without adding to much water..
I'm surprised how many experts in the comments don't know what this does
Aside with your conclusion of making it a little more slippery and float out better it's more known to help with flash setting. It's weird, it does not necessarily retard drying time or delay but yet make it more evenly dry. Say you have 20 minute mud; well it doesn't really allow you to do a second coat in 20 minutes yet it sets up in 20 minutes.
Adding the soap will help it set more evenly set in like 25 minutes. You have to play around with it because humidity, heat and cold changes how much soap you need to add.
I guess you can relate it to using penetrol or floetrol paint additives, sort of.
One more thing I have even used hardeners and dies along with using soap all at the same time mixed in and haven't noticed any bad changes to finish product or problems with painting.
It goes with anything try something new if you don't notice it helping you making it easier then don't use it any longer.
Good luck guys great content enjoy your videos đ
I recall reading an explanation for how soap works: it makes water"wetter". Therefore, it would make adhesion even BETTER inasmuch as the mud has to penetrate the paper to a degree to stick at all.
That said, the same may not be true for the paint, as it has chemical, not physical bonding.
Dawn is excelent at relieving surface tension. I use it on my grass before I fertilize as it breaks surface tension and allows water to penitrate. Do you wash your care at home? Were do you pour out the suds? Much greener huh? Surface tension. Static charge, porosity isn't anything, think surface tension and static electricity. We in the northern climates can relate. Not so much in California.
Adding Dish detergent without a doubt cuts down on the surface tension, gives the mud a bit more open time as well. Gives a slick and smooth finish. Especially great for skim coating.
I donât suggest adding The detergent for 1st coating. You donât want to compromise adhesion of the tape and mud. I Use it only for polishing mostly.
Yes I've been using sunlight soap for some years now definitely the biggest benefit ive notice when doing a big area you dont fatigue as easy never had a paint or mud issues
I have been adding soap for Chen years it never failed me it slicks out nice and reduces the need for sanding
Your daughter did amazing camera work
The dish soap is a surfactant, it allows the bubbles to rise up to the top of the mud during mixing and keeps them out of the mud when you spread them.
Late to comment but one small note that doesnât seem to be mentioned in the other comments. Mixing dish soap with water then mixing in the dry mud mix is where you really see the difference. Dry mix blends astoundingly faster and smoother with a water soap mix. Not such a big deal if youâre using easy sand 90 or 45 but if you need to burn and turn an easy sand 5 patch, the water soap mix will make a world of difference.
I always added detergent to dry mortar or concrete fix. It acts as a plasticizer and makes it easier mix and work. My father was in the concrete business and said to always do this and that commercial plasticizers are basically the same as detergents.
The reason they started putting dish soap in mud dates back to the 90s for me an probably even earlier to combat Pocking. You get this more in Quickset muds when air gets trapped under the mud while setting. The dishsoap would help alleviate this greatly and was used more in Commercial apartments when drywall finished. Most of those were all finished in 1 or 2 coats of quickset and textured. They actually make a product called No Pock....
Iâm using 40 minute compound dry powder. Having a heck of a time with bubbles. Just used The tiniest amount of soap, and it went on like butter. I didnât use as much as this video, or even close. Hoping for the best after it dries. It did make cleanup easier, which may be a bad sign.
Pro tip - by mixing mud like that, you add ton of bubbles. Try to mix it gently and it will work without soap
Had an experienced drywaller do my new house. He used Dawn because after years of the trade he found applying the mud was easier on his shoulder. Only reason he used it.
Love Dawn soap. Never added to mud tho.
Works great after automotive work. Cleans me up perfect.
And my dishes are all sparkly đ
Kid did a fine job filming. Might have her on full time. At least till school starts up again.
Instead of soap I just use a scoop of the all purpose mud on my regular mud. For the second coat never had an issue sanding and sponging. Unless you add way to much of all purpose that's a big problem!
Gotta say, daughter is really good at getting the close up shots WHILE you are mudding. Typically we only get the close ups after the finish passes are done. I feel like I could see your texture much clearer on each coat than most videos.
So takes less coats to get smooth and cleanup is cleaner because there is already soap in the cleanup if needed. Curious if you have any paint problems.
I agree, not that previous shots were bad. It just gives us a better up close view of what you see while working the material. đ
So for the most part I never add it when doing regular drywalling, but when doing patches on painted surfaces where bubbles become a real issue, I have occasionally added a tiny drop of the soap, but only ever in combination with adding some glue, that seems to result in less bubbles. I also add a whole lot less soap than you added. I tend to do the soap thing in a pan rather than creating a whole bucket full of soapified mud.
The real issue about adding the dish soap is that you can void any warranty provided by the mud manufacturer if for some reason your installation fails.
PS Daughter did great job as camera person. As did your Lady Wife. Also I somehow got unsubscribed from your channel, not sure how that happened but its fixed now :)
I've only ever heard it helps make it easier to work with and for fish eyes for first coat. Mainly when running flat boxed or coating bead, that way second coat you can do a tight skim. I've seen one guy do it and aside from his house smelling good I seen no real benefit LOL
Interesting... you have two things going on. Reducing drag and eliminating water surface tension by adding a surfactant. It would be really interesting to just add a commercial surfactant like they add in herbicides. To eliminate bubbles. Instead of soap add a little glycerin.
Glycerin looks like it might work, as it mixes readily with water and (as you mentioned) acts as a surfactant, just like the dish soap. The question of course is just how much glycerin to add, just like the soap.
@jfl4066, yes that's what it does! Actually when I was a kid I worked for a couple of years in a horticulture nursery. We used dish soap with Roundup. It was readily available & inexpensive. It didn't take much for our backpack sprayers which were 4-5 gallon capacity. It worked well to "extend" the herbicide & cover plants better without having to soak them with herbicide.
There are commercial products made for drywall mud. No-pock or something. I wonder what's in it now. MSDS might give some clues.
Ok
Read the Labels about additives guys I just spoke to USG 2 weeks ago, builder getting sued for over $250K because his drywaller used "additives" in the mud, also DO NOT mix different muds with each other, just water. Pros do NOT add shit to your mud, the lawsuits are going around. Also USG emphasized, FULLY DRY before applying another coat, I know sometimes we rush the guys to finish fast and get paid. đ
i did comment before about dawn... We used it in batches of hot mud. And it was drops not a squirt (mixing in the square metal handheld box). Ha. There is no question it smooths easier in hot mud. And i did learn from an old timer. That being said, his customers were repeat and it was common to go back to jobs from 20 years before. no issues.
Should make up a couple molds to make a couple bars of mud. Check your shrinkage and strength.
35 years doing wall finishing and it still makes me cringe when people use trowels. They are for concrete on the ground not walls IMO. Use knives that's why they made them. My wrist hurts watching this. LOL It's very cool that you spent time with your daughter this way. She'll always remember this and not just because she probably liked the video too.
âWe donât get paid.â She saw an entry point and jumped on it. Smart
I've been a professional painter for about 10 years. I use dish soap to clean my paint sprayer and brushes because dish soap contains the same surfactants as water based paint so they are compatible. I have a titan 440 sprayer and I've been storing it in soapy water between jobs for 2 years with no problems, except for winter time when I use antifreeze, then clean with soapy water before using again. If your paint sprayer is making a clicking sound or running rough, you can put soapy water into the rig, tape the handle down on the gun and put it in the soapy water bucket so it just cycles through the unit and after about 15 or 20 minutes you can hear the clicking noise from the dirty piston ball stop. My titan has an auto clean mode and I always cycle soapy water through till it sounds happy again at the end of each job. Once I didn't rinse out the sprayer thoroughly before running the paint and the first couple gallons wanted to run because soap makes water wetter. Other than that I've had absolutely no problems, I've been told the dish soap conditions the rubber gaskets as well but can't verify that specifically. I suppose the degreasing aspect of dish soap may make oil based coatings fail if it's in the mud but this isn't 1976 and there's no good reason to put oil primer on fresh drywall. So from a painters perspective , I don't think you'd have any major issues having a bit of soap in the mud, especially if you're back rolling the primer as recommended.
Thanks for all your videos they've helped me out a lot lately
I use Coro check for storing the rig, and give it a shot of throat seal.
Your channel is awesome & very helpful!
Man I wish I had your help for some drywall I'm doing for my brother at his house! All sorts of uneven framework behind the wall, it's tough & puzzle like.
Normally the whole wall doesn't need a coat of mud though right?
I've got all the screws covered, the inside & outside corners taped & next to tape the butt joints (already prefilled them).
Great videos. Thank you. Iâm now off and muddying my own rooms. I also loved having your daughter filming. Her up close filming and conversations were so much fun!
I do mostly stucco, and I have used dish soap in our scratch mud. We don't worry about bubbling, but it helps heaps with troweling. My main thoughts is that it creates microbubbles which allows the mud to slip off the trowel easier. We use a product called Hospifer made specifically for scratch mud that I swear is just laundry soap. It smells just like Tide, and looks like it too.
As for your hippy microbiome all natural comment: drywall mud has silicone in it so not natural either =)
I've played with making my own lime putty and that is a fun rabbit hole to go down especially if you are in a part of the world that no longer uses lime putty anymore, like us in western Canada.
Nice dad and hubby work. Not sure I would use Dawn. Love Dawn for removing oil and grease issues!
I think this episode was great, your daughter did a great job, especially when she did a very close up of the mud, showing all the imperfections, now I feel good about my project. LOL
The soap just replace the water you normally would of added. with a little fragrance. Oh, Kudos to your wife she did a great job filming as while. Keep you the great work.
She did a great job!
Ben!!.... seeing you clean your hawk with a brush & seeing the condition of your oldest/older tools makes me feel much better about myself...
People constantly poke at me over how clean my tools are (before,during & after mudding). For that matter, they poke fun at how clean I keep ALL of my tools.
I work better in a clean environment, with clean tools & a vit of organization. Also, if others want to purchase several of the same tools over the course of their careers/jobs, that's fine by me.... but I will stick to recognizing & appreciating the value of my tools & making great efforts to give them long, healthy lives! I mean, some of them will surely die (that's life), but you will not find pure negligence, of any variety, in their obituaries or eulogies!!!
On the bubbles sometimes, load up the wall and wait a few minutes before making final passes....let mud sit for a minute or so and bubbles disappear
It's just air pockets
Can try lightly misting wall with water too
Why hasn't your family been shooting for you this whole time? They are so much better at following what you are doing, and are able to focus on the wall and you so we can see what you want us to see. Also great banter with your daughter, felt like a live comments section. Your wife had a much steadier hand.
As a painter, we regularly clean walls down with dish soap, especially kitchens and baths. I have never had issues with adhesion or streaking. It even sands fine, when you want to get rid of any orange peeling left from the last 10 coats of paint.
Quick tip for anyone who paints regularly, after cleaning your brush an kicking out most of the water, dab a small amount of hair conditioner into it mix it in, train in wrapped in plastic or the keeper. Then store in the fridge for your next paint job. That brush will be better than new!
And yes when using soap layering can occur much easier when sanding! I hope you at least turned the power off, although I always enjoy watching rookies hit the connections with their metal tool!
Ka-pow!!!...lol!
Hey Vancouver carpenter...I've seen guys that use the automatic taping tools use Dawn dish soap in their mud because according to them it helps the joint compound "glide"....I work by hand though so I really wouldn't know but what I do know that's a fact is USG will not guarantee their products if you add foreign stuff to it ...sorry so long peace âïž
3:15 I feel that way about all carpentry lately. I'm 57yrs old and been working this trade since I was about 15 yrs old. I've made a decent living at it, but it just doesn't turn me on much anymore, unless I'm doing some really custom work, that most carpenters won't even touch. I pride myself on doing custom fancy stuff, that's the only thing that still gets my motor running. All the other stuff is just another day on the job.
Since you've tried the soap in the mud trick and kinda gave it a nod of approval, I might give it a shot. I usually let the mud sit on the wall for about a minute or so before I give it a final wipe and that seems to help a lot with getting rid of most of the bubbles. I do mostly remodeling, and most of the time I'm patching into already painted surfaces, perhaps the soap might make it a little more slippery for the bubbles to be able to escape.
The weekend warriors don't get it. Sometimes a job is a job and all the years of stress and grind have a way of sapping the love from the work. It doesn't mean we hate it we just don't wake up with that burning desire to rush to the job and get started anymore.
Love your videos. Thanks! I hope I can return a bit of a favor by mentioning your air bubbles are from your mixer. You're pumping air into the mud with the blades whipping that wide open hole in the center. Try mixing the stuff below the surface without creating a whirlpool on top.
Decades ago, I realized whipping air into latex paint promoted a really thick layer of dried paint in the can.
Youâre flippen good man . Tips are great , but youâve done your time and have it figured out . My late brother could apply mud so good , ( and he was primarily a millwork/cabinet maker , âŠ. you hardly had to sand it ! .
Ive watched a ton of your videos and have gone from the wide knife to a the church of the trowel. OH MAH GAWD how much easier it is to get a good result..
as a DIY. I recently did a lvl5 finish on a ceiling, I had to re-do all the drywall and I was so damn proud of the taping job. Took me a solid week to get there. inside corners were my bane. but you literally can not see a single hump or blemish even with a halogen light at a low angle. So thanks for all the tutorials.
But I could never do it wearing black clothing, thats pure insanity.
I've done this a couple times and works like a charm. I just do it do in small patches or repairs. And just as a finish coat. You get that really smooth nice finish and then just light sand is needed.
Great camerawork by your daughter! She really gets up close enough to see the finer details, which is super helpful. Thanks!
Interesting. Thank you for doing the experiment for us! I feel like if soap were a magic additive with no drawbacks, the manufacturers would have added it in there already?
By the way, your daughter did a great job filming. I liked the close up shots, as I could see the texture better. It was helpful to see what you consider "good enough." I did my first drywall job a few weeks ago, and I was trying to get each of my coats to look as perfect as yours normally do on video. Took me forever, haha, and I eventually figured out I had to settle for good enough.
I hope you paid your daughter well! She did excellent work, and added some humor too.
Thank you for taking the time to do that for us. I had heard about dish soap in the mud. I think I'll try it. I'm doing my daughter's house right now & she's staying with me until it's done. (Right next door!) She comes over here every day after work nit picking about everything I do LOL She didn't like the texture I put in the bedroom she said it looked like it was from the '70s OMG!! It's good to see the bantering you and your daughter have, my daughter and I are the same way.
I add a small bit of water plasticizer also known as bycol it's what's added to cement mixtures to stop water separation, its good for slowing down set time in quick set
i dont have much experience with any of this.. but i do know dish soap is mostly glycerol (glycerine), which is hydrophilic (it's got a water fetish..). i was wondering if adding dish soap to the mud would cause the mud to "draw" moisture out of the air and promote mould to grow. i'd guess it would take larger quantities but still, just wondering.
As a professional drywall finisher and painter with 35+ years experience I can say that it's true that adding soap to the mud will help eliminate the bubbles or shotgun in the mud however it also adversely affects the paint finish in that it makes anywhere there is mud on the wall the paint will appear as a flat finish on the wall. IMO soap is not a good thing to use ever!!!. With my experience I can easily identify the jobs that the finishers used soap by looking at the walls and seeing the dead spots. It's the best way to screw over the painter if you really hate him.
as one of the commenters talking about marking knife curve....I'll say again I was only suprised you didn't do this because so many of your techniques focus on efficiency. I think it's a real time saver. then again it doesn't seem to slow you down much!!
You know I forgive you right? :)
We've been skimming walls for years, the only thing we add to our mud is acrylic ad mix (adhesion) and water. We don't use trowls or hawks just roll it on with paint roller and scrape most of it off with a 10" broad knife (round off those corners), no lines, no hills or valleys, second coat slightly thinned..... like butter. Takes about 15 min to do an average wall. We use a dustless rotary sander but barely needed. I would never add detergent or surfactants. The only reason we use admix is because we're paperhangers and we want a good bond to that wall when the paper dries it has a mechanical pulling action on the surface, I don't do jobs other contractors have skimmed because they don't add adhesive and probably use detergent to make up for their lack of plastering skill, had jobs fail with mud flaking of the wall from that.
I used to soap my mud many years ago. It doesn't seem to affect adhesion in any way, but it also doesn't seem to minimize bubbles. Fact is, air has to escape through the 2nd and consecutive coats and there's only one way out, thus creating bubbles. Soap does make the mud smooth out a little easier, but only a little. Mostly I just found it not very worthwhile. My go-to soap was Murphy's Oil Soap. I've also used Dawn and others, all with about the same results. I used about the same amount you did.
Your daughter did a fabulous job operating the camera. I SAY GIVE HER ANOTHER BONUS JUST FOR THIS COMMENT. it is really hard to find a good camera operator especially when thy are filming someone working in types of construction. Great job to u both.