HELP PLEASE??? Trying to smooth a wall


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Old 08-13-10, 10:55 AM
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HELP PLEASE??? Trying to smooth a wall

OMG...you have no idea...actually I had no idea what I was getting myself into. In our half bath, there was a horrible attempt to strip wallpaper (by me) and it didn't work. Sooo I faux painted years ago. Now I'm trying to update by just smoothing the walls and then painting. I stripped as much wallpaper as I could. I put drywall mud almost everywhere. I'm now on the third day. I am sanding and it is hell. How will I know if it's ready to paint? I mean it's smoother, a lot smoother than it was. I'm not sure how smooth it will look. There are tiny, yes tiny little imperfections. I was thinking of just spackling them. I'm sitting here with drywall dust everywhere on me....I've been eating it pretty much. Please help...any suggestions will be obviously more than appreciated.
 
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Old 08-13-10, 11:23 AM
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Yep, drywalling's a trip, ain't it?

Keep in mind any imperfection you can see now will probably be made more obvious with paint, not less so

A pole sander is often the best tool for this job, it can be difficult to get large surfaces even by hand

Indirect light will often show imperfections better than direct light

By the way, welcome to the forums
 
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Old 08-13-10, 12:05 PM
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thanks Mitch

(I swear I was a queen in another life and now I'm being punished for spending too much on my castle....) I am not in the process of hand sanding. It helps. I want to get this d*m# project done by the time my huband gets home at 6:30...sorta to say "I did it!" I'm hoping. Can we post pics...if so, how to? And also, any more tips...PLEASE I stop from time to time to just breath regular air. thanks so much for your response...
 
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Old 08-13-10, 01:14 PM
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http://forum.doityourself.com/electr...your-post.html

You'll never get a flat wall unless you sand with either a pole sander or something [block of wood] to keep the sandpaper flat. Holding the sandpaper in you hand lets your fingers sand grooves/waves in to the joint compound

Sometimes you don't know how good/bad the drywall is until you prime it. Pay special attention to the primer while it's wet and shiny - that should highlight any areas that need further attention. Remud and sand those areas and then reprime them....oh and make sure you wipe all the sanding dust off of the wall prior to priming/painting


Sure glad you aren't a queen in this life with my bad back it's hard to straighten back up after I bend over
 
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Old 08-13-10, 03:21 PM
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If you want to get more depressed, er, see the high and low spots and/or waves, shine a bright light across the wall at a sharp angle. Then with a pencil, mark the spots showing where to sand a little or add more mud. Doing beautiful sheetrock mud work is a challenging art, that is very satisfying if you can do it pretty good.
 
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Old 08-13-10, 07:31 PM
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Instead of sanding, use a damp sponge. Have a bucket of water to rinse it as you go. Post the pics if you can.
 
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Old 08-14-10, 04:03 AM
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I like using a wet sponge where dust can be an issue [occupied house] but it does take a learning curve. IMO dry sanding does a better job and is probably the better way to go for a novice.
 
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Old 08-14-10, 06:03 AM
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That's true but a novice can use the sponge for the bulk of it & switch to the sanding towards the end.
 
 

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