mudding drywall

[JoggleStick]

Oh Yeah- the other little tip I'll add that no one has mentioned yet is 'Don't rely on your eyes- use your hand- a flat palm and work by feel rather than sight" With just a little practice you will realise your hand can feel many little imperfections you eye simply misses. You know, the typical 'Handyman' faults that show in the finished paint job- that's sanding by eye and not sanding by feel. You'll get it soon enough...

 

[jeep jake]

does anyone one know of a good video on drywall? I might donate some time working for free with my drywall sub to try to learn more about it. Also thanks for the tip on the used PC sander.

 

[Old School Carpenter]

No video recommendations, but there is lots of good advice above in regards to the application and finishing of drywall/plaster.
Rather than donating time, consider hiring your rocker to do a job for you with the understanding you can watch/ learn. Twenty years ago I did just that and it made a huge difference.
When you get the basics down, if you find yourself doing a lot of drywall, get a mudbox system and a bazooka, it will change your life!
A Planex or PC sander is your best friend for flats, and sanding sponges work great for corners/ small areas. Most all of your taping/ finishing chores can be done with a 6" knife and stainless pan, metal corner bead with Durabond as a base coat is the best for outside corners. I prefer the Lafarge brand topcoat myself. A drill mixer and a little water will make the finish that much better.  If I get the time I will try and make a video for you .

Mike

 

[Jaybolishes]

I always used the UDD with my planex.  After the last job, the UDD had about 50 pounds of compound in it, and the vac had only about five pounds or less in it.

 

[Saskataper]

I just sanded this basement on Friday and nearly all of it was done with festool sanders.
I used the Planex with 240 on all the flats and the dts with 320 (that's the only grit they had in brilliant I want some 240 for it as well) for the angles and wainscoting. It was the first big job for the dts and I was amazed how well it worked.
The syslight is my best friend when sanding as it will show every little flaw, I used to use a 300w bulb on a 100' extension cord and that was a pita the syslight shows more and I'm not tripping all over a cord.

As far as videos check out 2buckcanuck on YouTube and also you can do some reading at drywalltalk.com if you want to learn more, although it's down at the moment because of a massive spam attack we got hit with over the past couple days.