I thought it would be helpful to share some visuals and tips for achieving that super smooth finish with a quick skim coating tutorial. Click through for some helpful tips and finishing vocab.
Mix joint compound
Setup Your Workspace
First you’ll mix your joint compound with water. Use your mixer attachment on the power drill until it’s smooth and well combined.
Paint onto the wall
Using the roller with the 3/4″ nap, roll a section of the wall. The texture from the nap should look something like this…
Sweep the skim coating blade
Setup Your Workspace
Next, grab your skim coating blade and with firm, even pressure, sweep it across the roller texture.
Move to next section
Setup Your Workspace
Once you have one section of the wall finished, move onto the next, repeating that same process. You will want to clean your blade in between sections.
Apply additional coats
Setup Your Workspace
Once the walls are totally dry, you can begin to apply additional coats. Give the final coat a full day to dry. Sand the drywall for that ultra smooth finish.
I hope those tips and insight proves to be helpful for your next big project! Hand sanding works just as well though! It just requires more time, with a bit more dust, and a lot more elbow grease.