# all purpose or taping compound?



## carpentaper

i notice a lot of you guys are using all purpose in your bazookas. just curious why? i use a taping compound for anything other than small jobs.


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## burns

keep doing what your doing taping compond is by far better then all purpose,
as far as i am concerned all purpose is crap and they should stop making it 
they make taping compond for taping and i like lite finish for coating
but all purpose is good for a small patch thats all i would us it for if that


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## silverstilts

burns said:


> keep doing what your doing taping compond is by far better then all purpose,
> as far as i am concerned all purpose is crap and they should stop making it
> they make taping compond for taping and i like lite finish for coating
> but all purpose is good for a small patch thats all i would us it for if that


 Oh so you are a boarder ? what the heck ? All purpose far exceeds regular taping in all aspects not only performance , and a whole lot less shrinkage. Stick to what you know that is if hanging is your thing.


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## [email protected]

Where does this taping mud come from? Never heard of it. Thought that's what all purpose was for. Then fill and skim with mid-weight multi-purp. Or skim with topping, but it's high, and I hate using three different muds.


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## drywall guy158

I use u.s.g. green lid for everything and never have any problems.


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## alltex

What the heck is mid -weight.All we have is the old fashon heavy stuff and lite weight.i like to tape with taping mud because its slicker (maybe because its made for tapeing). AP is ok but it sands alot harder in my opinion than finish mud.i don,t see where lite taping shrinks much more than AP either .Some times i just mix half taping half finish and coll it AP.Never have many problems one way or the other.Its not rocket science.


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## Bevelation

Western Canada doesn't really supply mud designated as mid or heavy weights. Pretty much all that's used is light weight, whether it's strictly taping mud, all-purpose or filler. I agree, straight taping mud does shrink back a lot. Apart from small jobs, though, I don't like using AP for putting on tape and bead. I may try it all on one job one day, though.


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## Taper Rick

All purpose (green top) is for stringing tape. Lite mud like plus 3 or proform lite can be used but it does not have the bonding agents (glue) that all purpose has. All purpose is easier to work with through out the course of a day because it allows the tools to glide easier and the tape to bed down better. Drywall finishing only requires 2 types of mud: All purpose (taping), and Lite for filling/finishing.


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## thesprayking

Good ole' Blue Dot for taping is the best by far. Only tape with AP when the homeowner buys it and I am stuck with it. Blue dot taping is waaaay slicker and has a ton of more glue in it, so blisters are less. I dont know if everywhere around the US has taping only mud but if you've never tried it you are missing out. if its over 10 sheets I am using it to tape with. On another note Westpac's new Taping and Topping Lite weight mud is about the best mud I have ever used (almost 20yrs), Literally. I have been using it for about 4 months and I will never look back at any other mud. It doesnt bubble at all , And I mean at all. Even with thick metal or thick coated butts and patches, Stays slick the whole way and crosses off absolutely great. try it if you are in the west. .02


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## joepro0000

I not picky, I use whatever mud is there, mostly green lid usg or all purpose black lid - proform. What ever mud we have, we use it for everything from start to finish. Who has the time and luxury to sort out mud, "this is for taping, then this will be for the 2nd coad" - F that. Use what you got and stop wining.


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## thesprayking

Joepro, Of course you can use whatever mud is available. Plus you mentioned both AP muds, They can be used for taping and finishing all the time they have enough glue. But some people have mud that says "topping", and dont know the difference. If you use that topping mud on the tape coat you can literally come the next day and rip the tape off the wall. Because it has no glue. Try peeling the tape off of a wall that was taped with taping blue dot or USG AP and see what happens. Thats all I am trying to say.Also USG +3 AP doesnt tape very well at all!! Here at our drywall houses we dont have mud in the buckets like home depot and lowes, all of our muds are in boxes and there is a variety. USG's got AP , +3 lightweight, and the dust control one. Westpac's got blue dot, green dot, heavy and lightweight, TNT, and Ready-tex, and thats just what I can remember they had this morning. By the way if you are spraying with a hopper alot doing patches the Westpac's Ready-tex is awesome mud. Its basically Whiteline texture bag mud that is already mixed and ready to go, Its sprays all patterns just like a big rig if you know what you are doing with a hopper. .02


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## d-rock

we only have green and blue over here,in pails. we use green . i do like the blue though, but it seems like it doesn't set up hard enough. feels too 'fluffy'. the AP seems to have a harder venner. Oh we also have cover coat.


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## Capt-sheetrock

I prefer "Easy-Finish", cause its $9.00 a bucket.


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## muddermankc

*all purpose to tape*

Ive always used all purpose mud to tape,around here everyone does. I would freak out if i found out my guys were taping with light weight,mid weight or anything else. I cant personally say ive ever had proof that using the other muds to tape causes any problems though.buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut i do know one thing to be factola. when your takin a break and walking around and you go to scrape a mud drip off the wall that has dried,if its allpurpose it will damn near tear the paper off the wall. Plus think of the difference when you wash your clothes,regular mud comes out good,all purpose and quickset are hard to get out. Both situations come from stronger bonding,adhesion therefore i think its safe to say that you want that on your tape skillets, man im on here on a friday night at 9:00 ive gotta get a life,lol peace out have a good weekend


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## Bevelation

muddermankc said:


> when your takin a break and walking around and you go to scrape a mud drip off the wall that has dried,if its allpurpose it will damn near tear the paper off the wall.


 Funny; where I am it's the taping mud that rips paper off the board when you scrape it dry, and not the all purpose so much.

But I've noticed one thing now that you mention it; the mud washing off the clothes. AP doesn't wash off so well for sure.


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## mudhen

*taping mud*

I like taping mud because there is more glue in it,It is a pain having to carry around taping mud and finishing mud,so i always have some all purpose on hand also


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## mudslingercor

mudhen said:


> I like taping mud because there is more glue in it,
> Exactly glue in it for bonding tapes and beads.


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## carpentaper

mudhen said:


> I like taping mud because there is more glue in it,It is a pain having to carry around taping mud and finishing mud,so i always have some all purpose on hand also


haha .this post made me laugh because now you have three types of mud. i know what you mean though. i always have all purpose for small jobs.


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## hungwell

here in chicago we use cover coat for taping,+3 to finish


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## Bks35

I live in Arkansas. Our choices are USG, proform and national gypsum. 
USG offers allpurpose, +3, mid-weight,and topping. 
Proform offers all-purpose and lite. 
National gypsum has something called "easy finish"--whatever that is...
I run USG all-purpose through my northstar bazuka. It bonds great and has a lot of glue. 
I coat my corner bead with USG +3 (both coats). 
I box(8" ,10") 1st , 2nd coats with the +3 and spot 2 coats screws with it also. 
I angle box angles with with 1/2 and 1/2 all-purpose , +3. 
Off or splay beads are plastic and once they're stapled on, I use dura-bond 45 minute brown bag to apply 1st coat, then 2 coats +3. 
I think the shrinkage you all are talking about is due to how thin the mud is. Of course, more water to thin the mud will cause it to shrink more. 
And the blisters don't care if there is more glue in the mud or not. If there is no mud behind the tape, you're gonna have blisters. 
About me... Im 35. I have started at 14. (step-dad) put me to work. I have done it his way the whole time. He got good results and so do I. I have worked alone since 2006 and do okay with it. Largest house done solo was 339 sheets (12' Sheetrock) with some 11' ceilings, 8' up-stairs 9' everywhere else. Took 14 days. 
I avoid coating with all-purpose since it sucks to sand it.
Oh. When I spray orange-peel, knock-down or anything besides acoustic, I use the same mud I tape with. I thin it down to paint consistency and STRIAN it through a paint strainer to remove the chunks.


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## VANMAN

Bks35 said:


> I live in Arkansas. Our choices are USG, proform and national gypsum.
> USG offers allpurpose, +3, mid-weight,and topping.
> Proform offers all-purpose and lite.
> National gypsum has something called "easy finish"--whatever that is...
> I run USG all-purpose through my northstar bazuka. It bonds great and has a lot of glue.
> I coat my corner bead with USG +3 (both coats).
> I box(8" ,10") 1st , 2nd coats with the +3 and spot 2 coats screws with it also.
> I angle box angles with with 1/2 and 1/2 all-purpose , +3.
> Off or splay beads are plastic and once they're stapled on, I use dura-bond 45 minute brown bag to apply 1st coat, then 2 coats +3.
> I think the shrinkage you all are talking about is due to how thin the mud is. Of course, more water to thin the mud will cause it to shrink more.
> And the blisters don't care if there is more glue in the mud or not. If there is no mud behind the tape, you're gonna have blisters.
> About me... Im 35. I have started at 14. (step-dad) put me to work. I have done it his way the whole time. He got good results and so do I. I have worked alone since 2006 and do okay with it. Largest house done solo was 339 sheets (12' Sheetrock) with some 11' ceilings, 8' up-stairs 9' everywhere else. Took 14 days.
> I avoid coating with all-purpose since it sucks to sand it.
> Oh. When I spray orange-peel, knock-down or anything besides acoustic, I use the same mud I tape with. I thin it down to paint consistency and STRIAN it through a paint strainer to remove the chunks.


 Yea same here green top for puttin the tapes on plus 3 for 8 and 12!! But just been changing it up a bit latley! But plus 3 dont shrink at all,well maybe a little bit but not a lot:thumbsup:


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## thefinisher

We supply Ruco middleweight for our guys. Taping, bedding, and skimming, they all get this mud. It is much simpler and comes out great. We used to use machine grade mud too. The heavier the mud, the better the finish. Who cares if it is harder to put on, atleast it comes out good. :thumbsup:


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## carpentaper

whoa old thread. when i staredthis thread all i had ever used was our canadian all purposes which are really quite wimpy to tape with. CGC AP is really weak and if you do not really make sure the mud gets a chance to soak into the tape it blisters really easily. you've got to let the tape sit for a bit when hand taping before wiping in my experience. proroc AP is definately a better mud for taping. it's considerably harder to sand but i have had better luck with taping with it. this summer i used some beadex mud from down south. heavyweight AP. used it from start to finish on one small job. IT SUCKED!!!!! NEVER AGAIN! hardest mud i have ever had to sand. way harder than proroc taping mud. tapes stuck like a sonofab!tch. thank god it was just an old garage because i left a pretty brutal finish in a few spots. would not have been acceptable anywhere else. i really like CGC AP for finish coat because it does not scratch as easy as topping when sanding.


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## Deanmcbrat

We use yellow box lite joint taping and red classic for finish here in British Columbia Canada.. all-purpose is really great for skimming ceilings as it has a small amount of glue and it dries super white .with little shrinking. I wouldn't do a larger job using all purpose for embedding tapes as there is not enough glue to hold the tapes unless your using fibra-fuse fiberglass tape . Any fixes to ceilings use all purpose and fibra-fuse because of there being less mud in the all purpose it's easier to sand your coats .and because of the fiberglass tape it takes way less time for your tapes to dry so you can apply your finish coat in hours or less.


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## ckshadd

Put a blob or taping and AP on board over night and let it dry then try scrap it off then you will see why people use taping mud especially heavyweight like hamltions or Westpac way harder then think what going to be better to hold my tape to the drywall board


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