# What is a good finish/all purpose mud in the u.s



## mudhen (Feb 3, 2009)

Hello I am a canadian finisher i have a customer that wants to buy his material from the u.s,But i have had no luck finiding a mud similar to synko prouducts here,he brought back a bunch of lafarge mud absolute garbage in my opinion any suggestions?


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## proficient Mudder (Aug 28, 2010)

USG all purpose joint compound and USG midweight compound is what I have used for years.

Bill


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## DSJOHN (Apr 5, 2010)

USG or Pro form[GB] is the biggest seller in our area


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

I know this is not gonna be a favored idea,,,,,, but I use the cheapest mud available at the time. Altho I have my favorites, I don't really see any REAL desernable diff in any of em.


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## Axecutioner-B (May 3, 2010)

mudhen? not by any chance a mudhenskid i used to kinda know are you ?
________
FIVE STAGE GRINDER


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## drywall guy158 (Dec 31, 2009)

u.s.g. all purpose is all that i use , tryed others and they just suck !


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## tricounty dwall (Apr 29, 2010)

Favorite is proform - black top. I use it on my angles bc it doesnt leave air holes as bad. But joint i run ruco out of the box. Its real good and 6.75 a box


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

tricounty dwall said:


> Favorite is proform - black top. I use it on my angles bc it doesnt leave air holes as bad. But joint i run ruco out of the box. Its real good and 6.75 a box


Cool,I do the same thing with angles too,run a different mud.different Canuck mud of coarse


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## mktorocker (Oct 15, 2010)

usg green ap for putting tap on and usg plus3 for everything else


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## s&lbuildingsupplies (Oct 16, 2010)

*ProForm Lite*

We stock Proform lite and our customers love it. $14.50 a box CAN!


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## rhardman (Jul 7, 2009)

My personal favorite for nearly 20 years.
Their "Sof Top" is excellent for smooth level 5.

The formula is slightly different for the Canadian market but still very good!:thumbup:

*Hamilton Drywall Products*
120-13471 Vulcan Way
Richmond, BC V6V 1K4
(604) 303-0640


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

At this particular place in time,,, my favorite is Easy-Finish from Blowes,,,, its $9.35 a bucket,,:thumbsup:


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## DrywallFinisher (Oct 17, 2010)

Beadex :thumbsup:
Its what my husband used in the union and the brand we
both use on homes


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

DrywallFinisher said:


> Beadex :thumbsup:
> Its what my husband used in the union and the brand we
> both use on homes


:thumbup: (but don't walk near the light topping!)


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## nim (Oct 30, 2010)

i also use usg all-purpose and +3. great product.


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## grid ninja (Mar 21, 2010)

Magnum all purpose light. no discrimination if you buy it i will yous it


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## drywalldoctor (Nov 13, 2010)

*Best mud that covers board from showing*

When I texture with the double crows foot sometimes the mud does'nt cover the drywall. Since no one paints the ceilings here i need a mud that will cover good when it is thinned down. Anybody know if one particular brand covers better? Thanks for any input


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## Axecutioner-B (May 3, 2010)

nim said:


> i also use usg all-purpose and +3. great product.


+3 is the shizzle :thumbup:
________
Liquidnight


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

drywalldoctor said:


> Since no one paints the ceilings here i need a mud that will cover good when it is thinned down.


 Is this a common thing elsewhere? I must be as inexperienced as everyone says, I've never seen anything other than popcorn go without painting.


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

At the risk of being told I'm wrong AGAIN,,, we never paint before texture or stomp(textureing).

If your mud is NOT covering, you are putting it on TOO thin, period.

You can blame it on anything you would like too, tho,,, its your lie, tell it big as you want too.

Sorry if that seems rough, but its an attempt to get you to look at the real problem here.


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

I must have had my head up my a$$ again, I thought he was saying there was no paint going on _after _texture.


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## drywalldoctor (Nov 13, 2010)

Slim you are right, no paint at all. The problem is everyone wants fine texture so you have to thin the mud down. Then it seems the board is darker than it used to be so sometimes it shows through. If anyone has any input on a brand of mud that covers the board well after fine texture thats all I want. Thanks


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

drywalldoctor said:


> Slim you are right, no paint at all. The problem is everyone wants fine texture so you have to thin the mud down. Then it seems the board is darker than it used to be so sometimes it shows through. If anyone has any input on a brand of mud that covers the board well after fine texture thats all I want. Thanks


But WHY? Is it a money thing? Maybe it's just my area, but that's the craziest thing I've heard on here yet.


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

drywalldoctor said:


> Slim you are right, no paint at all. The problem is everyone wants fine texture so you have to thin the mud down. Then it seems the board is darker than it used to be so sometimes it shows through. If anyone has any input on a brand of mud that covers the board well after fine texture thats all I want. Thanks


 I don't know about everyone else here, but you got me confused abit. When you say "texture" are you saying "spray" or "stomp" or "stipple". In other words, WHAT type of texture are you talking about??? And, are you saying that the board is showing through AFTER you texture??

Work with us,,,, we ARE just drywallers, ya know !!!

Need input !!!!


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

Capt-sheetrock said:


> I don't know about everyone else here, but you got me confused abit. When you say "texture" are you saying "spray" or "stomp" or "stipple". In other words, WHAT type of texture are you talking about??? And, are you saying that the board is showing through AFTER you texture??
> 
> Work with us,,,, we ARE just drywallers, ya know !!!
> 
> Need input !!!!


I think he said he was going to do a slap (I seem to remember double crow's foot being mentioned). I think you call that a stomp. Either way, money must be really really tight in Nebraska if they don't paint ceilings after texture.


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

SlimPickins said:


> I think he said he was going to do a slap (I seem to remember double crow's foot being mentioned). I think you call that a stomp. Either way, money must be really really tight in Nebraska if they don't paint ceilings after texture.


 Yep, we call that stomp,, cause we are using a brush on a pole to "stomp" the ceiling. I use a double crows foot a bunch here.

I hear ya and agree about the paint thing,,, however, he should be able to cover the ceiling with the stomp and make it white. The paint is just to "seal" it. Same with spray,,, sprayed ceilings should be painted, no doubt, however, the spray should cover bare rock and leave the ceiling "white" to the eyes.


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

Capt-sheetrock said:


> Yep, we call that stomp,, cause we are using a brush on a pole to "stomp" the ceiling. I use a double crows foot a bunch here.
> 
> I hear ya and agree about the paint thing,,, however, he should be able to cover the ceiling with the stomp and make it white. The paint is just to "seal" it. Same with spray,,, sprayed ceilings should be painted, no doubt, however, the spray should cover bare rock and leave the ceiling "white" to the eyes.


 Do you spray then stomp? That's a job that requires a little bit of hustle!:yes:


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## DSJOHN (Apr 5, 2010)

I dont know about Capt--but we roll it and stomp


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

DSJOHN said:


> I dont know about Capt--but we roll it and stomp


That's how I do it when working by myself. Lately I've been doing a lot of "brush knockdown" (I call it "slapdown" because that sounds so cool:cool2. Depending on what the client wants, sometimes there's a lot of negative space in the texture, you could never get away without painting it. 

So drywalldoctor- would I be correct in assuming there is not a lot of skip trowel happening there?


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

DSJOHN said:


> I dont know about Capt--but we roll it and stomp


 I use to, till I got my Mark IV, how come you ain't spraying the mud up there,,, you do have a Mark V !!!!!!!!!!


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

SlimPickins said:


> That's how I do it when working by myself. Lately I've been doing a lot of "brush knockdown" (I call it "slapdown" because that sounds so cool:cool2. Depending on what the client wants, sometimes there's a lot of negative space in the texture, you could never get away without painting it.
> 
> So drywalldoctor- would I be correct in assuming there is not a lot of skip trowel happening there?


 Thats why I asked about what type of texture he was applying. When its "trowel" texture,,, you have to pay attention to the "effect" and not the coverage, per say. When its sprayed, thats an entirely differant matter, and the face paper should be covered by default.


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## DSJOHN (Apr 5, 2010)

Capt-sheetrock said:


> Thats why I asked about what type of texture he was applying. When its "trowel" texture,,, you have to pay attention to the "effect" and not the coverage, per say. When its sprayed, thats an entirely differant matter, and the face paper should be covered by default.


That is an excellent answer. Not anymore on the sprayer[Markv] and when I get rid of the apla-tech I,ll be happy. Hope things pick up down your way Craig, still a bit slow here ,bid 2 new houses this week.:yes:


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

DSJOHN said:


> That is an excellent answer. Not anymore on the sprayer[Markv] and when I get rid of the apla-tech I,ll be happy. Hope things pick up down your way Craig, still a bit slow here ,bid 2 new houses this week.:yes:


 I understand that,,,, I think I'm a painter now,,,,, its been that slow !!!!


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## drywalldoctor (Nov 13, 2010)

Capt. ,we do the roll and stomp with the double slap brush or on big jobs spray and slap brush stomp. The board shows through sometimes unless you tack coat it first. What size tip does everyybody use when they spray the mud on and slap it? My sprayer is a speeflo 12000 so I can use a pretty big tip.


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## joepro0000 (Jun 14, 2008)

Capt-sheetrock said:


> I know this is not gonna be a favored idea,,,,,, but I use the cheapest mud available at the time. Altho I have my favorites, I don't really see any REAL desernable diff in any of em.


 
absolutely agree. Check Lowes for cheap mud!


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

drywalldoctor said:


> Capt. ,we do the roll and stomp with the double slap brush or on big jobs spray and slap brush stomp. The board shows through sometimes unless you tack coat it first. What size tip does everyybody use when they spray the mud on and slap it? My sprayer is a speeflo 12000 so I can use a pretty big tip.


 I'm using a Graco 425 rac5 tip right now.


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## cazna (Mar 28, 2010)

Has anybody uesd this proform machine grade mud, whats it like for pinholing and boxing???

http://www.nationalgypsum.com/products/product80.aspx


Or what about this one??

http://www.nationalgypsum.com/products/product20.aspx


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## Lloydnz (Oct 21, 2010)

hi canza I have used the black lid one. hand trowling it is good to scim with.when it is dry. its a hardish compound to sand by hand but good with a power sander. congats on your new born.


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

cazna said:


> Has anybody uesd this proform machine grade mud, whats it like for pinholing and boxing???
> 
> http://www.nationalgypsum.com/products/product80.aspx
> 
> ...


 Caz,,, my favorite mud is the pro-form machine grade. It has a burgandy lid, not the same as pro-form red-lid (thats a mid-wieght mud). I find it my favorite to run through the tools. Try it and decide if the price diff is satisfactory to you. It is however 14.00/bucket where-as the easy finish junk is 8.50/bucket. Therefore I use easy-finish at the present.

The pro-form black lid is a favorite of ALOT of finishers. Its tough,,, really tough,,, you'll understand what i mean on sand day,,,lol. I don't use it cause I regard myself as a "sander" and not a "finisher".


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## cazna (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks Lloydnz, I have only seen the black lid proform here, I think 2buck mentioned its good for corners as it does not pinhole much, Havent seen the burgandy lid stuff capt but might ask my supplier if he can get it as he has the black lid, Been using sheetrock taping and black lid total but sitting on the fence with it as i have had some shrinkage and its a bit pocky, We have promix made in nz here and its a nice brew to box but hell tough to sand and really heavy, might be like the black lid proform??? We have easy finish here capt, havent tryed it through the tools as most people say its crap but i like it for troweling and its nice to sand.


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

cazna said:


> Thanks Lloydnz, I have only seen the black lid proform here, I think 2buck mentioned its good for corners as it does not pinhole much, Havent seen the burgandy lid stuff capt but might ask my supplier if he can get it as he has the black lid, Been using sheetrock taping and black lid total but sitting on the fence with it as i have had some shrinkage and its a bit pocky, We have promix made in nz here and its a nice brew to box but hell tough to sand and really heavy, might be like the black lid proform??? We have easy finish here capt, havent tryed it through the tools as most people say its crap but i like it for troweling and its nice to sand.


 Caz, that link showed "machine-grade" proform. Thats the burgandy lid, even tho it showed a red-lid in the add. The red lid will say "mid-weight" on the bucket.

I"ve used easy-finish in my tools almost exclusively for the past cpl years (how long has that Muslim Bas.....) nevermind. It runs fine for me,,, I find that tools don't have the "pock-mark" problem that hand fininshing has. 

Lets review,,,,, Its easy to trowel, and its easy to sand.,,,,,,, now just WHAT was it that you didn't like about it????? the price???? LOL

Peace,,,, don't pay me no mind !!!!:thumbup:


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## Mudslinger (Mar 16, 2008)

....


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

Mudslinger said:


> We tried using some easy-finish on the job today, I have to say I liked it. It worked well running it through the tools. Thanks for the heads up Capt!


 Glad I could be of service in some small way,,, LOL,,:thumbup:


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

Capt-sheetrock said:


> At the risk of being told I'm wrong AGAIN,,, we never paint before texture or stomp(textureing).
> 
> If your mud is NOT covering, you are putting it on TOO thin, period.
> 
> ...


no one likes a heavy stipple. they all say light stipple ,light stipple. USG does not cover well. ng black top is better. sheetrock is not white like it use to be. the mud is , what do you do, hope for the best.


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## Capt-sheetrock (Dec 11, 2009)

moore said:


> no one likes a heavy stipple. they all say light stipple ,light stipple. USG does not cover well. ng black top is better. sheetrock is not white like it use to be. the mud is , what do you do, hope for the best.


 When we stomp, we use a bunch of differant muds, usually whatever is the cheapest.. I would say we put a "light" coat on. When its rolled on, you have to insure that you are really ROLLING it on, not just "getting" it up there. The roller is what will insure your coverage, not the stomp brush. When we spray it on(spraying the mud for stomp), same thing, we cross-hatch it to insure that the paper is covered. Its not really the amount of mud, its the amount you SPREAD the mud around. For "popcorn", USG texture will cover the paper if you have enough air pressure. You have to watch the SPRAY and not the popcorn.


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