How to Skim Coat Walls (DIY)
Introduction
Smooth over rough or damaged walls with a skim-coat of mud, applied with a special squeegee knife. It's easy to do and delivers great results.How to Skim-Coat Walls
If you’re a skilled drywall taper or plasterer, you probably use a hawk and trowel to skim-coat walls. We don’t expect to change your mind if you use those tools as second hands. But if you’re a remodeler who does only occasional skim-coating to fix wrecked walls, you know it’s a tough skill to master. Plus, here’s how to choose the right joint compound for your project.
The method we show isn’t faster than traditional skim-coating — you have to do two or three coats and let each one dry in-between. But it’s idiot-proof, and the walls will end up flat and smooth. So if you’re a contractor who’s given up on skim-coating and you always call in a taper for the task, you can save on labor by tackling it yourself next time. It only takes a regular paint roller and a squeegee knife. The 14-in.-wide squeegee knife we used is called a Magic Trowel. Make sure you know about these tips before you paint plaster walls.
