Is pre-filling screw dimples worth the extra time? I'm split on this.

I used to never bother with pre-filling, just mudded over everything and it came out fine. But last week on a job with high-gloss paint the tiny dimples totally showed through after drying. Anyone else notice this change with certain paint finishes?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabeth_bailey268d ago

Pre-filling? I've got a love-hate thing with it, mostly because I'm lazy and then regret it later. High-gloss paint is basically a truth serum for your drywall work, right? It'll show every single sin, including the ones you thought you had under control like those tiny dimples. Must be the cheap paint shrinking I guess, my mud was just the regular pre-mixed stuff and it totally betrayed me. Maybe I should just pre-fill and stop being so lazy but my back has strong opinions about that.

morgan.charlie9d ago

You said "high-gloss paint" - were you using a particular brand or sheen level when the dimples showed through? I've found the cheaper high-gloss stuff shrinks way more during cure, and that's what makes the unfilled dimples pop. What was your mudding process on that job, like did you use setting compound or the pre-mixed stuff?

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