Fixing bad mudding job

You could use a belt sander that would get all of it off.

You should only need to take it down so far to re-feather it out properly. Once you get through the paint (if present) it should just be a matter of wet sponging it down to the level you need.

DO NOT USE A BELT SANDER!

BTDT......I had someone mess up mud job & a kid (22) working w/ me insist he could fix it with a belt sander. I said "ok" but you own it...that is, if you screw it up, you fix it on your own dime.

It took him a lot of time to repair the damage he did with that belt sander :)

He gouged the drywall, through the paper...it was a mess! Luckily it was is a shop environment. By the time he fixed it, it looked ok

but now the joke is:

"We can fix that.......get out the belt sander!"

Sand a little as possible to remove the imperfections, feather it in with new mud & a big knife.

cheers Bob

I cleaned seams in a shop once with a belt sander , but we taped some aluminum flashing on each side of the joint. When the sander hit the flashing it was done.

Not as easy as it looks even when you watch someone else do it, eh?

Hopefully "someone" didn't use Durabond. If it's really bad a Surform might work followed by some wet sanding if you can't do it with a pole sander and sanding screen. Depends on how long you want to spend on a garage wall. If not, looks like your previous post about using nails might have paid off...

If he used the same method he observed the pros using, sounds like he's gonna need a slicker instead of a big knife..

Use a damp sponge to soften the mud and wipe off. Make sure it is right before painting.

I'm sure your attempt at humor is in good fun.

Actually I haven't started on the garage yet, I don't have the spare $200 it will cost me.

This is to correct the basement, my first drywalling job ever. As for that trick I learned from the professional drywaller - it really works.

I know others have made suggestions, here are some.

Take a big wet rag, go over the area, and then remove a portion with a Scotch-Brite pad. When you get down to dry mud, get it wet and repeat the process.

Best to wear gloves so that the alkalinity of the mud won't dry your skin.

Those are suggesti> Let's say someone applies joint compound and really screws it up, grit in

Use a wet heavy duty sponge to remove as much as possible. You may even need to use a scraper to chip away the piles of mud. Then if careful, you can use a palm sander to finish it up. Of course you’ll need to reapply mud to finish. Had the same thing happen. A family member tried to “help” without asking and made a terrible mess. Luckily I caught it before it dried and was able to scrape it off easily but I had to sand eight walls entirely