How to "re-spackle" painted, freshly installed sheetrock?

[Paul Soderman]

I put in 3/8th sheetrock over an old cracked ceiling; finished my taping and spackling and put on 2 coats of primer (it was the glossy kind, all that we had) and then put on one coat of ceiling paint (flat white) before realizing that I should have done one of the seams a little bit better. I guess I felt rushed, but anyway, I'm hoping to rectify my error by trying to even out this seam, which is simply a bit depressed than the surrounding boards, by using a 6 inch spackle knife to apply another thin coat or two to do a better job.

Is there any specific way to approach this? I would think that once the paint is on, there is something that needs to be done, but I'm not sure. Hopefully, maybe just a little abrasion to roughen up the painted surface so as to have the mud adhere? I wasn't planning to put up additional tape for this last couple of passes with the larger knife and some spackle.

Thanks for any help! Paul

[Charles Schuler]

Most do-it-yourself types make the mistake of thinking that the first coat of spackling must be done wonderfully. It does not because you have the advantage of turning this into a longer project (which the pros cannot). They cannot be screwing around in your home for three days, but you can.

Lay that spackling compound on with your blade, only caring about coverage and smoothness at the seam. Don't worry about the edges of your repair at this point in time. Let that dry and then go back and spackle the edges of your patch. Let that dry and inspect and apply a third coat where there are ridges and lines. Then, sand it a bit and prime it and paint it and you will be amazed at the beauty of your work. Sanding makes a mess, so I'd advise a drop-cloth.

Pre-sanding might be necessary with a gloss finish, but I doubt that.

[dreamchaser]

I wouldn't worry about pre-sanding but if your up for it, it wouldn't hurt.

An 8 inch knife is better.

Tip, for your last coat, thin the spackle with water, you'll then realize how the pro's get that nice smooth final coat. Also, nothing beats a good stainless steel long narrow pan like the pros use for putting the spackle in.