Whether used thick to create “plaster” walls, or thin to hide seams, or stenciled onto the surface to create rock or brick textures, or skim coated over foam to make it more paintable, the uses of joint compound are immensely varied.  Here are some things to keep in mind that may save you time with a joint compound technique someday.

 1.  Joint  compound is brittle when dry.  That means that if you coat a flat with it and then while moving the flat around, it flexes a little, the joint compound may crumble off a little and leave you with touch up work to be done.  If you mix some white school glue in, the flexibility of the school glue makes the joint compound a little more forgiving to some flex.  The exact ratio varies, because adding a lot of the glue will change the texture of the joint compound and make it different to work with.  It also makes the joint compound less sandable.  I usually add between 1/3 and 1/2 gallon for every 5 gallons of joint compound.

2.  When using to smooth over seams or holes, after applying and getting it fairly smooth with your tools, take a damp (not wet) sponge and lightly run it over the surface.  This can, if done with the right touch, completely eliminate the need for sanding.

3.  Joint compound can be tinted.  The more liquid you add to the joint compound the more the texture will change, so the tinting will not achieve overly saturate colors.  However, for example, if you are using it to create brick, tinting it reddish/brown can prevent the need for touch up when a little bit of the top coat of paint gets chipped or scraped off accidentally.

4.  If you need a little more texture than the joint compound is offering, try mixing in some sawdust.  This will give it more of a gritty texture.

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