Skim coating is a decent way to make your surface look more incredible than ever by smoothening damaged surfaces.
Walls, floors and other surfaces are usually cracked due to exposure to moisture. Sometimes, heavy traffic by foot also causes damage to the home surface. The idea behind skim coating is to retexture or repaint a surface to make it more attractive.
A Skim Coat is a small layer of drywall compound, sometimes known as mud which makes walls smoother. Usually, walls come with different kinds of coating, which includes orange peel and knockdown texture.
While textured walls are great and make your walls attractive, many homeowners prefer smooth walls. Skim coating is a nice alternative to chipping texture materials away.
When homeowners want to skim coat their walls, there are many tools you can use. Here are notable mentions:
This is a great tool which can help protect your wall surface. Drips are common, especially in wet seasons, so it is good to use this tool to gauge any opening. You can use it by framing the surface you want to work on, by trimming and cleaning them up.
You can get a ready mix or dry mix compound based on the surface of your wall. You could also use it to cover the spot.
When talking about skim coating, paint rollers are perfect tools to achieve a good layer of drywall. Paint rollers are good cost-effective strategies when you want your walls or floors to be smooth. People with knowledge about painting will find it a nice experience.
When you want to mix up drywall before applying it, a tray or bucket is a nice solution. To be assured that you are using enough mixture, use a big bucket which you can move easily.
When applying your first coat, it is imperative to have a tool to get rid of excess mud. This tool will also be better to fill up areas where the skim coat doesn't cover. For a great skim coating experience, a putty knife or drywall knife helps smoothen edges when there are taping errors.
Here is a step-by-step detail on how you can get the best result when you use skim coat on a wall in your home or office:
Ensure you lay down butcher paper or drop coats to save you some time. Make sure all walking spaces are covered, and you protect outlets from drips.
When you want to mix drywall compounds, ensure you mix them to the thinnest solution. If you are able, that is a mixing attachment for your power drill. This process might cause some splashing.
When you want to start your skim coating, use a thick paint roller when applying the skim coat. Try to work on the little corners of the wall to ensure accuracy.
When engaging in skin coating, use edged building equipment like a trowel to help smoothen the coat. Also, use it to fill mud into all spaces missed by the roller.
When troweling, there might be some visible lines where these strokes overlap. Drywall sanding between coats is a simple fix to solve this when the coat has dried. For areas difficult to reach, use a pole sander to extend your reach.
Here are some advantages of skim coating your wall:
Skim coating is a process which ensures all cracked and damaged walls are smoothened. While it isn't compulsory to use skim coats, it is advisable for homeowners who want their properties to look good.
In most cases, skim coating your wall makes it easier for a painting job to be perfect. It's more like you are prepping your wall before repainting them.
This helps remove uneven surfaces and bumps surfaces. If you paint without skim coating your wall, you might have uneven walls and surfaces.
With a Skim coating, you could fill all holes and smoothen all corners in your house. Even for those with drywall, using a skim coat makes the surface blend. It helps cover the seams between bricks and seams.
When you skim coat your walls, it helps remove rough patches, which makes it simple to paint. The peeling of the walls makes repainting easier and more palatable. If you just paint directly, it will make it more appealing and tackier.
Skim coating is an easy process, and it's easy to learn for those who don't want to be professional. This job can save you some money, and it's easy to understand. Using skim coats can make you achieve results on wall surfaces.
Skim coating comes with some drawbacks, which include:
Skim coating walls seems to be more tedious than expected. It can consume more time for those who aren't familiar with the steps used to repair walls. This process can also be intensive labor-wise and energy-consuming.
The process and cost of using skim coats can be very outrageous because it requires some level of skills and many tools.
This has discouraged many homeowners from upgrading their homes via skim coating.
Before you under the skim coat method, ensure you are capable of covering the cost and other miscellaneous expenses.
While light skim coating can be done by an average homeowner, for you to complete and detailed skim coating, you need to be learned and know about this skill. If you aren't a professional skim coating person, you might face challenges when it comes to carrying out the process.
Skim coating takes a very extended period when you want a great result. When this process is completed, you will need to give it some time to cool off. Homeowners in a hurry would be put off by the time it takes to complete the process.
People who aren't proficient in skim coating walls and floors will be at a disadvantage. Therefore, if you don't know it, you will need to hire a professional skim coater.
Skim coating makes for a good finish for homeowners with dry walls. If you need to skim coat the whole house, you can achieve it when you have the required budget and a professional who can do a Good job.
Moreover, before skim coating your damaged walls, ensure you know about the Pros and cons to avoid disappointments.
At USG ME, All purpose Joint Compound is a good choice of skim coat product. You get to enjoy all the Pros of a Skim coat with this product.
