Stopped using a mud mixer after talking to a 30-year taper last week

I was dead set on using a power mixer for every batch of joint compound until I ran into this old timer at a supply house in Columbus. He said the air bubbles from fast mixing cause more pinholes than anything else and he's been hand mixing with a paddle for 20 years with zero callbacks. Makes me wonder how many hours I've wasted on sanding those tiny craters, anyone else ditch their drill for hand mixing?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo2387d ago

Twenty years of hand mixing with just a paddle? That's wild, I can barely stir a bucket of all purpose by hand for five minutes without my arm feeling like jelly. I've definitely chased those pinholes before, repainting ceilings because of bad mud work from a fast drill. Now I'm second guessing all the time I spent running a mixer on high speed trying to save a few minutes.

wrenstone6d ago

Older timers swear by a technique I never see mentioned, they put the paddle in at an angle and stir slow like they're folding a cake batter. Traps way less air than any high speed drill method.