the painted surface

How To Repair Water Damage and Stains On Drywall

For most drywall repairs plan on applying three coats of drywall mud. This may sound like too much but three thin coats will smooth and hide the damaged wallboard very nicely. The first coat fills the deepest parts of the damage and brings up the surface to almost level with the surrounding board. The second coat levels the damage and begins to feather out the edges as seen in the photo to the right. The third coat feathers out the edges of the repair to hide the transition of the new patch to the surrounding drywall. When done properly the patch is invisible. Tips for a successful patch:

• Use a putty knife or drywall knife wider than the damaged area whenever possible.
• Work from a drywall mud pan, they are very inexpensive and helpful.
• An assortment of sizes of knifes will be useful, a 4, 6 or 8, and 12 inch wide knife is needed. Check out Tools for a photo.
• The mud should go on smoothly, a bit of water added to the mix may help.
• Build up the repair with each layer in depth and area, the size of the patch should expand outwardly to blend into the surrounding surface.
• Use the drywall knife to smooth down the edges of the wet drywall mud.
• Finish off each layer of mud by pulling the knife across the surface at about a 45 degree angle to remove the excess mud.
• Try to leave each coat as smooth as possible to minimize sanding between coats.
• Sand with a medium to fine grade of sandpaper. Sanding sponges work well.
• Sand between coats and brush off or vacum the surface to remove the dust.
• The first and second coat does not have to be sanded perfectly smooth, just enough to remove the roughest parts.
• The third coat is thinner and fills any pinholes, slight imperfections or sanding gouges.
• Allow the patch to completely dry(it may take several hours or overnight) before doing the final sanding.

The new drywall mud can be painted using a high quality paint but it is really best to first use a drywall primer before applying the finish coat. Usually the paint used to seal the stain can also be used for drywall priming. Check the label to be sure. The primer coat provides a transition layer between the raw drywall mud or board and the finish coat of paint. Primers seal the raw materials resulting in the finish paints having a smooth and even appearance.

These general steps make repairing water damage a simpler task. More tips about painting techniques are covered in the additional articles. In those will be found details, tips and techniques gathered from over 20 years of painting experience. Here is a list of links to the articles: