# Bubble in Tape only when wet



## dweebur2 (Jul 24, 2014)

Hello,

Please excuse me if this topic has already been covered. My question is I'm mudding a bathroom with tape and noticed a long bubble in the middle of the tape (where the two pieces butt). However when the joint compound is dry the bubble is gone. Is this a bubble or just wet joint compound. Does this need to be removed? It looks fine when the compound is dry. I do not want it to peel down the road.

Thanks in advance..

Brian


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

How did you mud the joint and apply the tape.Paper or mesh?We answer questions with questions all the time around here so best to give all the info you can in the OP.


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## dweebur2 (Jul 24, 2014)

I used paper tape (wetted before application) , on a bed of light weight joint compound.


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

Paper tape is good.You are not supposed to wet it.This could be your problem.Also the light weight joint compound.
The procedure is to lay the mud down in the joint.Then lay the tape using your knife to set the tape in the mud.The tape gets all of the moisture it needs from the mud which bonds them.After setting the tape in the mud go over it with another thin coat of mud to further set it and moisten the other side of the tape for a better bond.
Why are you using light weight and what type is it?


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Cut it out and fill the void---
The ideal mud to hold the paper---Multipurpose--contains glue---

For filling corner bead--gaps and voids---and first coat(if you are in a hurry)--Powdered 'easy sand'--20-45-90 minute set--

For the top coat---easy sand (blue bucket) soft --slow drying --easy to sand--
Not hard enough to bed in corner bead --not sticky enough to hold paper well--


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## jagans (Oct 21, 2012)

Your Mud is not "wetting" through the paper. On the first coat, you should add at least a cup of warm water to a new bucket and mix well until you get a nice tempered consistancy that allows the tape to bed well into the mud. You should use a six inch knife and bed the tape fully in on the tape and then remove the excess with a 10, then LET IT DRY. DO NOT OVERWORK THE MUD. Buy Goldblatt tools if you plan on doing much of this.

I used the green lid gold bond mud for everything but it sounds like O'Mike really knows this stuff. Im going by what I was taught by a pro, and what works for me. I make a big enough mess with premixed, I cant imagine using the powder. I just had an image of a monkey loose in a bakery. :laughing::laughing:


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

The lightweight glue isn't the best for setting tape. In fact to wet the tape will do wonders to eliminate bubbles. But to honest bubbles happen so as stated cut out the bubble and fill with mud. They usually occur because there is not enough mud under the tape at that spot or when you smoothed it too much mud came out from under the tape causing a void under it, so the tape didn't stick.


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## dweebur2 (Jul 24, 2014)

*Thanks for your replys*

Thanks.. I guess I just wanted to know if anyone has dealt with the disappearing bubble. Actually I'm not sure if it's a bubble or joint compound oosing out of the joint. Would a bubble completely disappear when dry?


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Probably not really disappearing just when dry it's laying flat and not noticeable. If you were to cut it you would see it's not stuck.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

The tape hasn't adhered to the substrate. No reason to keep guessing, it is not attached. Cut it out, re-do it and move on.:yes:

The tape expands slightly when wet causing a bubble where there is no adhesion, when the tape dries it shrinks and looks normal. If you think it's a problem now, leave it alone and paint it and watch the bubble re-appear when the paint wets the tape again, but this time it won't likely shrink away after painted.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

If the bubble goes away when dry, then it isn't really a bubble and you don't need to cut it out. That's assuming you're correct, and the bubble is gone. You can tell by pressing on it with your finger. If it's rock solid, there's no bubble. If the paper presses in, there's a bubble and it needs to be cut out. You can usually hear a slight papery, high pitched tapping sound if there's a bubble. Otherwise it's more of a thud sound. It can be hard to tell because even when done correctly, paper tape will buckle and wave a little from the shrinking of the heavy amount of compound behind it in the gap of the joint.

Getting the paper tape damp before taping is fine. Getting it too wet is bad since it gets in the way of adhesion. You want the compound to sink into the microscopic nooks and crannies in the paper. Paper so full of water that the surface nooks and crannies are filled prevents that.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Here is the best way by far for someone new

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070917110712AAxgjG6

http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/breaktime/general-discussion/drywall-tape-bubbles


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