# How to repair hairline cracks in corner beads



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

You can tape and mud over it but any loose mud needs to be removed first. Mesh tape needs a setting compound applied over it to lock it down good. One the mud work is done you'll need to texture the repair so it blends.


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

Corner beads generally crack when they werent nailed very well. I typically will nail right through the old mud with some stainless steel trim nails (used on aluminum trim coil) with the help of a nail punch. The old mud on top of the cracked part of the corner bead ALL gets chipped off with a chisel. Then you have to sand off sone of the texture... use a rasp if needed... you dont want to mud over your texture. I mud over the corner bead with 1 coat of durabond, wiped down tight. Then when that is dry, one coat of joint compound. No tape. Then sand it and spray on some texture. This confines the repair to only a couple inches wide.

You really cant tape it because the corner is already "full" of mud. Taping it now would result in a hump on the corner. If you do tape it, the tape would barely cover the crack, (keep the tape as far from the corner as possible) and you would need to feather it out farther to the right in order to cover the tape, making a larger area to repair.


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## bobhammer (Jun 17, 2020)

I have always just used the tape and mud method. You just have to sand it before you paint over it to make sure it is a flush covering.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Paint?


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## jfguerrero1 (Feb 20, 2020)

Thank you for the detailed reply XSleeper. In tapping the corner beads I don't hear any loose mud, it appears to be solidly attached. As stated in my original posting I had the house leveled and that's when the hairline cracks appears on some (maybe 10 corners) of the corner beads.

Also, thank you boghammer and huesmann for your review and replies.


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