# Painting my garage. How much drywall spackle do I need?



## jacemiller12 (Jun 17, 2013)

My garage is currently finished up to the drywall stage. I'm wanting to finish it by feathering out the drywall joints and painting it but I've never done a job of this size before. It's a 2 car garage with very little space for anything besides the cars. How much drywall spackle should I use?


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Don't use any.......

First....primer.....use a heavy nap roller....roll on your primer. You might need 2 coats.

Now....if your mud job is not very good and you want it to look good....you 'could' take some mud and water it down so that it's almost as thin as paint...then roll that one...that will give you a bit more texture. But I think you will be fine without it....

Once the primer is dry....use that same have nap roller for your paint. My personal opinion....use exterior high gloss or semi-gloss paint. It will tolerate water better if it gets wet and the semi/high gloss does not hold as much dust and dirt.

If you want to see what the above method looks like...click on the garage build link in my signature...


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

I think the OP is calling Drywall Compound, "Spackling".


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Willie T said:


> I think the OP is calling Drywall Compound, "Spackling".


That's what I get for trying to multi-task...

Ok...get one of those 2 lb buckets....should be enough...I think


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

If all you have is 'fire tape' sealing the seams---you will need one bucket of green lid multi purpose and another bucket of light weight 9blue lid) for topping before you sand.

You may use less---but I think that's about right.


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## jacemiller12 (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks everyone! My garage looks like this: it's just standard unfinished drywall


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

Are you talking about just the ceiling and the one wall adjoining your house. (What you have there is just first coat... often called "fire tapeing)


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## jacemiller12 (Jun 17, 2013)

It's my whole garage but that's what it all looks like. I had no idea that it was called fire tape. Thanks again. I'm wanting to feather out the joints between the sheet rock so that the bulge doesn't show after I paint.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

While your at it...toss some drywall over on that exposed section. You will be surprised at how much better the lighting will be and how much easier to control the dust and dirt.

Speaking of lighting....You might want to consider putting in some lights while your at it.

I used 16 6" recessed cans in the 1st level of my garage...stuffed CFL's in there...works great and I don't have something hanging down that can get smacked and broken.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

I'm a fluorescent freak. I have them in every room of my house, except the master bedroom. Full, 4 tube troffers, in most cases. And the garage has six of them.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Willie T said:


> I'm a fluorescent freak. I have them in every room of my house, except the master bedroom. Full, 4 tube troffers, in most cases. And the garage has six of them.


Black lights no less? Walls covered in fluorescent paint? I bet it's 'groovy'


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## Nailbags (Feb 1, 2012)

To need to rock that wall! Fire code.


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## jacemiller12 (Jun 17, 2013)

Sorry for the confusion. This isn't my actual garage. I just wanted to show everyone what I was talking about with the fire tape.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Get your self a mud pan and 3 knives---6--10 and 12 inch--

You will need two or even three more thin coats---I suggest you start with green lid -multi purpose---this one is a fairly hard mud and sticks very well--it contains glue.

once the joints are filled and corners have the first coat--switch to blue lid-light weight for the top coats---it is much softer and easy to sand--


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## jacemiller12 (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks o'mike! That's the kind of advice that I was looking for.


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## alexjoe (Jun 10, 2013)

You will be afraid at how abundant bigger the lighting will be and how abundant easier to ascendancy the dust and dirt


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## coupe (Nov 25, 2011)

alexjoe said:


> You will be afraid at how abundant bigger the lighting will be and how abundant easier to ascendancy the dust and dirt


 
WOW! that answered your question perfectly huh? after you decifer it, buy one of these http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-14-Magn...&qid=1372344798&sr=8-28&keywords=drywall+hawk

also drywall that attached wall with 5/8" drywall for code. get yourself a 16" drywall twowel and a 6" taping knife. it generaly takes 1 5 gallong bucket of USG green lid joint compound per every 10 sheets of drywall, your fire taping is done, so you might get 15 sheets per?

use the 6" knife to coat your inside corners, thin coats yes. but not so thin to recreate the same lines as you have now! i like to use about a 1/8"coat on each pass, then wipe it down smooth feathering it out to the edge of the knife. another two coats on everything should be good. mix your mud to a consistency that it will stay on your hawk and not roll off all over the floor. with a concave drywall trowel, get mud on the trowel evenly, work your seams from dry into the new wet mud, keeping your trowe at an angle and yourself in position to see what you are doing with the mud, when you change the angle of the trowel to the point you can not see any lap marks being left in wet mud, start bringing tour trowel off the board slowly wiping the mud clean as you pull it off the board. do not sand between coats as the dust will build up in next coat. any excess mud that runs out past trowel line? remove instantly with end of trowel or 6" knife. dont forget to give a couple more coats to the nails/screws, wipe on and wipe off.

when dry, a light sanding just along the edges of trowel and knife lines should give you a nice finish, with lights installed you'll see the garage will seem to be bigger and with lights on the dust and dirt will be more apparent


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

alexjoe said:


> You will be afraid at how abundant bigger the lighting will be and how abundant easier to ascendancy the dust and dirt


Well, I do compliment your attempt at English. I can see the honest intent, and if I use my imagination a lot, I can figure out what you mean.

But may I suggest first putting your words through one of the Translation Programs? I speak a bit of Spanish, but using one of those programs sometimes shows me where I may have missed exact wording.

(BTW... See post #9 for what I think he was trying to say.)


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