# Coloring Drywall Mud



## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

I’ve never heard of this being done! Wow. I add paint to drywall mud sometimes for better coverage when stomping ceilings and with some hope that painting them when dry won’t be needed, but adding chalk? Hmmmm. I would think it would take an INCREDIBLE amount of chalk to accomplish that. And even then, the color would be muted due to the density of the mud.

In addition, what is his reasoning for doing so?


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

I've seen Paul Peck add food coloring when he was doing touch up near the end of a finishing. It allows you see when to stop sanding and not remove more than you need. For small pits and nicks.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Gymschu said:


> ...what is his reasoning for doing so?


My question also.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Never heard of it. Never seen it on any wall ever. I find it hard to believe I've never witnessed the work of even a single "real" professional in my lifetime.

If this is new drywall installation, I can't think of any benefit. And simply adding chalk, especially the amounts you'd need to see much of a difference, can only weaken the joint compound. If this was a patch, I might be able to understand someone wanting to see where their patch material went as opposed to the original compound on the wall. For example, let's say the drywallers were done, some other work has been done in the meantime, and now we're getting ready to paint. If I patched up all the dings with colored compound, it could show the GC how many dings there were and where they were. For whatever reason.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Mike Milam said:


> I've seen Paul Peck add food coloring when he was doing touch up near the end of a finishing. It allows you see when to stop sanding and not remove more than you need.


Yeah I can see that coming in handy if you've done a bunch of patches all over a room. Not so much to see where to stop sanding, but just to quickly find all your patches to begin with.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I used to know a drywall guy who didn't have great eyesight. He'd come to me to bum a little bit of dark paint [didn't matter what color] to mix in his mud so when he went back to texture his repairs on white walls he didn't miss any.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Usually if you circle areas needing attention with pencil, you don’t or wouldn’t need colored mud to see those areas. Pencil lead is pretty hard to miss IMO.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

Gymschu said:


> Usually if you circle areas needing attention with pencil, you don’t or wouldn’t need colored mud to see those areas. Pencil lead is pretty hard to miss IMO.


Point well taken. I can see it handy for the DIY'r who would get frustrated if he/she sanded a little too much and had a slight low spot that might show up after it's painted.


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## flyingron (Dec 15, 2020)

There's only one thing in my mind that is nastier than drywall dust and that's chalk line chalk. If I were to color my drywall dust, the last thing I'd consider is chalk.

I've never heard of coloring it. Drywall usually is a little grayer than the mud anyhow. Now I've heard of using a tinted PRIMER so you can distinguish it and they make a goes on pink-turns-white ceiling paint just so you can convince yourself you have good coverage.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

Thanks for the input, guys!

I think the guy would have preferred something other than chalk-line chalk. But it seems that what he was really trying to do was impress us.

In the end, if you saw the quality of work he does, you would be suspicious too.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

DrHicks said:


> Thanks for the input, guys!
> 
> I think the guy would have preferred something other than chalk-line chalk. But it seems that what he was really trying to do was impress us.
> 
> In the end, if you saw the quality of work he does, you would be suspicious too.


This could be its own thread, @ DrHicks. The braggard contractor who not only knows everything about HIS trade but knows everything about all the other trades, too. Always loved those guys.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

Gymschu said:


> This could be its own thread, @ DrHicks. The braggard contractor who not only knows everything about HIS trade but knows everything about all the other trades, too. Always loved those guys.


 To call this guy a braggard know-it-all would be very kind...


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## Half-fast eddie (Sep 19, 2020)

I have known contractors who mixed latex paint in the mud, back in the day when heavy textures were common.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Half-fast eddie said:


> I have known contractors who mixed latex paint in the mud, back in the day when heavy textures were common.


I still do it if I think my stomp pattern isn’t going to be thick enough to cover the gray of the drywall.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Gymschu said:


> Usually if you circle areas needing attention with pencil, you don’t or wouldn’t need colored mud to see those areas. Pencil lead is pretty hard to miss IMO.



A piece of green painter's tape below the spots you fixed is even harder to miss. I have done that a couple of times.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Gymschu said:


> Usually if you circle areas needing attention with pencil, you don’t or wouldn’t need colored mud to see those areas. Pencil lead is pretty hard to miss IMO.


Actually the video I just watched proved that, didn't it? lol


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

DrHicks said:


> In the end, if you saw the quality of work he does, you would be suspicious too.


Anyone who talks like that, I immediately assume they're pretty much a goof.

We tried working with this young guy one time who claimed to be a "Sherwin Williams Master Painter". Whatever that is. Pretty sure there is no such thing. He said he had painted many apartments. We brought him in one morning to try out on a job. The first thing he did was start mask taping around all the switch plates and outlet covers. We stopped that, got through the cutting in, then started rolling. He immediately went to the very center of a wall and starting painting a W. At our lunch break we told him thanks, and we were good for the rest of the project.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

jeffnc said:


> Anyone who talks like that, I immediately assume they're pretty much a goof.
> 
> We tried working with this young guy one time who claimed to be a "Sherwin Williams Master Painter". Whatever that is. Pretty sure there is no such thing. He said he had painted many apartments. We brought him in one morning to try out on a job. The first thing he did was start mask taping around all the switch plates and outlet covers. We stopped that, got through the cutting in, then started rolling. He immediately went to the very center of a wall and starting painting a W. At our lunch break we told him thanks, and we were good for the rest of the project.


What do you have against Ws?!?!?!

I've gotten to be a pretty good painter over the years. I also have two cousins (brothers) who are professional painters. I definitely ask them questions, rather than give them advice or brag to them!


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

DrHicks said:


> What do you have against Ws?


 The W or N rolling pattern worked great back when we rolled oil base wall paint but really isn't effective with the thicker faster drying latex paints we use today.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

Just a DIY'r here, but using latex I always start about 8 or 10 inches from the top and roll down and then back up. Usually get about 3 roller widths per fill on the roller. I find I get fewer roller lines that way.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

mark sr said:


> The W or N rolling pattern worked great back when we rolled oil base wall paint but really isn't effective with the thicker faster drying latex paints we use today.


Out of curiosity, do you use a particular pattern? 

I've come to a point where I typically just roll on vertical for the first coat, and horizontal for the second.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

While I'll cross roll if applying 2 coats to a ceiling on walls I just go up/down and the re roll the previous stripe.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

DrHicks said:


> What do you have against Ws?!?!?!


Well as I said, for one thing, he just started in the middle of the wall. That makes no sense. As the paint dries, you have to feather in your wet edge. How are you going to do that in 360 degrees before the paint starts to dry?

The only people that use Ws are homeowners who watch HGTV. The purpose of it is to get the paint load spread around. There are better ways that don't leave a messy pattern on the wall. Even if you did use a W, you would start in the upper left corner of the wall, then lower left, continuing in a methodical way.

The best way is to simply paint in straight columns, where you can control every finish stroke of your roller in a straight line from top to bottom for consistent results. I will use a W when I have a small square to paint on the wall, like 3' x 3', such as over a door or something like that.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Most amateurs use too little paint on the roller, for example Mike said he gets 3 columns per fill, which isn't really enough paint. I usually get 1 column per fill, with a few inches overlap. I start with a full load about 2' off the bottom, go up and back down. If you start right at the top or bottom, you'll drop too much paint in one spot to be leveled out. By the time I get back down to the bottom and my roller is mostly out of paint, I pick up that big load on the wall where I started, which is enough to spread over the bottom 2'. I always orient my roller the same way, and I always finish the column going down as I feather out the edge. You could always finish on an upstroke, I just find it easier to finish down, just habit.

Rolling paint horizontally on a wall is a major pain. If you find you need to do that to avoid crosshatching, then you're either not using enough paint per coat, or you're not feathering your edge correctly (or your roller cover doesn't have a nice beveled edge.)


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

The “M” or “W” can come back to haunt you! As Mark said, the paint starts setting up pretty fast and by the time you get to the far end of that “W” you may have a lap mark. Easier to control the possibility of lap marks by simply rolling up and down, then moving a foot or two to go up and down again.
My buddy hated painting and was painting his mother’s cement block garage. Instead of a “W” he painted out “Fu** this 5h**” and took a short cigarette break. Well the paint set up and those words telegraphed through for many, many years!


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## kt82 (Jan 28, 2009)

jeffnc said:


> Most amateurs use too little paint on the roller, for example Mike said he gets 3 columns per fill, which isn't really enough paint. I usually get 1 column per fill, with a few inches overlap. I start with a full load about 2' off the bottom, go up and back down. If you start right at the top or bottom, you'll drop too much paint in one spot to be leveled out. By the time I get back down to the bottom and my roller is mostly out of paint, I pick up that big load on the wall where I started, which is enough to spread over the bottom 2'. I always orient my roller the same way, and I always finish the column going down as I feather out the edge. You could always finish on an upstroke, I just find it easier to finish down, just habit.
> 
> Rolling paint horizontally on a wall is a major pain. If you find you need to do that to avoid crosshatching, then you're either not using enough paint per coat, or you're not feathering your edge correctly (or your roller cover doesn't have a nice beveled edge.)


is it true you shouldn't roll over a satin or eggshell once applied because it will change the sheen?


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## kt82 (Jan 28, 2009)

Gymschu said:


> I’ve never heard of this being done! Wow. I add paint to drywall mud sometimes for better coverage when stomping ceilings and with some hope that painting them when dry won’t be needed, but adding chalk? Hmmmm. I would think it would take an INCREDIBLE amount of chalk to accomplish that. And even then, the color would be muted due to the density of the mud.
> 
> In addition, what is his reasoning for doing so?


if you add paint to your bed coats ,it makes it impossible to sand


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

I don’t sand textured ceilings.


kt82 said:


> if you add paint to your bed coats ,it makes it impossible to sand


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

kt82 said:


> is it true you shouldn't roll over a satin or eggshell once applied because it will change the sheen?


Not exactly sure what you mean.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

kt82 said:


> if you add paint to your bed coats ,it makes it impossible to sand


I have everything from a sanding sponge to a belt sander, and I can assure you it's not impossible. I sand off old paint pretty often.

Paint is tougher than joint compound. We are talking about adding something like less than 1%? So maybe it's noticeable, maybe it's not. I kind of doubt it is.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

kt82 said:


> s it true you shouldn't roll over a satin or eggshell once applied because it will change the sheen?


 If another coat changes the sheen it's because the first coat either didn't cover well or the underlying paint sucked some of the sheen out of the enamel.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Yeah I think those are the reasons. Paint is primarily made from glue, coloring and water. The coloring is partly the titanium dioxide (for white base colors) and then colorant. If you take Elmer's glue and add coloring, you've basically got a paint. Notice that Elmer's glue dries with a shiny surface. Glue and resin serve the same function. The more resin in paint, the more sheen it has. But the porosity of the surface underneath will determine how much resin is "lost" from the finished paint surface because it soaks into the surface. The less porosity, the closer to the intended sheen you're going to get. (With flat paint basically it doesn't matter.) You can either use a sealer, or you can use a coat of the paint itself. Personally whenever I've put on 2 coats of a quality eggshell applied well, I haven't seen any problems with flashing or other sheen issues on the second coat. Your first coat is basically your "primer". If you want a true sealer for your first coat, Gardz is one of the best. I don't often use standard drywall primers.


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## mx13 (Apr 8, 2007)

They make concrete pigment powder. Seems like a "real professional" would use that if they wanted to tint drywall mud.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

sometimes it's easiest to just use what's on hand


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