Before starting to “how long does drywall mud take to dry” it is very important to know about what is drywall and what is mud so let’s begin with what is drywall.
Drywall
Drywall is made up of gypsum material. It is easy to handle, easy to work, and more durable that’s why its demand is more. It is a very cost-effective product and easy to install.
Drywall is also referred to as wallboard, plasterboard, sheetrock, buster board, or gypsum board. It is very easy to repair.
You can use it as your regular wall. You can also hang heavy pictures, mirrors, and articles on drywall very easily. If you want to know more about how to hang heavy pictures on drywall then read this post.
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New drywall sucks more primer as well as paint, and there are also some uneven surfaces on drywall. So for fixing these problems, we apply the coats of drywall joint compound and this joint compound is also called drywall mud.
Recently asked Q: How to texture drywall with a roller and mud.
Joint compound (mud)
The Joint compound is a white powder of primarily gypsum dust mixed with water to form a mud consistency like milk buttery.
It is also known as drywall mud is a gypsum-based paste used mostly for finishing drywall seams also to smooth out rough walls and ceiling surfaces and is also well suited for repairing minor damage to drywall and plaster surfaces.
Frequently asked Q: Best joint compound for skim coating.
It is called by different names in different countries, in the United States it is called joint compound and guys in the construction industry call it mud.
In Canada, it is called drywall filler and in the United Kingdom it is called joint filler, in Australia is a joint finish and in India is called wall putty.
Drywall mud or Drywall joint compound is used to smooth out damaged walls or make old drywall new again. The mudding process smoothens and strengthens drywall and drywall joints.
In general drywall mud are of 5 types,
1. All-purpose mud
All-purpose mud or regular mud is a premixed bucket of drywall mud. It is ideal for skim coating and easier to sand.
2. Lightweight mud
Lite weight all-purpose mud is similar to regular mud but it is lighter in weight. This mud is typically much drier, porous, and aerated. It’s 25% less in weight than a regular mud.
3. Taping mud
The name indicates the purpose of this compound. This type of compound is generally used for taping.
4. Topping mud
This mud is not suitable for taping not suitable for coating steel or vinyl beads but it is suitable for getting a nice smooth coat and it polishes up really nicely on your final coat and is easier to sand.
5. Hot mud
It is also called a quick setting mud. These are essentially bags of unmixed compounds, you can mix them yourself in small quantities. They are perfect for patch repairs and harder to sand.
Now let us see how long does drywall mud take to dry
How Long Does Drywall Mud Take To Dry
Installation of drywall also doesn’t even take that long as much as it takes to dry. It takes so much time to dry as we noticed, it takes around 24 hrs or a day for each coat to dry but conditions apply.
No one manufacturers mentioned the exact drying time on their packaging details so you couldn’t blame them to “how long does drywall mud take to dry” and it doesn’t possible also because it quite depends on the temperature and humidification factor of that place.
Always remember one thing, after drying a joint compound always apply the best primer for new drywall and if you want to hide minor drywall imperfections then always use the high build primer.
Why this is so important is because nothing really sticks to drywall mud, so it is very important to prime the skim-coated drywall before proceeding. If you have any doubts about primer then visit this post do I need to prime drywall before tiling?
So here you came to know how long does drywall mud take to dry but the one thing we noticed again is, drywall mud or drywall joint compounds drying time varies as per the types of drywall mud.
Drying time as per the types of drywall mud
let us see the drying time as per the types of drywall mud so that you should know exactly “how long does drywall mud take to dry”
All-purpose mud
It comes in a bucket which is a pre-mixed bucket of drywall mud. All-purpose drywall mud takes more time to dry. It takes around a day to mean around 24 hrs to dry.
If the thickness of the coat is thinner then it takes a little bit less time but again the conditions apply to how long does drywall mud take to dry.
If you are in a hurry and you are trying to do a patch and repair things like that or pre-fill it needs to dry. If it doesn’t dry completely and you coat it over again it’s just gonna shrink even more, so it has to each coat will shrink a certain amount so you have to let it dry and let that shrinkage happen.
So you put a single thinner coat and let it be dry then sand it and put another coat over it and let it dry the same then sand, if you do so then it works well. If you put wet over wet then it doesn’t work well with this.
After sanding you need to clean the dust over the drywall if you do not know how to clean it then check this post the best way to clean up drywall dust.
If you try for thick coating by applying all-purpose mud then you won’t get the expected result. As a result, you will get more shrinkage as well as cracks and even damp coating inside after two to three days also, but it depends on how much thick coat did you apply.
So it happens because the outside part of the mud is dried and it creates a barrier to the inner part of the coating. So this all-purpose mud is not suitable for a thick coating. It is suitable for skim coating only and it’s mentioned on its packaging data also.
Let’s see some advantages and disadvantages of All-purpose mud
Advantages
It’s cheaper in cost
It’s easier to use
It’s easier to sand
It doesn’t harden
It’s almost ready to use
Disadvantages
Its dry time is more
It is not suitable for a thick coating
It dries from the outside in
Shrinks more than hot mud
Not as strong as hot mud
Lightweight mud
Lite weight all-purpose mud is similar to regular mud but it is lighter in weight, easy to sand as compared to regular mud. This mud is typically much drier, porous, and aerated. It’s 25% less in weight than regular mud.
It also sands with the ease of a topping compound and bonds like a taping compound. It takes a little bit less time to dry as compared to regular mud, which means It takes around 20 hrs to dry.
Drywall mud areas have been primed, why this is so important is because nothing really sticks to drywall mud, so it is very important to prime over the skim coated drywall before proceeding.
If you want to drill down then visit this post painting drywall without primer.
Taping mud
Actually, the name indicates the purpose of this compound. This type of compound is generally used for taping. It is a strong drywall compound that has very little shrinkage as it dries and resists cracking. It takes around a day to mean around 24 hrs to dry.
Topping mud
This mud is not suitable for taping and it is also not suitable for coating steel or vinyl beads but what it is suitable for is getting nice smooth coats with relatively few bubbles on your first coat and it polishes up really nicely on your final coat.
It is easier to sand. You can use this topping mud for your final coat for a smooth and polished finish. It also takes a little bit less time for drying as compared to all-purpose mud.
It takes 16+ hrs to dry because it’s a final coat that is thinner than the other two coats.
Let’s see some advantages and disadvantages of Topping mud
Advantages
Fine surface finish
Sands easily
Polished coat
It’s ready to use
Disadvantages
Its dry time is more
It is not suitable for a thick coating
Not suitable for taping
Not suitable for coating steel or vinyl beads
Hot mud or Quick setting mud
This mud comes in a bag in the form of powder which is an unmixed compound. You can mix them in yourself in small quantities. They are perfect for patch repairs.
Somewhere it takes less time as compared to all-purpose mud. It takes around 12+ hrs to dry. If the thickness of the coat is thinner then it takes a little bit less time but again the conditions apply.
Remember that the number on the bag for example if we take a bag of “Easy sand 20” then this number 20 indicates the working time which essentially means hardening time.
But it will take longer for the compound to actually dry out completely so it won’t yet you ready to sand and there are methods that you can use to reduce final sanding drastically.
If you see on the package where it says it’s easy to sand that’s really misleading because trust me it is not easy sanding at all. It’s very hard to sand but doesn’t shrink.
Frequently asked Q: How to fix hairline cracks in drywall ceiling.
Mostly just use it for pre-fill and jobs, where you are trying to get in and out in a day. It sets in about 20 to 30 minutes so you can apply a subsequent coat.
Now, something that most people don’t understand about setting muds is that they are quick set not, quick dry.
If you apply three coats in one day you still need to wait three or four days for that to dry properly. All it does is allow you to apply a coat of bunch in one day.
So you don’t have to do multiple trips and it also allows you to do deep fills easily around half-inch deep, without shrinking and cracking. It doesn’t do all the weird things that regular mud will do.
Let’s see some advantages and disadvantages of Hot mud or Quick setting mud
Advantages
Here you can recoat quickly
It is best for heavier coats
Very little shrinkage
Dries harder
Recommended for use over mesh tape for the first coat of mud
Disadvantages
Very hard to sand
Have to mix each batch manually
High expensive
Limited working time
Can be hard to clean if set up
Wastage is more
Feels worse to use
So here you came to know exactly how long does drywall mud take to dry as per the types of drywall mud.
Which conditions apply to the drying time of drywall mud
In this article, on some of the places, we told that conditions to apply so the question that comes to mind is which are those conditions, so the answer is here
1. The thickness of the coat
Actually, you all know if the thinner coat of drywall mud takes less time to dry as compared to a thicker coat. Generally, our first coat is thicker than the other two because here we have to fixed screw holes, scratches, the roughness of the wall and cracks, etc.
2. Temperature
The higher the temperature, the less drywall mud drying time will be.
3. Humidity
Humidity is how much moisture present in the air is humidity. It is measured with the help of wet bulb temperature, if more moisture is present in the atmosphere then wet bulb temperature shows less temperature as compared to the dry-bulb temperature then we come to know more moisture present in the atmosphere.
If the moisture content in the atmosphere is more then drywall mud drying time will be higher.
4. Which type of joint compound do you use
It also depends on the type of drywall mud is selected. Actually, the use of hot mud takes less time to dry as compared to other types.
Final Wording
Here you came to know that, how long does drywall mud takes to dry with their types also and which factors affect the drying time of drywall mud.
So here we conclude that
The time required for drywall mud to dry is
- As much as 24 hrs.
- As less as 12 hrs.
- Temperature, humidity, and thickness of coat are the major key dry time factors.
We hope you understand well and may this article “How long does drywall mud take to dry” will help you to make your home more decorative. If you want to tile your drywall then visit this post Can I tile over painted drywall?
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