Why little holes/dots when I apply joint compound?

Question

I can't find answer anywhere, can somebody tell me why and how to avoid these little dots/holes when I spackle.

I also including the pic of the compound I'm using.

enter image description here

Those are due to air bubbles in the joint compound. If you happen to have a vibrating product settler, you could just place the bucket on it for a few hours. — Dan D., Jan 28 '14 at 19:56
I would add to the good answers that: if you're *spackling*, use *spackle*. If you're joining wallboard, use wallboard joint compound. They're not the same thing. Spackle doesn't shrink when it dries but is hard to feather around the edges of a large hole. Joint compound does shrink and is intended to be applied over large areas in multiple coats. — Eric Lippert, Jan 28 '14 at 23:12
And your initial job looks reasonable. Let it dry thoroughly; maybe aim a fan at it if you want to speed it along. Sand it down and do a second and then third coat, sanding between. Stir the compound thoroughly before you put it on; that will help. — Eric Lippert, Jan 28 '14 at 23:14

Edwin · Answer 1 · 2014-01-28T20:25:23.260

There have got to be many ways to minimize the bubbles. These kind of problems you deal with when finishing drywall require a certain amount of skill that, for me, comes only with experience. That said, I have a few ideas:

Add a little bit of water. The further along in the finishing process, the thinner the compound should be.
Mix well, even if you add no water.
"Work" your mud with a knife in your pan (or on your hawk) for a few seconds.
It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like your application could use fine tuning. a. Apply the mud to the wall as you have done. b. Remove mud from the knife and, putting pressure on the left side of the knife, go back over application. c. Do the same for the right side. d. With light pressure in the center, go over again. This will help to better feather out our edges.

score 13 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 28 '14 at 22:12

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Actually, @Edwin gave you a good answer. I'll add a bit to it. The bubbles are usually from not mixing the mud well enough or not applying it with enough pressure. It is not unusual to see lots of small bubbles on the first coat. The second coat is going to be thinner and applied with a bit more pressure and wider knife or trowel than the first. Here's a little trick for your third or final coats of mud. Mix a small amount of water and Ivory dish soap into your mud and mix well. It will glide on like soft butter and be as smooth as a baby's bottom!! Also, practice makes perfect, mudding takes a lot of practice, so hang in there.

edited Jan 28 '14 at 22:12

Edwin

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answered Jan 28 '14 at 20:44

shirlock homes

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I found an old potato masher works well for mixing the drywall compound. – Craig Jan 28 '14 at 20:46
A potato masher is good for vegies, but a mud mixer on a 1/2" strong electric drill is what you need. they are not real expensive, under $20 anywhere. – shirlock homes Jan 28 '14 at 20:50
@shirlockhomes Not many of us non-pros have 1/2 drills. – Chris Cudmore Jan 28 '14 at 20:59
Thanks, I think that what it is, since when I open brand new basket with compaund, I almost don't have bubbles, and this one is a month old. – bell2041 Jan 28 '14 at 21:01
Can I buy something that works with a regular drill? – bell2041 Jan 28 '14 at 21:01
when you say regular drill, what do you have? amp rating? – shirlock homes Jan 28 '14 at 21:07
don't attempt to use a cheap 3/8" drill with a mud paddle bit, it will burn out your little drill – shirlock homes Jan 28 '14 at 21:08
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if you don't have large areas to do, put some mud in a smaller container(1/2 to 1 gal) and mix it with a smaller paint mixer on a small drill. that will work well. – shirlock homes Jan 28 '14 at 21:22
Hey Chris, long time no see. – shirlock homes Jan 28 '14 at 21:23
@shirlockhomes back from the dead? – Steven Jan 28 '14 at 21:37
I found a tip on YouTube that suggested a little bit, ( *A tablespoon or so for a five gallon bucket*, ) of DISH SOAP. Mix it in when you mix your mud. It is probably a *"bandaid"* for less the perfect technique but i have less the perfect technique :) – Alaska Man Feb 07 '20 at 18:49
A few drops of Dish soap does indeed make for a baby bottom smooth finish but also much harder to sand – Goldensnips Jan 25 '21 at 03:55

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 29 '14 at 20:43

You are getting these because the compound going on is too thick.

My drywall guys start with a small bucket of powder and water and mix to the consistency of pancake syrup and then add the premixed stuff in. Basically to the point where it barely doesn't drive you nuts. It will make a mess no doubt because you will have drop everywhere. But this allows for smaller/wider coats that will require almost no sanding and we hardly ever have bubbling issues.

The fact is the premixed compound out of the jar will start drying so fast that the air will escape during the initial drying process. They sell it this way because it is more usable and you can always add moisture but much harder to take it out.

I agree on two thick, I usually run my base coat thick and top with a similar process (some what loose or wet mud) depending on the "quality of finish" wanted I will switch to topping mud it is softer and easier to sand, but most jobs a little water can be used and there are small paint mixers that will work for mud with a 3/8" drill. I use small paint mixer when mixing up a small amount. — Ed Beal, May 03 '18 at 19:17

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered May 03 '18 at 13:48

I have always had air bubble problems when patching over a painted surface. They occur in each succeeding coat, but a little less. I have found that sanding the first coat and then wiping thoroughly with a wet sponge seems to fill in the bubbles so they don't appear in succeeding coats near as bad.

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 06 '21 at 02:08

Yes you have to mix your drywall mud with a mixer to get all the air bubbles out once mixed thoroughly with a mixing paddle and a half inch drill then you beat the sides of the mud of the five gallon bucket with a rubber mallet that will vibrate their bubbles to the top of the surface also make sure that the surface that you are applying mud to is not Dusty if it is Dusty it will cause air bubbles approximately five to ten minutes after mud has been applied if you wipe your walls down or whatever surface your mudding or dust it at least and make sure mud will no longer have that problem

a bit of punctuation would make this much easier to read usually punctuation is used to indicate the end of a sentence and a capital letter is Used to indicate the beginning of the next One usually capital Letters are not just sprinkled In at random — FreeMan, Oct 06 '21 at 11:46

score -1 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 26 '22 at 16:14

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I have tried that and it made for mud to not stick to wall as good, or it won’t have as good glue to adhere to wall..I been a taper for 35 years, and I’vefound that noone knows how to take care of that problem.. some claim that they do, but they don’t, is just that nobody sees close enough to wall to notice it, or there isn’t enough lighting to noticed it..

answered Apr 26 '22 at 16:14

Gerardo

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You have tried "that". What's "that"? You may notice that this isn't a threaded message board but a Question & Answer board. Whatever answer "that" is may be the one above yours. For now. In your view, but the answers can be sorted differently for each user and the sort order can change over time. Please [edit] your answer to specify what "that" is, I'm sure with your experience it will be much more helpful once you've told us what "that" is. – FreeMan Apr 26 '22 at 18:26

score -1 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 29 '14 at 19:50

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You could just spackle over them with spackle.

answered Jan 29 '14 at 19:50

sborsher

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score -1 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 16 '16 at 21:01

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Try sanding the old finish and add dish soap and water to your mud

answered Jun 16 '16 at 21:01

Sam Garcia

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Why little holes/dots when I apply joint compound?

8 Answers8