Angle Your Drywall Knife for Best Results
While taping a butt joint intersecting with a window sill, Myron shows how different knife angles produce the right outcomes depending on what you are trying to achieve.
As I apply compound to this butted seam, I’m trying to leave the compound on. In order to do so, I flatten the trowel or taping knife out pretty flat. If I put it at a 90° angle, I’ll actually end up removing compound instead of smoothing it, which isn’t what we want to do. If you want to keep it flat and smooth, keep the taping knife flatter to the surface.
Once I put the tape on, I want to embed it nice and tight, so I want to push it in tight and remove excess compound. I’ll put much more pressure on it in this case, and here the knife is much closer to a 90° angle.
For this little seam underneath the window, I’m trying to leave compound on. Once I apply the compound, I smooth it out by keeping the knife pretty flat—not removing compound, just smoothing it.
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