That one comment about my grout lines actually helped
Last month my buddy came over to look at the backsplash I did in my kitchen. He said my grout lines looked like a roller coaster and suggested I use tile spacers instead of eyeballing it. I was kinda annoyed at first but tried it on the next section and man it made a huge difference. Now I'm going back to redo the wobbly parts. Anyone else get feedback that made their work way better even if it stung at first?
My father in law told me my drywall mudding looked like I did it with a garden trowel. Hurt my pride for a solid week until I watched a couple youtube videos and figured out what a taping knife was actually for. Funny how the truth stings but fixes stuff faster than being nice about it.
Get yourself a good 6 inch taping knife (the blue handled ones at the hardware store work fine) and a mud pan that fits in your hand. Put a thin coat on first, let it dry completely, then sand it smooth before you even think about a second coat. The trick is to feather the edges so they blend into the drywall, you know, like you're spreading butter on toast but way thinner. I messed up my first three joints before I figured out you gotta clean your knife between every single swipe or you'll drag dried chunks through fresh mud. Also don't try to fill a huge gap all at once, do it in layers or it'll crack and sag on you.