Butterfly joints are a scam until you learn this one thing

I spent 5 years struggling with butterfly joints on ceiling cracks. They always looked like garbage and I blamed the tape. Then my old foreman Mike in Denver showed me he pre-wets his paper tape for 10 seconds before applying. Total game changer. Anybody else have a dumb simple trick that took way too long to learn?

2 comments

2 Comments

max_ross25d ago

My buddy Tom in Arizona spent like 3 whole years fighting with compound drying too fast on his tape jobs. He'd mix small batches and still end up with a crusty mess halfway through a ceiling. Turns out his garage was just too hot in the summer and the compound was setting up before he even got the tape on. He started working early mornings when it was cooler and the problem just went away. Simple fix but it cost him a lot of frustration before someone told him.

fox.derek25d ago

That thing max_ross said about compound drying too fast in hot weather hits close to home. I had the exact same issue in Phoenix for two summers before I figured it out. The paper tape needs moisture to bond right, so if your mud is flash drying on you, the tape won't grab and you get those bubbles and wrinkles. What finally worked for me was keeping a spray bottle with water nearby and misting the ceiling crack before I even put mud on. Just a light dampening, not soaking it. Then I pre-wet the tape like Derek said, but I only dip it for about 5 seconds and squeeze off the excess. That combo of a damp substrate and damp tape gives you way more working time before the compound skins over. Your mileage may vary depending on your climate, but I'd bet 80% of bad tape jobs come down to humidity or temperature issues.