My cheap mud pan gave out mid-taper on a 12 foot ceiling

I was working on a remodel in Sacramento last Tuesday, just finishing a long ceiling seam. My mud pan was this old plastic one I got for like 6 bucks at a discount store, and it just cracked right down the middle while I had a full load of mud in it. Mud went everywhere, all over my pants, the floor, and into my boots. I had to stop, clean everything up, and drive 20 minutes to the nearest supply house for a metal pan. Has anyone else had a cheap tool fail at the worst possible moment like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylanmurray22d ago

6 bucks? Man, I don't think I'd trust a pan that cheap to hold a cup of water, let alone a whole load of mud. That's just asking for disaster.

henderson.vera22d agoMost Upvoted

But @dylanmurray, you ever actually used a cheap pan for mud? Sometimes the no-name ones work just fine if you're careful with the heat.

riley_taylor6h ago

Oh man, @henderson.vera gets it - sometimes cheap stuff surprises you, but $6 is just tempting fate with a pan.