Guest Bathroom Makeover - Part 2

Part 2:  Tales of Taping, Sanding, and Joint Compound

Over Labor Day Weekend we made a lot of progress on the guest bathroom makeover.  To start, we used painter's tape to tape off areas of the bathroom that meet the wall.

We don't want to paint the window trim, vanity counter, shower tile, light fixture, etc.  The painter's tape is very easy to use.  You just need to (1) make sure it's lined up well so that it lies straight against the edges of the wall, and (2) flatten out all air bubbles so paint can't get underneath.

Then, my handyman hubby took down the mirror, wall-mounted soap dish, towel rods and took off the toilet tank so we could sand the wall behind the toilet.

Next, he used a hand sander to sand the wall down so it is nice and smooth.  He used safety goggles and a face mask, since the dust from the walls goes everywhere.

After that, he mixed joint compound in a big, orange all-purpose bucket.  It was very easy to mix the joint compound.  (You can buy it pre-mixed, but it's less expensive to make your own.) We got a Super Grout Mixer and attached it to our drill, poured the dry joint compound powder into the bucket, and then added water from the hose.  We mixed it until the joint compound was about the consistency of peanut butter or cake icing -- not too watery, but thick enough to cover the wall and not drip down.

Then, using a stainless steel mudpan to hold the joint compound, and switching between a stainless steel taping knife and a Plastic Handle Joint Knife, the handyman hubby applied the joint compound to the wall, covering many spots that needed extra attention.  For example, there was a square hole in the wall where the soap dish was removed, so he placed a large drywall repair self-adhesive wall patch to cover the hole, then applied joint compound over it.  He also covered the towel rod holes with joint compound, and there were a couple of spots that were damaged when we took down the wallpaper that needed repair.

After applying the joint compound, we left it to dry.  It takes hours to dry, so we let it dry overnight and came back the next day to sand the wall down again!  The joint compound leaves bumps and uneven spots, so we had to sand a lot more.

Doesn't he make it look good?  :)

Next steps:  More joint compound, more sanding, primer, then (finally) paint!