Do I use mud or spackle after removing a popcorn ceiling?

Question

After removing popcorn ceiling, I need to cover some torn drywall paper and cover some taped areas. Should I use mud or spackle? Can someone recommend a product?

The ceiling now looks like unpainted drywall with mud in areas. I had to peel off small areas of tape, but there's more tape underneath so the seams are all still covered.

Do I have to apply spackle or mud 3 times, or can I just spackle the damaged drywall areas (pre-treated with Gardz) with a very thin skim coat, coat with Gardz again, and then apply primer followed by paint?

Answer 1

If your working some large areas or going over taped seams then your choice should be the mud. It goes on smooth and is very easy to sand. Spackle is great for small holes but not really good for this much work. As far as how many times do you need to apply the mud that depends on what you're trying to fix. If you're covering a new taped seam then plan on three times: with a 4", 6" and 12" knife. Torn paper and nicks one or two coats. Mud does shrink so touch ups might be necessary. Good luck. Use a good quality paint with the primer added to it.

Answer 2

Here's what I would do

1. Fill the holes with vinyl spackle. Mud is too loose for that kind of job.
2. Sand the ceiling as flat as possible
3. Use a white ceiling paint and paint the ceiling. If it's an old ceiling, it might be worth priming first (I didn't on my old ceiling and wasted paint)

Should look good if you do all that.