Drywall – What kind of joint compound over plywood

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This question has been asked before: can you apply joint compound to plywood?
Article 1 Article 2 A good discussion

The general recommendation is not to do it because plywood cannot absorb it the way drywall does and it will have a tendency to crack. Others have reported durable results.

Well, I had to hang a TV and I had not choice but to use plywood (couldn't catch any of the studs) and now I have no choice but to apply joint compound:

So I'm looking for the best way to do it! Any suggestions on what to use and how to use it? Would Durabond be better? Should I sand the surface smooth or rough it up? Should I use paper tape or mesh? Any other suggestions?

Best Answer

I personally would never recommend joint compound over plywood. You could wood putty all the screws and other defects as mentioned above or you could try one other idea. How much of a lip do you have between the surface of the sheet rock and the surface of the plywood? My suggestion would be to place a piece of 1/4 inch sheet rock over the plywood if the difference between the two surface is deep enough. Then you could just finish the perimeter with tape and joint compound.

Related Solutions

Wood – How to hang 1/4″ Plywood

Glue a strip (or two strips, to keep it parallel to the wall surface) of thicker wood to the back.

Properly shaped (see ASCII art below for one version), that can BE your hanging hardware, or you can attach your hanging hardware to it.

X
X||   X is the plywood. This angle-cut bit of ||
X\|     wood is attached to the plywood.      \|
X\\                                            \
X|\
X||   X is the plywood. This angle-cut bit of \
X       wood is attached to the wall.         |\
X                                             ||

"Swiss Clips" would another approach, with no glue or nails, but some hardware showing on the front side.

Drywall – Will joint compound / drywall mud clog the drain

I think it would depend on the amount of compound you're putting down the drain, what size drain, how much water is used to flush the tools, and probably a few other factors I haven't thought of. Though typically it's not a problem, as long as you're not pouring a whole tray of mud down the drain.

Scoop out any left over mud from your tray/hawk, and throw it away. Then rinse all the tools thoroughly.

NOTE: If you're using premixed compound, never put unused mud back in the bucket. Once the mud is out of the bucket, either use it, or toss it.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Wood – How to hang 1/4″ Plywood

Drywall – Will joint compound / drywall mud clog the drain

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