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Drywall Finishing Tips
Many elements go toward reaching a high quality drywall finish. And these usually don't take the form of shortcuts, but there are time saving methods. After you first prioritize all areas of drywall to be finished, with the type and grade of finish, you are ready to begin.
Cleanliness
Make it a practice to always start with a clean work area. Remove miscellaneous end cuts and clumps of gypsum that happen to be lying around, combined with any miscellaneous screws and nails and anyting on the floor.
Mixing the Compound
The fact that applying the right mix of water to the compound and stirring the admixture thorougly enough, cannot be overstated. The photo at the right illustrates; the mix was either too lean without a topcoat, was overthinned, undermixed or overmixed at speed, or was caused by a combination thereof. See the air bubbles exposed through the painted surface. Aside from these air pockets, notice how the edge of the corner bead has left a dry line. That would be characteristic of a rich mixture having settled. (water lacking mudd too, is subject to blade drag not evident) While too rich a mix will lead to sagging soon after it hits the drywall.
A lean mixtures will minimize the amount of settle back, and so can effectively eliminate and entire layer. But tight mixes also result in open air bubbles. To cover the dried bubbles, skim with a trowel or knife from various angles.
Note: some brands of compound are more susceptible to air-pocketing than others.
Limiting the Layer Depth
Tooling the compound too deep in a single stage is cause for cracking. It is best to apply repeat coats -- not laying on the compound on too thick (in an attempt to straighten out seams, for example) and let the compound dry in moderate layers. Quick-dry compounds should be used sparingly over the surfaces.
For ceilings, drawing the mud from the taping blade at an optimal angle and, the pressure exerted, will also factor.
Detailing
To really get the professional, finished look, concentrate on detailing. Take the time and effort to make cuts where meeting irregular shaped objects. If necessary make templates for cuts, including curves. For confined and intricate shaping, electric cutters do come in handy but make provisions for the extra dust.
Addressing any miscuts from the install, all at the same time, will save you overall.
For wall portions like access panels, wherever cuts are in plain view after completion, and that have no mouldings, make liberal use of beads, even for 'utitilty areas' that abutt panels for ceiling access.
Attention should be directed to ceilings, forever conspicuous as they are above. To further detail -- match the ceiling finishes in the closet, laundry and garage areas, everywhere. This will achieve a design constant and require less finish effort in terms of final sand-off, based on the texture.
Inside and Outside Corners
To facilitate the sharp edge corners, apply corner beads that (a) designate unwavering lines while reducing the risk of future cracking, and (b) are easy to apply and resistant to sanding. Such as composite flex beads and rounded bullnose for a softening appeal.
Sanding
Pick the right grit sand paper and take care not to sand off to much mud, sanding that results in making flat transitions from the drywall paper to mudd, with no harm to the paper. The seam/corner should feel smooth and flat to the touch.
Assessing Completion: 
One method is to cast a halogen light across the finished surface, to highlight areas of unevenness that are to be made right. Mark anything you find with blue tape for tracking and apply mudd and finish sand accordingly.
However, as much of an intensive effort that's made for discovering these areas in need of attention, it might not be perfect. Lighting conditions do play with shadows. In other words, be prepared to skim after the finish sanding has been 'done'.
Once that's all done, you may want to dust down the walls and apply the recommended sealer over the drywall surface before painting.
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Drywall Knock Down Texturing
The knockdown is a prominent texture and it is performed in a couple steps. This takes a spray hopper and the recommended psi to blow out the thinned mud out on the wall, at about 5 to 7 psi. The distibution on the wallboard is arrived at by the trigger control and the nozzle sizes.
"Before Primer/Paint Is Applied"
The knock down has tooled or 'made look' compared to the orange peel. The degree of texturing ranges from light to heavy, depending on tastes, and can be confused with an orange peel by some. But the telltale sign is the flattening caused by the knock down knife - these come in 18", 22" and 24" blades. The degree of the effect is brought by:
The consistency of the compound. Add water to mix to a semi-liquid state.
Whether or not the dryall has been sealed before texturing. With no sealer the texture will absorb into the paper of the wallboard and so sealing with PVA will enhance the definition of style.
The hopper pressure and nozzle size with which it is blown on.
The (a) wait time of the mudd between being shot on the wall along with (b) the way the knock down blade is drawn over the splatterings. Give several moments after dispersion onto the wall surface. When the blobs begin to loose their sheen, the material is setting. At this time run the knock down blade.
"After Primer Paint Is Applied"
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Apply Orange Peel Drywall Texture Finishes
The texture style of orange peel has the roughness of an orange. It is more pronounced than the knock down texture. The orange peel finish has an organic quality, made of scores of tiny splotches that seemingly was plucked from a tree. But even within this given texture, there is a diversity of variations.
Endless densities and patterns are possible. A finer orange peel is gotten by further diluting the liquid compound, OR by adjusting the orific of the hopper nozzle. OR by the choice of the texture mix to start, which is available in redi-mix form and powder form in 40 lb bags. - In some cases, the mix will double for a knock down and splatter grade texture.
Although some orange peel's are promoted to be applied by roller -- the texture is normally best sprayed on, for gaining the uniform effect of right size mottled bumps. No final working with knives is required with the orange peel.
"After Primer Paint Is Applied"
To guard against too much absortion into new wallboard (that will diminish the texture effect) the wall surfaces should be sealed before spraying.
Be sure to mask off all windows and doors with painters masking and visqueen, that is easily pulled off in rolls. All outlets and receptacles, doors and flooring should be protected.
For touch up purposes: some of the spray cans help blend the texture. But as a rule, to get a realistic close match on an orange peel, it should come out of a hopper as if orginally applied. An exception to the rule is certain models of hand texture pumps; though not cheap, they work on the same principle of expending the liquid mixture.
When dry, overshot areas might be toned down somewhat by either wet sanding or dry sanding methods when done with some expertise. But the optimal way to go about it is to create a uniform tone overall by shooting the same texture all around. Especially since the spray is the first and last phase.
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