The difference a new mud pan made on my finish work...

I've been using the same metal mud pan for about 8 years now, and honestly I just thought my taping skills were slipping. Over the last few months I noticed my compound was drying out faster and I kept getting these weird ripples in my coat. Turns out the pan had developed a tiny rust spot right in the corner where it meets the flat edge. I switched to one of those plastic coated pans last week for a job in a new build over on Elm Street. The difference in how smooth my finish came out was night and day, and I saved almost 20 minutes per room on sanding alone. Has anyone else had an old tool sneak up on them like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

hunt.nora18d agoMost Upvoted

Drive down any neighborhood and you'll see people pushing old equipment way past its prime because they don't want to admit it's worn out. A new pan or a sharp blade can save you more time than all the elbow grease in the world.

scott.miles18d ago

Man my old metal pan treated me right for years but once it got that little rough edge it was ALL downhill from there. I grabbed a plastic one last spring and the difference was like driving a brand new truck versus one with a bad transmission.