How to Make a Clean Flat Texture on Drywall Using Mud

Prepare drywall mud for application on the wall. If you purchase a pre-mixed box of mud, open the container and use it right away. Or buy buckets of mud that need to be mixed with a drill before use. You can also buy bags of dry mix and add it to a bucket with water and mix it according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Scoop mud out of the drywall bucket into your handheld container with a drywall trowel. Fill the container with only enough mud that you can carry comfortably in your off hand. Too much mud will make your job more difficult. Once the container is full, move to the wall.

Work from the bottom of the wall up for the best results. Pull some mud out of your container with the trowel and apply it to the wall. Use slight pressure and pull the mud upward with the trowel placed at a roughly 45 degree angle. Work your way upward and outward from the initial mud area and add mud to the wall as necessary.

Smooth over the wall once you have applied between 1/16 and 1/8 inch of mud to the wall. Apply pressure to the trowel and hold it at the same angle but do not put more mud on the wall. The point this time is to remove any excess and smooth what is already on the wall into a uniform layer. Work over an area until it is smooth and work up the wall. Allow the drywall to dry for at least 24 hours.

Sand down the entire wall with a drywall sander to finish the texture. If any high spots are left over, sand them down to perfect anything you missed during the initial texturing.