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Which style of corner bead you choose—whether metal or paper-faced—depends on your preference and if you’re comfortable using metal-cutting tools and a hammer. Metal bead offers superior strength and durability but its installation is slightly more involved. We’d say for most cases, it’s better to use metal bead but if you’re not comfortable working with metal, paper-faced bead will work just fine. 

Popular wall textures include orange peel, knockdown, spray sand, and smooth finishes. Orange peel and knockdown are particularly common choices for drywall as they are simple and cost-effective. Orange peel texture has a lightly bumpy surface resembling the skin of an orange, while knockdown (sometimes called knockout) looks like a stucco finish with flattened high spots. In contrast, popcorn texture has fallen out of fashion, partly due to its past association with asbestos and a shift toward more restrained interior design styles.

The best tool for skim coating drywall is a skim coating blade, which can smooth out joint compound in wide stretches. While you could use a smaller drywall knife for skim coating, the smaller size means it’ll take longer to smooth out each section. Instead, consider investing in a skim coating blade for the quickest application.

When you are learning how to tape and mud drywall, waiting for things to dry requires a lot of patience. So how long does drywall mud take to dry? On average, it takes about 24 hours. However, it depends on things like the thickness of the mud, as well as the room’s temperature, humidity, and ventilation. Using thin layers of mud in a warm, low-humidity room with good airflow reduces average drying time. You also could speed up drying time by making use of hot drywall mud, which consists of a powder that you mix with water, instead of using pre-mixed mud.