Question about mixing drywall mud for a small patch

I was fixing a hole in my ceiling for a friend last Tuesday and the mud kept cracking after it dried. I'd been using the same bucket of pre-mixed stuff for like six months, just adding water when it got thick. The guy at the supply place finally asked me how old my mud was when I went in for more tape. He said after 90 days the preservatives break down and it'll never cure right, especially for overhead work. I felt like an idiot for wasting three hours of sanding. Has anyone else had a patch fail because of old materials?

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3 Comments

caseyl186mo ago

Wait, @wells.reese, was your old mud in the heat?

3

beth3126mo ago

That timeline explains why my last skim coat took forever to dry properly!

1

wells.reese6mo ago

Honestly, I've used year-old mud from the back of my garage and it was fine. That 90 day thing sounds like a sales pitch to get you to buy more stuff.

1