A poor floating job on a ceiling refers to a design made with a texture brush on the drywall, using the drywall mud or joint compound. Designing a ceiling can be a very tedious process that takes a lot of time and patience. While each design will not necessarily look the same, they all must have a uniform look. If the design is not up to your standards, you might need to cover it up.
Instructions
1. Apply tarps to cover the entire floor in the room where you will be working on the ceiling. Attach a piece of medium grade sandpaper to a drywall pole. Sand down the entire ceiling with the sandpaper. Move the sandpaper back and forth from one side of the room to the other until the surface is as smooth and even as possible throughout.
2. Open up a bucket of joint topping compound. Stir it up with a taping knife and position a ladder in any corner of the room. Climb up the ladder carefully with the bucket. Dip the knife back into the compound and begin applying it over the sanded down area of the ceiling.
3. Move the taping knife back and forth over the surface of the ceiling and apply a smooth, even coat throughout. Dip the taping knife back into the joint compound when necessary and move the ladder across the room to reach all different areas.
4. Spread out a thin layer of the skim coat until the entire surface of the ceiling is covered. Let it dry overnight. Leave the tarp in place in case the drips down while it is drying.
5. Inspect the ceiling and verify the coat is even throughout. Add a second coat, if necessary to cover up any texture that still remains and let it dry overnight in the same manner. This will give the ceiling the same smooth look that most walls have.
Tags: joint compound, knife back, taping knife, back forth, back into