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Tapered joints are done the same way. Here, the tape always overlaps that of the butt joints. For a picture-perfect job, the pros generally sand each coat after it has dried; that takes time and makes a lot of dust. Actually, if you're careful when smoothing the wet coats, you can eliminate most of the sanding steps. Remember to clean your tools between filling jobs, so there's no dried compound stuck to them.

The second compound coat should be worked with the 10" taping knife after the first has dried. It's at this stage that you'll be trying to hide any irregularities and otherwise making up for what's not right.

Start by scraping off bumps and ridges with the nose of the blade; work consistently, not deeply. Lay on the second coat, scrape the knife clean, then run it the length of the joint. To get a broad, smooth finish, you'll have to press hard and experiment a bit with the angle of the blade as you work.

What will probably happen is that a wad of compound will build up in front of the knife as it's drawn along. Scrape it off and

continue-but always make the final stroke an uninterrupted one.

Butt joints may be a bit difficult because they tend to bulge slightly. The solution is to feather enough compound out to the sides to broaden the bump to obscurity. There's a trick here, but it can be overdone: Lift the knife edge closest to the joint so most of the pressure will be to the outside as you draw the blade downward.

The final coat-if you need it-should be applied after the previous one has had 12 hours or so to dry. First, test the contour of your joints by holding the 10" blade straight across each one's surface. Some rocking can be expected with butted seams, but the tapered ones should be flat. If not, they'll have to be feathered further with this application.

Smooth on a thin finishing coat with the taping knife if you don't have a 12" trowel. Press down firmly to fill the imperfections without adding thickness. Carry this layer a couple of inches beyond the second one for a good blend. On the first few joints, you may want to limit your efforts to inconspicuous areas; as your work improves, you can move to more visible places.

The inside corners should be finished in much the same way, but it's best to use a comer trowel to apply the first coat here. The tape has a crease in the middle that you fold before bedding it. Any mud that oozes out beyond the trowel should be scraped away with a regular joint knife so as not to interfere with the freshly formed corner. If you don't have a corner trowel, use the 6" blade as on any other joint, but do the corners one side at a time, and allow the first to dry before tackling the second.

Outside corners and metal trim are first filled using the small joint knife. Let one edge of the blade ride the metal and the other the panel itself. To clean any compound from the metal bead, run the tool up the corner before mudding the opposite flange (Fig. 12). The second (and third) coat can be finished with the taping knife to feather the edge a couple of inches beyond the fill.

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