How to Create a Level 5 Drywall Finish
A Level 5 drywall finish is the smoothest possible finish that you can get on your drywall ceilings and walls. It is the “Cadillac” of wall finishes, so to speak. And while it is a finish that tradespeople will generally use for higher-end building jobs, you absolutely can use the same technique at home to get similarly beautiful results.
So, what is a Level 5? Think about the process of hanging and taping drywall. The next step would be to prime and paint it, right? Well, here’s the thing: Because a large portion of the wall is comprised of the drywall paper without any joint compound, and the other parts of the wall are taped/mudded and sanded, there is going to be an ever-so-slight difference in the way that the paint adheres and dries to the two different surfaces.
A Level 5 finish (also known as a drywall skim coat, not to be confused with the heavier plaster-type skim coat) will correct this slight imperfection, providing a smooth, perfect finish on which you can continue on with painting and priming.
This finish is used for areas where you may want to paint with glossy paint, such as in a bathroom or kitchen, because glossy paint highlights all the imperfections in a wall surface. You might also consider applying a level 5 finish in an area where there is going to be a lot of focused or task lighting, which can also expose areas where the paint absorbed into the surface slightly differently, creating minor imperfections.
Follow Leah’s easy step-by-step instructions, and you can easily achieve this fine, high-end finish at home on your own!
You Can Do This!
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You are my inspiration my mentor is now 86 years old I worked with him when I was not vision paired now I am my mentor is my father he can always move the pieces and he helps me see where I’ve gone wrong but there’s nothing I can do and now that I have subscribe to your blog your Jane drills I understand math again I do use different kinds of tools like talking tape measures but you’re awesome thank you thank you for being a strong strong woman
wow, thanks, Andrea, for sharing your story, glad you are a part of the see jane drill community!
That was no thing I can not do the speech to text like build something perfect thank you for all of your very well spelled out in spoken out directions most appreciated
you’re welcome, Andrea, glad to be of help!
great info leah. i have always wondered how to fix the oil paint finish. none if the contractirs i have used in the oast ever mentioned this. perhaps didnt know about it either.
thanks, Lois, glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for this video! I had been told multiple times that a level 5 finish would be impossible to do because I wasn’t a “professional”. I followed your instructions and was able to create a beautiful finish to my ceiling and prove those people wrong. Thanks again!
Rita, that is fantastic!! You did it! Thanks for sharing your success with the community.
Holy moly you are awesome !! I want to skim coat my ceiling and put a pattern like crow foot or a swirl of some sort.. Any videos to help me with that? thanks ..
Yes! Here you go. This article contains a video list of several different textures: https://seejanedrill.com/wall-repairs-with-texture/