Do I need a skim coat of mud after removing popcorn ceiling?

Question

Hi, I'm removing popcorn ceiling, so far so good, but I'm thus far doing it against conventional wisdom in that I'm not applying a skim coat of mud prior to primer/paint. I've been careful to correct poor jointwork by the builder by floating mud to expand joints or sanding down joints that were overdone. It looks good, but I'm concerned that I'll regret my shortcut later. I've built up edges to cover exposed tape and hand sanded them smooth. LOOKS REALLY GOOD, but I don't want to create problems (cracks or falling debris) later if I'm going against practice.

Answer 1

You have done everything proper.the main thing here is that no matter how much you cleaned the surface there will be minute particles of dust left on the surfaces that you didnt have to refloat..I suggest taking a shop vac and vacuuming the ceiling prior to priming..then after priming take a sanding pole with a sanding screen(not the rough paper)..and lightly sand the wholeceiling..not as sanding edges..but just enough to knock any roughness from dust off..then vacuum again..which will vaccuum easier now due to sanding a bonded primer..then put your finish coat on..I have done thousands of these jobs in my 37 years of painting/drywall finishing..no need to skim the whole ceiling..just fixing mars and floating bad joints as you have done...