I’ve put up a small area of ceiling with plasterboard and would like to paint straight onto the board once I’ve PVA’d it. What gives the most invisible finish, the mesh tape or the paper one?

Many thanks

The paper one as it only has 2 edges, the mesh one will need a skim coat over it.

Have you used tapered edge board?

On site it’s always mesh then skimmed.

I have bought tapered board but not all edges together are tapered (complicated shape).
As I’ve already been given some mesh if I skim over it will the join be invisible once sanded back?

For tapered edges use mesh tape then fill just skim in the taper and feather the edge. GTEC allset xtra should do it IIRC. That’ll be invisible once sanded and painted. The other joints might be a bit tricky to hide and might mean you need a full skim.

Is there no issue with fire protection leaving the board unskimmed?

No issue with fire protection as it is the board not skimming that is rated. Tape and joint is pretty standard practice in lots of building. It’s not easy as you might imagine to get a good tape and joint finish as a diy’er though.

As a DIY’er (and not the best one at that!) I followed this guide on the YouTube…

I tried making do with a small filling knife and failed miserably; was almost easy with a 10 inch blade.

I’ve almost got a perfect finish, when checking the finish before painting I suggest shining a bright light (riding lights work well!) over it to look for imperfections.

suggest shining a bright light (riding lights work well!) over it to look for imperfections.

giving it a quick coat of matt white emulsion will highlight any imperfections too.

use tape, mesh is for a skimcoat. use a caulking board with easy fill to finish. oh and dont pva prior to painting

And never use normal skim, its a bitch to sand back! You need easyfill or something similar.