Basic Tapes Available
• Self adhesive fibre glass tape
  • USE: Recessed plasterboard wall joins
• Paper tape
• USE: Plasterboard ceiling/wall joins, butt joins, internal angles
• Wet and Stick Paper tape
• USE: Internal angles
• Flexi Paper tape
• USE: Unusual obtuse internal angles

General
• Always cut plasterboard tapes to the length required (don't go around corners).
• Once base coat has set (but not dry), use an 8" joint knife to scrape any excess material from the join.
• Leaving the base coat to dry out before scraping back makes scraping back very difficult.
• Never try to over fill a plasterboard recessed join on the first taping coat.
• It is best to tape plasterboard joins before filling external corners
• Keep the tape back from the edge of external angles
• Check for bubbles in paper tape and repair after 1st coat of paint

Self adhesive fibre glass tape (easy tape)

NOTE:  Easy tape should not be used on plasterboard ceilings, as cracking can occur. Plasterboard manufacturers void any responsibility if easy tape is used on plasterboard ceilings.

As the name "EASY TAPE" would indicate, this is the easiest tape of all to use. It is stuck to the plasterboard equally covering the joint before coating with base coat. Follow general points above.

Use your hand to start off the tape in the corner.
Once you have it started, use a 4 inch joint knife to prees the tape
onto the join.

Pull the tape aloung the join and strech it slightly,
while centering it over the join.
When you get to the opposite corner,lay your joint knife on the tape,
slightly on an agle. Pull up on the tape roll and it will cut off very easy.

Apply the mud excessivly accoss the join along several widths
of an 8 inch joint knife. Only apply mud between the recess join.
Keep the joint knife upright an slightly slanted upwards and
clean off excess mud.

Only the reccess edge is filled with the first coat.
Keeping the joint knife slightly angled up, stops the mud spreading
out too wide.
The finished 1st coat is evenly fill along the join,
without spreading it wide.

Paper tape

NOTE:  Paper tape is the strongest tape for joining plasterboard.

Recessed Joins

Apart from being the strongest plasterers tape, it is also the most difficult to use for the casual DIY. The main difficulties experienced are bubbles showing up after painting or tape showing through the plasterboard join requiring the join to be over filled to hide the tape.

Bubbles forming under the tape is caused by either no base coat under the tape or the base coat has not been applied consistently and has dried out in parts before the tape has been embedded.
To avoid this, your mix needs to be a bit "wet" (not runny). Make sure you fill the plasterboard recessed join with base coat ensure no plasterboard or dry spots appear before applying tape. Bed the tape into the plasterboard recessed join using a 5" or 6" joint knife.

To avoid the tape showing through, first make sure there are no bumps in the plasterboard. If so, cut them out with a trimming knife. If cutting out the bump creates a large gap, pre-fill the gap and scrap back level before taping. Bed the tape tightly and evenly into the recess, use quite a lot of pressure to squeeze out base coat from under the tape. Use the mix squeezed out to apply over the tape. It is important that the back of the tape is "wet" with plaster. Try short sections at a time until you get used to it. Paper tape stretches, so once the tape is embedded, to finish coating over, start from the center and work to each end. Finally run through the entire plasterboard join from end to end to smooth out any excess. Remember to scrape back the join after the base coat has set, before applying second coat.

Fill the recess join, use an 8 inch joint knife to have better control.
Note that the recessed join is fully filled with no dry spots.
Notice the angle of the joint knife, to stop the mud spreading
too wide.

Start taping by laying a section of paper tape along the center
of the join.
Strech the tape out along the join, and bed the tape, applying
pressure to squeeze out excess mud.

Work your way along the join, streching out the tape as you go.
Quite a bit of pressure need to be applied to work out the
mud from under the tape.
Starting from the center, work back to each the end with quite a bit
of pressure. This picture shows the build up that will occur.
This needs to be worked out to each end.
If you do this starting at one end working to the other, the build up
becomes too excessive to work out.

Press the excess mud out from under the tape working from
middle to end.
Apply a thin coat of mud over the taped in join.
Note the angle of the joint knife to prevent spreading the mud
too wide.

The finished 1st coat is evenly fill along the join.
The tape is covered with a thin coat of mud.

Butt Joins

Plasterboard butt joints have the added difficulty of not being recessed, so whatever tape and base coat applied is going to sit proud of the surrounding surface. To make a butt joint hidden requires a slightly different technique.
Start the same way as with a plasterboard recessed join but make sure you squeeze out all excess plaster from under the tape. The back of the tape should be "wet" with plaster but don't try to cover the tape. Using an 8" joint knife, fill out each side of the tape, (without applying any more base coat over the tape itself), the edge of the tape sets the level. Use the full width of the joint knife. By using this method you are reducing the build up over the tape and spreading out the join level either side.

This shown the full coverage of base coat prior to bedding the tape.
NOTE: there are no blank or dry spots.

The tape is layed out on the join. Then the excess plaster underneath
is squeezed out.
NOTE: Start in the center and work down,then the center and work up.

Working from the top down with an 8" broad knife fill over the top of the tape.

Internal Corners

Internal corners are best taped in after the plasterboard wall joins. Pre-fill and scape back any gaps over 5mm. As with all paper tape applications it is important to have a continuous "wet" layer of base coat before applying tape.
The easiest way to tape in an internal is to use an internal taping tool. The trap using this tool is, not setting the angle of the tool correctly; or not applying enough pressure to squeeze out all the base coat from under the tape. Make sure the back of the tape is "wet" with plaster and feather out the edges.
Using a 3" or 4" joint knife is another method of taping in an internal. The same principles as above apply, however getting a square corner can be difficult. In most internal corners the board on one side will be in behind the gap created by the corner. To get a square finish, on your final sweep with the joint knife, angle the joint knife into the sheet that is in behind the gap. This prevents digging out the plaster that is filling the gap. Use long smooth strokes for the best result.

Wet And Stick Paper tape

This tape has an adhesive backing similar to that of a postage stamp. The tape is cut to length and run through water to wet the tape. The tape is placed in position and wiped in with a 3" joint knife. Once dry apply a thin coat of base coat over the tape.
Similar problems can occur using wet and stick as normal paper tape. Unless proper preparation is done these problems can be worse. To prepare the internal for using wet and stick, pre-fill all gaps over 2mm and pre fill all nail holes.

Wet and stick tape is also very useful to repair cracked plasterboard joins. It allows you to repair the join with the minimum amount of build up.

Repairing Bubbles In Paper tape

Quite often bubbled paper tape will not show up until the job has been painted. It is a good idea to check the job for potential bubbles after the first coat of paint has been applied. The reason for this, is that the paper absorbs the moisture from the paint and swells. Because it is not laminated to the board the swelling causes it to lift away showing up as a bubble.
To repair the bubble, you need to cut around the outline of the bubble with a very sharp trimming knife. Lift the delaminated tape away from the join, (make sure you have cut right through the tape to avoid lifting tape that has laminated properly). Using the handle of a joint knife depress the edge of the cut tape slightly. There is no need to replace the removed tape, (provided it is only a small section). Repair the depression using cornice adhesive using a 3 coat system as described in patching a hole. Don't try to over fill the depression let each coat fill it out a bit more each time.

Flexi Paper tape

Flexi Paper tape is a stiffened paper tape that can be bent to shape, Used for obtuse internals that a 135 degree metal angle won't fit.
Flexi tape will take out minor imperfections in the line of the angle but to get perfect straight angle may still take more work. Flexi tape is used in the same manner as normal paper tape.

To straighten an obtuse angle, hold a chalk line from one end to the other, adjust the position of the line until you "even" up the line, and flick the line to give you a straight line to work to. If you only need to fill a short length, say 300mm to straighten the join, working along the length of the join may be ok, just follow the chalk line. For long runs that may need to be filled out up to 20mm, you will need to work away from the join. The best tool for this is a 12" joint knife or trowel. This is commonly known as "cross troweling". Move along the line filling away from the join, working from one side of the join only. This creates a new straight line to work to. Apply a second and top coat working along the join being guided by the chalk line.