Has anyone used joint compound in place of plaster (venetian). I've seen the mudd at my friends home and it looks great, I thought I'd do the same but, add a little sanding to texture it a bit more and then do a color wash. Home Depot told me to use 4 parts glaze and 1 part paint and wipe off with a rag to get my affect. Any suggestions!

Tiger, are you planning to do the wash directly onto the dried joint compound? If so, I would suggest priming it first, because the joint compound absorbs paint big time. After priming, try your wash on a small area to see if it's what you have in mind. I did this for my DD and I liked the "rough, old world" effect, but DD didn't. It's just a matter of preference. I painted a solid color, (which covered our test spot) which I can easily "wash" over, if she decides she wants that later. To me, the look is a little more refined than rustic if you paint before your "wash".

Thank you! I will prime the joint compound first, as you suggested. Do I still need to apply a neutral paint for a base coat? If, not that's great..one less step. We don't want a refined look, want the old world effect. What do you think about using some sand paper to make some imperfections in the joint compound?

You will need to paint the wall after priming. Use a paint with a sheen like a satin or egg shell finish. This paint provides a slick surface so the color wash will not "grab" onto the primer. You can get a primer with a "slick" type finish... but in my experience... painting over the primer is best.

Color washing over a slick paint rather than a flat paint gives you the ability to "move" the glaze and play with it until you like the results.

Painter Lady is right about it being easier to move the glaze over paint, and that it will grab onto the primed joint compound. You can still get the old world look by washing over the paint; it just has a "different" look when I tested it on DD's wall. The look wasn't for her. I took a pic of that test spot. Let me upload it to Photobucket, and come back with the link. Hopefully you can zoom in to get a good look. If I get booted off, as I sometimes do, I'll try tomorrow.

Hope this works; they've changed things over there.
"Wash" directly on Joint Compound

Oh, and BTW, sanding does more to smooth the texture of joint compound than it does to give detail. If you trowel it on, you'll get plenty of detail. You may even want to sand over some of the hard edges when it's dried.

Why don't you just look into using products specifically made to give you a "Venetian Plaster" look instead of using joing compound.