How to Texture your Drywall Repair

Once you have finished your repair and sanded it smooth as we discussed in  How to Finish Drywall you are now ready to apply the texture to match the surrounding area. For these small repairs I will use ready mixed joint compound as you will more than likely have some left from your taping.

Thin down a small amount of the compound with water until it is the consistency of runny oatmeal.
"Orangpeel" texture:
use a 1/4" or 3/8" nap roller and apply the heavy mixture to the patched area. Roll out quite thin in all directions and finish by laying off all in one direction, either from top down or bottom up so that the pattern of the texture is all going in the same direction. When dry take a piece of 150 grit sandpaper, rub it briskly on a piece of concrete to wear it out and LIGHTLY sand off the tiny tips of the texture leaving a fine series of craters which will match the orangepeel very well.

As with all texture repair jobs, the patched area should be primed with a latex primer prior to applying the finish paint.

Splatter texture:
Here again we will use the same mix. This time we will apply the texture using a stucco tampico brush these are inexpensive long bristle brushes normally about 5"-6" wide.,
You simply dip the brush into the thinned down mixture and "fling" it onto the wall with a short flipping action. Its really a lot easier than it sounds. If the "splatters" are larger than the surrounding area simply thin the mixture down some and thicken if the splatters are too small thicken the mix.


Knockdown or Skiptrowel texture:
Start with the splatter technique, a heavier mixture as you are trying for splatters the size of a quarter. splatter the area and let it dry about 10-15 minutes. Tkae a 6" wide spackle knife or use a food spatula for the lack of anything else. Lightly drag it across the surface and flatten the blobs of texture. Cris cross the area in diffenent directions so as not to create a definite pattern.

Popcorn
You can buy texture in a dry form and mix with water, roll-a- tex is one brand that comes to mind, use your tampico brush and dab the repaired area with a heavy coat. by using a dabbin and brushing combination you will be able to apply enough material to the repaired area to match the surrounding pretty well. Of course the color will not match but you can spot paint with a tinted off white and blend it in.

If you have any questions or if your texture is not covered in this article please use the feedback form and drop me a line.