Apply joint compound to wall Using a thick nap paint roller, apply a generous amount of mud to the wall. For those of you that decide to DIY it! Disclosure: BobVila.com participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for publishers to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Now that you know how to skim coat, are you going to give it a try? The paint roller trick is a great technique for skim coating over walls that have a lot of cosmetic damage, after wallpaper removal or in this case a bad knockdown texture job. I personally like flat or satin on walls because I don’t like shiny walls. By Glenda Taylor and Bob Vila. It’s tiring and can be frustrating. Each consecutive coat with the Magic Trowel will make the wall more and more smooth. When I’m skim coating, I just use the general purpose. Just started on my office this week and it is so satisfying! Can you do this on the ceiling? I have a bad patch job and we have stomped ceilings. A skim coat can take care of these blemishes. Eric Stromer gives instruction on how to properly prepare walls to paint after wallpaper removal. Alternate directions of each consecutive coat. The next coat will fix that. Getting things the way I wanted them was time-consuming. You can use a really course grit sandpaper to take off that heavy texture. Pull any nails from the surface that will receive the skim coat. Step 3. The goal of this process is to remove any unwanted lumps, bumps or generally uneven surfaces from the wall before a nice layer of new paint is added. It refers to spreading a layer of joint compound over the walls to fill in the bumps and valleys in the texture, effectively creating a smooth surface. More information. A skim coat normally requires the application of two layers of finishing plaster, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the second coat. Use a slight angle to pull the knife through the rolled … Professional Wallpaper Removal Services Drywallers use this technique to hide an imperfect taping job, to give the wall a plaster-like appearance and in situations when only the smoothest surface will do, for instance after removing wallpaper. It does come with a cover over the blade. In the last post, I described a little of what was involved to remove texture from walls but I thought a more in-depth discussion was in order. Hello Drywallers use this technique to hide an imperfect taping job, to give the wall a plaster-like appearance and in situations when only the smoothest surface will do, for instance after removing wallpaper. It is a 1939 house and has an old skim coat on it, which has been coming off for some time, both outside and inside. Most DIYers just want to jump in and get it done. When drywall is installed, the fasteners and taped seams are skim coated—covered with a thin coat of joint compound, or “mud,” to level the surface in preparation for painting or papering. Yep, all the texture is going, going… I’d love to say, “Gone” but I still have about 4000 sq/ft left to skim coat! Once you have your flat walls, what do you recommend roller and paint sheen wise to achieve the cleanest look and not apply texture again. I’m going to do a small nook area that I want to wallpaper . If anything, you may have lines created by the excess mud sliding off the edge of the trowel as you skimmed over the wall. If there have been drywall repairs or ceiling repairs, a skim coat will give a nice … Haha! I can’t see any point of skim coating the portion of wall that will be covered. Remove Texture From Walls By Skim Coating. The new paint then does the same job of filling as the process you have just described. ” I have read that it makes the finish stronger and more plaster like. Well done. I use a different primer between sanding and painting. The compound is filling the voids that around the raised surfaces in the existing texture. If it does end up too runny, add more dry mix. It would be difficult for a single person to texture a 6000 sq/ft house. To remove texture without gouging the drywall, hold the blade approximately 30-degrees to the wall, and scrape in whatever motion feels most comfortable to you, using long slow strokes. I love finding new ways to do things faster and better! If not, I suggest hiring it out. Ehem…lesson learned! I like the 18″ or 22″. It’s just so heavy and so thick and so spiky, I’m not convinced it can be skim coated effectively without adding a lot of weight to the plaster walls underneath. Wowza!! So what do you think? It’s definitely a personal thing. This is true when painting as well. No I haven’t. I generally prefer the bucket method because it’s faster. Then grab a pole sander and give the wall a good sanding, hitting all the high spots. Use a a mixing attachment for your drill to mix the joint compound to the consistency of thick pancake batter. Spread a skim coat with a trowel or drywall knife over a rough wall or ceiling to create a flat surface for painting or wallpapering. The Magic Trowel may create new lines. Texturing walls is a time-honored method of adding character to a wall or covering such imperfections as drywall taping inconsistencies but not everyone loves the ridges and swirls of knock-down or the soft ripples of orange peel. Tip #2 – I put a 4′ handle on my roller and wiping trowel – it allows me to never need any kind of ladder or scaffolding. I’m looking to see if sanding is needed for a ceiling that has a popcorn surface and paint on it? Some people might not care about that. Skim coating a wall yourself is relatively easy to do and significantly cheaper than paying someone else to do it. OR one person did do the job and got sick of it halfway through and just started slopping joint compound on the walls! Skim coating walls is different than just painting walls, but you will use some of the same tools, like a paint roller for instance. 2) Wes sand Lay plastic drop cloths on the floor to protect it from the skim-coating process.