Drywall repair

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member
Spent the last 5 days putting a rental house back together. I can repair drywall with no problem. What I don't like is when finished, the repaired section is nice and smooth, while the rest of the old drywall has a textured orange peel look. I don't care how many time I use a roller and paint it, I can still tell where the repaired section is because it's smooth. I've tried about everything to give the drywall mud a textured look, but nothing seems to work.

Wish there was a hard rubber roller with an orange peel texture built in, so I could give my last thin coat of mud some charactor.
 
George,
I take a wet sponge and BARELY touch the last coat of mud, LIGHTLY sand it and it blends right in. It took me awhile to find the RIGHT sponge-and i don't ever want to lose that sponge
 
You can buy texture in a can. If you spray it just right, you can match the texture you have now.
 
A picture would help. There is so many different types of texture it would be impossible for anyone to tell you how its done without seeing it.
 
Mark, Never seen texture in a can. Who sells it?

I use a wet sponge instead of sanding, that way there is no dust in an existing house.

Just saw the pic of a basketball on TV. Got me to thinking if I used a basketball to stomp a thin layer drywall mud, it would leave an impression.
 
The best thing I have found is to add a quart of drywall mud to a gallon of latex paint, this covers the smooth repaired section with some texture and blends the surrounding area as well. If you need more texture add more mud. The other thing is to stay away from glossy paints which reflect light. I'm not saying it is the ultimate cure, but you might give it a try.
 
If you have a small area to do, put a little wet mud on a cardboard and take an air nozzle and shoot a light shot at the mud. It will spatter on the wall just like spraying does. Otherwise the stuff in a can will cover a bigger area. Remember it dries smaller than it looks wet.
 
Hi George,

Home Depot sells the spray texture in a can that Mark-Ia mentioned. If I remember correctly, it comes with three different sized tubes to put in the nozzle to get different sized texture patterns. It's a perfect match for the spray texture that most cheap commercial drywall jobs use nowadays. Another thing I remember about it is that it's a one use deal. Even though there's a lot left in the can after texturing a small patch, it won't work after a short time. For cheapness, you'd be better off finding a way to match the texture with drywall mud and a brush, sponge, rag, or whatever. For fast and easy, the texture in a can is hard to beat.

Stan
 
Spray texture is made by a company called Homax.It comes with I believe 3 spray tubes of different sizes that will give different textures. It actually works very well.


Steven
 
THANKS TO ALL. Texture in a can. Menards is 3 miles away, will check it out. Guess you are never too old to learn something new. Definately try it. I hate to fill nail holes tenants leave behind, this will hide them, not to mention the major holes made too. Many thanks.
George
 
I certianly doubt if you will be happy with the spray can....I have seen several, and I have tried several times, but never happy. Google drywall repair, they show a square plate with a handle that you texture, then stamp it to the ceiling, I borrowed mine to another carpender, and I simply can not remember the name of it.k
 
I wonder if his mismatch is also caused by the paint on the old drywall, kind of like how it's hard to blend in car paint in the middle of a body panel. In a how-to tip column in a builder's magazine, one pro drywaller suggested cleaning the whole wall, then skim-coating the wall with mud. Sand it easy, then repaint the whole wall.
 
My son is a drywall contractor and for small repairs dips a stiff brush (like you clean your tires with) in the drywall mud and flicks the bristles with his fingers towards the patch. Changing the consistency of the mud will let you match texture.

Bob
 
George,
I've made literally thousands of drywall repairs. The texture in a can is for "popcorn", "cottage cheese" or "knock down" repair. That's not what you need. What you're looking for is the texture that a roller leaves. The short answer is you're using the wrong nap roller and maybe the wrong primer/paint........
There are usually three things that cause repaired areas to be visible.
What you need to do is feather the mud out over a large area. It usually takes 3 coats. Sometimes more. Absolutely positively do NOT use a sponge to finish the mud! Use a drywall sander..either hand sander, or sand pole. Both will have a foam backed pad that holds special drywall sand paper (they also make a sanding screen but if you're not careful it will leave rows of ridges). They make a type of mud that's low dust. It costs a little more and it will plug the sandpaper quicker but the reduction in dust is dramatic. Once you're done sanding take a DAMP not soaking wet sponge MOP (not just a sponge as that will apply pressure unevenly) and mop the affected area top to bottom if a wall or one direction on a ceiling. The goal is to remove any sanding dust and to lay any "fuzz" down the same direction. That's usually more of an issue with new drywall rather than a patch on existing drywall. Apply a heavy bodied primer/sealer with at least a 3/8 or 1/2" nap roller. This will help to match the texture of the surrounding area. Then apply your finish paint with a 3/8 or 1/2" nap roller.
The problem with finishing with a sponge is you can't get the patches flat because the sponge applies pressure too unevenly. What generally happens is the edges get sponged too much trying to feather the patch. What that does is cause a slight curvature around the edge of the patch. Ya gotta use a sander.
Another issue that causes patches to be seen is not feathering the mud out enough. To give you an idea of what I mean is when I patch a hole where a recessed toilet paper holder was, I'll end up with a 3 foot diameter patch.
The other common reason for patches being visible is the difference in texture. This is where most non-professionals have problems because they use the wrong nap roller or apply too little paint. I've seen many a home owner roll and roll over the same spot many times but applying very little paint. They can really stretch a gallon but they end up needing multiple coats. Use a good primer and long nap roller. I sometimes use a fan to speed up the drying process if I think the primer will run. Just make sure there's no dust or dirt to be blown into the paint. The quality of the paint makes a huge difference. For 30 some years I used MAB paint. It's VERY good. Sherwin Williams bought them awhile back. For convenience I mostly use Valspar paint from Lowes these days. I've gotta say I like Behr paint from Home Depot the best but we don't have an HD locally. Anyway, use the best grade of paint from any manufacturer and use a quality roller with the appropriate nap. I sometimes use a 3/4" nap roller to apply the primer so the texture better matches the existing wall.
Pops
 
Pops, You are right, I'm no professional:)
You are right again, I want a texture, not popcorn. Will try different roller and paint.

May try mixing mud with paint and roll it on to hide the flat, smooth, repair spots too.

Thanks,
George
 
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I bought the texture hopper in the picture from Lowes for $50 but you need a small carry around compressor to run it. Works great for me. Home Depot or others will have simular.

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For small off site jobs I would just buy the spray can of texture.
 
(quoted from post at 07:55:33 12/24/12)
You are right again, I want a texture, not popcorn. Will try different roller and paint.

If you want texture, you need to put on texture and blend it so it matches.

What it is sounding like you have is paint texture from years of paint build up with heavy nap rollers. To recreate that, you need to apply several coats of paint with a heavy nap roller.

What you could also have is a sand texture on the walls that has been over painted many times so it LOOKS like roller texture.

Like was mentioned above, without pictures, we are just guessing. FWIW, I think you should use the texture in a can. Do a couple practice sprays on some scrap cardboard to get the nozzle set up right and have at the wall. Nobody mentioned it but when it drys it shrinks down so your patch should look a little heavy and over done. If you screw up or the can clogs and splatters up the wall, just scrape it off with a 6" knife and start over. The cans let you redo things pretty easily, unlike many coats of paint or sand texture in paint.
 
In a pinch I have taken an old used roller and lightly rolled the paint was it was still damp - helped blend in to the old drywall non-patched areas.
 
Do you have a pic of the texture that you are attempting to match up to? Orange peel describes several different textures, and is sometimes used as a slang to describe spanish texture. If you have a picture of what you are attempting to match the new texture up to, I can probably help. You do need to bear in mind that while you or I can tell where the patch is, as could a commercial painter or carpentar etc, there is no perfect blending of texture. If you have a picture, however, I can walk you thru a good quality job.
 

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