How can you apply texture to a repaired plaster wall without a compressor?

Question

I repaired a long crack in my wall with plaster. The repair is now smoothe and I would like to apply some texture material to blend it in with the rest of the knockdown-type texture. Is there a way to apply the texture material without a gun and compressor to spray it on? I don't want to buy a compressor just for this one little job.

Answer 1

First thing you need to do, is prime that repair area.... if you don't, it will end up a different color.

Ive had a LOT of practice with MANY different textures, on walls and ceilings. Your best helps here, are patience, persistence, and a willingness to do it over if doesnt look quite right, hehehe. An artistic 'bent' helps too.

For a small knockdown finish, there are a couple of good ways to apply the texture, in small areas, without a compressor.
1) paint brush! -- only don't use it to 'paint'. Instead, use the very tips of the brush to 'stipple' the texture on. Another method is to "fling" the texture onto the wall, with the brush.
2)Sponge -- you can use a rough sponge to apply texture... do not slide the sponge... dab it, reloading it often, but not too heavily
3)Crumpled plastic bag (the bag a loaf of bread comes in works great) -- same method as with the sponge.... adjusting how 'tightly' you have the bag crumpled will affect how the texture looks when it is applied.

Now.... after getting the texture on the wall.... you need to "knock" it down.... this is accomplished by taking a drywall taping knife, or wide putty knife, and slimply dragging it down the wall. (I say 'down' becuase that is the direction most knockdown wall texture is done.... look closely at your own texture, with a couple of swipes, you can tell pretty quickly if yours is the typical downstroke, or something else.)

Now... a couple of things to consider when you do this... and these things will affect the outcome of the texture.... First... How 'heavy' is the texture you are applying? You can make it more solid, and dry, or, by using a wetter compound, you can make it somewhat thinner, or sparse.
Second ... the amount of time between when you apply the texture, and when you use the knife to knock it down. Knocking down texture when it is first applied, will look different from letting it set a few minutes, before dragging tha knife across it.

If I were to walk into your home, I could figure out which approach to use, in a matter of minutes...because Ive done so many of them, hehehe... Practice Practice Practice.

You can attempt your texture match on the first try.... but dont be discouraged, if you need to scrape it off and try again, to get it 'just right'. Or, you can use some scrap cardboard, and practice on a few pieces altering things as Ive mentioned above, to get different results, and see which matches your wall finish the closest.

I have used these kinds of approaches to match perfectly, repairs as large as 3 ft square....if your repair is larger than that, then you may want to seriously consider renting a compressor and hopper gun. If you rent a hopper gun, then tape some plastic to the walls... and fire some practice shots on them, hehehe.

Feel free to email me, if you need more detailed advice.

Have Fun!

Answer 2

There are places that rent the compressor and gun. If the area is not to big, there are also pressurized cans of texture available. These are made specifically for the DIY repairs like you have done.

It will be tricky to get the new texture to match the old. The same would be true with the gun.

You can also try to apply the texture manually. If it is a rather small area, that is practical. It is not for a large area because it is too time consuming.

Are you sure this is plaster and not dry wall? They use different materials, even for the texture. Actually, you said that you repaired it with plaster, not that the wall was plaster. In any event, the materials are different so it has some baring on the answer.

If you want to answer, tell us what the wall is made of and what you used to repair it. Plaster is too vague of a term because too many people use it to describe almost any type of inside wall.

Answer 3

This is a nice and easy question
Go to Lows or Home Depot
Go to the section with all the drywall material
When you get there look for patch's fr Like a hole in the wall Well in the same section you will see a few cans that are made just for your problem. They will come with 3 kind of tips each one will apply the Texture light to heavy.
PS- Make sure before you put it on the wall you take a dry run on a card board box or something to get the feel of the can the how fast or slow it sprays pending on what tip you have on the can.
And this stuff works GREAT.. I Have used it about 100 times plus in customers homes and they cant even tell where i did it.
Also there is 1 other item out there most don't know about
Its called Crack You will find it in the paint Dept- What it does if you have a crack in the wall from the house moving or something You spray light coats of this on the crack till the crack is covered Then apply your texture The purpose for this (Crack) it will expand without cracking Its kinda like a spray on rudder band. This is really good in old house where 1 day a crack is there and the next day it ain't.
I Just thought I would let you know about this product

Answer 4

Plaster Texture

Answer 5

I have seen people apply drywall mud to the wall and then use a roller to apply a texture. I have even seen people roll on drywall mud as paint, which will leave a nice texture.

The problem is that unless the wall is completely smooth to begin with, your going to have a difficult time trying to match the texture that is already there.

You might find out that you'll have to scrape down the entire wall and retexture everything to get it to match properly. But its just a matter of being creative.

I remember in my basement the drywall that went around the duct work had a swirley patern in it, I had to fix a crack in it when I remodeled and ended up just getting some drywall mud and tried to duplicate it the best I could. After I put a coat of paint over it, you could bairly tell I tried to match the pattern.

Answer 6

Knockdown Texture Sponge

Answer 7

Whether you want to patch a damaged area in an existing knockdown texture wall or apply this effect to an accent wall, it’s easy to do with an aerosol texture designed for the purpose.Low odor, easy cleanup, water-based knockdown texture spray from Homax is ideal for this application. (Homax also makes a knockdown knife specially designed for patching knockdown textures.) For instructions on how to patch knockdown texture with Homax, see source link below.

Answer 8

If you do go and get another 13mm chuck drill get a variable speed one, or at least a 2 speed and set it to the lower speed. It's not much fun being there when mixing plaster at 3000rpm. 900rpm is the max you want to go but ideally a variable speed drill is the answer. I got my last paddle mixer drill via our local Freecycle group. It is a very old B and D unit but it does the job. The main problem is that they are prone to failure from dust. I am on the lookout for another freebie via freecycle to have to hand when this one dies.

Answer 9

Yep. Buy a bucket of wall texture... even comes by the gallon. You can put it on in any way you desire, including with crumpled newspaper... just do it quickly & keep moving until you have a wall done. Looks great!

Answer 10

Go to the hardware store and purchase texture in a can. Usually in the paint dept. Used for small areas.