What is the best way to match a "sand plaster" or "orange peel plaster" finish on the walls of an older house.

Question

i am patching some plaster in a house built in 1920 and need to match the texture on the wall. i would rather not have to deal with using a spray gun or with re-texturing all of the walls. i'm taping the cracks and plastering them, need ideas on creating the finish texture. thanks!

Answer 1

sand plaster actually has grit in it, while orange peel is just in the way it dried. for sand plaster, get a bag of play sand and toss at the plaster when it is still wet. some sweeping will be required. for orange peel it depends on how deep the orange peel is. if it is a slight orange peel, go to the paint department of your hardware store and get one of those foam disposable brushes. wet the foam and tap it on the area of wet plaster. use a wrist action like you would to cast a line for fishing, but don't use too heavy a hand. for a deeper orange peel, use a sponge instead.

Answer 2

put some play sand in a little bit of the paint before you apply it to that area. Play sand is bagged and dry. You can buy small bags of sand at some paint sand just for this purpose at paint stores.