Painting Textured Walls
Textured walls can be an attractive feature in your home that adds visual interest to walls and ceilings, especially with a nice coat of paint. Perhaps a new color will help you embrace the aesthetic if you don’t love your textured walls.
If you genuinely hate your textured walls, a skim coat with joint compound will smooth them out, or in the case of popcorn textures, a good scrape will rid you of those little bumps. For those of us who don’t want to take the time or expense to abolish the intentional imperfections on the wall surfaces in our home, here is a guide to painting textured walls.
Types of Textured Walls
There are myriad reasons why walls have a textured finish. The most common is it’s a quick way to finish drywall. Making a wall perfectly smooth takes precision and patience. It has to be taped, skimmed and sanded until it’s flawless. A quicker and often more affordable process is to put a bit of texture on it to hide imperfections. These are the common texture types:
Knockdown – This drywall finish comes from watering down the joint compound. It creates a dimpled, crater effect after being applied with a trowel.
Mud Swirl – Usually applied by a skilled tradesperson, this texture results from half circles or swirls made with the teeth of a trowel.
Orange Peel – This texture comes from spraying on mud compound mixed with water. When finished, it looks like the skin of an orange, hence the name.
Popcorn – Many people have strong negative feelings about this type of texture. It’s drywall mud mixed with styrofoam or other materials to give it a highly bumpy surface.
Priming is Preferred
We always suggest priming a textured wall. There are primers on the market made specifically for uneven walls or ceilings. Usually, they are labeled as “high build” or for a “problem surface.” If your textured wall has never been painted before, it is essential that you prime it. If painted in the past, you may opt to skip the priming, but we advise against it.
Choose Satin or Semi-Gloss Paint
When considering a paint finish for your textured wall, it’s all about reflecting light. Don’t use a matte or flat finish paint. Use a satin or semi-gloss paint finish. The higher sheen level will accentuate the texture and be easier to clean.
Use a Thick Nap Roller
Buckle up because painting a textured wall is tedious and time-consuming. The uneven variations cause you to go over the same spot several times to cover the area with paint evenly. Painting pros use a roller with a thick nap for orange peel, knockdown, and popcorn textures. Either a one and a 1 ¼ inch or 1 ½ inch nap will work.
Apply a Second Coat
We know it’s painful, but adding a second coat of paint to textured walls is the last step in creating a beautifully painted room or ceiling. If you are using a dark paint color, it will help deepen the hue, and you’ll catch any spots you missed the first time around.
Hire a Painter
Painting textured walls take twice the time it would typically take to complete. Save yourself the headaches and time and hire a painter to do the heavy lifting that comes with textured walls.
About Flowers Painting
Flowers Painting is a full-service interior painting company that services the entire Charlotte metro area including Mooresville, Huntersville, Davidson, Concord, Rock Hill, and more. Call today to schedule your FREE estimate at (800) 699-4558. Flowers Painting provides full painting services including color consulting, interior painting, faux finishing, textured walls, cabinet refinishing, interior stairs, handrails, and more. To see pictures of our finished work be sure to visit our website gallery.
