Changing Wall Texture to Smooth.


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Old 03-18-16, 11:35 AM
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Changing Wall Texture to Smooth.

Hello Everyone,

I finally decided to do some painting around the house. Let's just say I am a novice in painting. Hence starting with the laundry room which is the smallest room I have. Painting seems to be the easy part. My first hurdle is changing the wall texture. Currently it a grainy, sand like finish to it. Lets just say i absolutely loathe it! After doing a little research, to make the wall smooth, I would need to do some taping on the wall using some mud. But after searching for items on the Lowe's site. I am lost a bit. Can you suggest me the right products for this. For hardware, I guess a mud pan, taping knife and sanding tool should be enough. If you can think of anything else I would need let me know.
 
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Old 03-18-16, 11:50 AM
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Once there's paint on a surface, sanding it smooth is tough to do. The process that gets used is called skim coating and that's troweling on and smoothing joint compound. The wider the knife, the easier to smooth the wall but otherwise your shopping list sounds about right to start. A drywall sponge wouldn't be a bad addition.
 
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Old 03-18-16, 12:03 PM
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It's still a good idea to sand the wall first. It might soften the texture some but mainly to rough up the paint so the joint compound will adhere better. Get the green lid [all purpose] j/c. It has the best adhesion properties of all the ready mix muds and is more diy friendly land setting compounds. IMO it's better to apply an extra coat of mud than apply it too thick and have to sand a bunch off. The less sanding you have to do, the easier and less messy the job will be.
 
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Old 03-18-16, 04:32 PM
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Yes, the skim coat. Forgot that term.

Is there anything called a "good" joint compund? Or are all of the products the same?

So sand first, skim, sand again then paint?

I am getting a 6 inch and a 12 inch taping knife.
 
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Old 03-18-16, 05:32 PM
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Even though you plan to use pre-mixed compound I would get a 5 gal bucket and a mixer also.

Some of the pre-mix can be pretty stiff. Mixing it also gets rid of a lot of irritating clumps.
 
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Old 03-18-16, 07:33 PM
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Skim coating can go a little easier if you thin the compound with a little clean water first. I said a little, not a lot of water. Start with no more than a cup in the bucket of compound and evaluate before adding more.
 
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Old 03-19-16, 02:56 AM
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Is there anything called a "good" joint compund? Or are all of the products the same
As far as I know there are only a few brands of j/c being sold and all preform well. There are different types of j/c. Setting compounds come in bags, have a short work time and unused mixed mud must be discarded. Most of us prefer the setting compound because it speeds things up but it is harder to sand and isn't novice friendly. There are various types of ready mix mud, some are just for top coats over unpainted mud. The all purpose mud has a green lid [most have a colored lid indicating the type] has the best adhesion properties and can be used for all coats. Some areas sell ready mix mud in boxes which you need to transfer to a 5 gallon bucket.
 
 

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