Paint and joint compound for pseudo-plater?

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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on December 8, 2012 at 2:23pm

You can get textured paint at Home Depot, Lowes etc. I have used it before. Its more like a thick latex. You can do a lot with it. I have used the standard roller, a sort of plastic wire mesh thingy, and then knocked it down with trowel. This gave a stucco look. Stuff hides a lot of errors in the sheetrock and taping process.

You can also use a sponge and swirl it. I am sure there are other methods to get a different look. Then you paint it. Not sure of the cost, but it could not have been too bad as I used it in one large room on sealed drywall and then throughout the rest of the house over a sandy finish to keep the stucco pattern  going.

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Permalink Reply by Jill Perkins on December 15, 2012 at 12:44pm

Hi Richard,

I actually have done this various ways myself.  Yes, you can mix the paint into the durabond but you have to use a drill mixer to do it.  I think the hassle and mess is not worth saving a few $$.  My favorite product is Sherwin Williams Faux Impressions Dimensional Basecoat (I used it almost everywhere in my current home over old cracked plaster because I wanted a troweled look)  It is really fun to use and easy to work with and makes a great base for color washes and glazes.  I've even applied it thru stencils for a raised design.  You can trowel it on thinly like a skim coat and a little goes a long way. Not cheap but lots less than the Earth plaster.  Wait for the 40% off sale at SW store! I've experimented with it extensively and can share expertise if you are interested.  I'll try to upload a pic but it will probably be huge, sorry!  Better with paint than computers :-)  Thought I had better pix of other rooms but can't find now-

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• renovation and pillows 051.jpg, 1 MB

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Permalink Reply by Richard Pryor on December 15, 2012 at 1:43pm

Jill -

So do you trowel it on like plaster, or roll it on? to be honest, I'm much more into rolling than troweling, since I've no confidence in my trowelling abilities. The rolling part was one of the things I liked about the earth roll-on plaster.

Thanks.

Richard

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Permalink Reply by Jill Perkins on December 15, 2012 at 11:04pm

Actually you are supposed to roll it on with the sea sponge roller. wait a bit then knock it down with a trowel. It's very thick and awkward (for me anyways) to pick up with a roller so I usually just apply it with a wide spatula and fool with it on the wall until it has marks I like. When it's dry I usually sand lightly with a drywall sponge to get rid of any nibs or rough places.  I'm always going for an old worn look.  You can add more layers if you want more dimension, or use it thinly and smooth it for a subtle texture.  It just makes a beautiful surface to paint.  I think the earth plasters have the color mixed in it already and I would rather use my own palette than theirs.  I like to do aged finishes; slightly tea/smoke stained or ragging and it's a great base for that.  S Williams has some brochures that show different effects.  You could experiment in a small room at first for a small investment before you do the big room.  You can do it!  It's very forgiving and workable. It probably IS just paint mixed into drywall compound  :-D

Jill Here's a pix of living room you can see it's really subtle

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• patio demo and bath 044.jpg, 3.6 MB

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Permalink Reply by Richard Pryor on March 7, 2013 at 4:03pm

Jill-

I realized that I had one more question, and that's about the texture of the finished base coat.  What's it like?  Sandpaper?  smooth plaster?  Something else?  What I'm hoping to do is end up with a texture that's a bit between sandpaper and smooth, with some roughness to the touch, but without obvious dents or 'gullies' in the surface.

Thanks.

Richard

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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on March 7, 2013 at 4:41pm

Richard,

Check with your local paint store. There are different applications. The thicker stuff provides a plastered, stucco like look. What you may want is a thinner paint that you add a grit to to give you the expected outcome. You go with a fine sand to a popcorn like texture.

The walls in my previous 1970's house had that sandy finish. I hated it because if you happen to just bounce your hand off it walking down the hall, it took the skin off a knuckle or two. I used the heavier paint and lightly rolled it on and knocked down the peaks with the trowel. Looked great.

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Permalink Reply by Jill Perkins on March 8, 2013 at 12:08pm

Hi Richard,

I thought we'd see pix of your finished rooms by now, what's the hold up?  lol only kidding!

The finished base coat (with the SW Faux Impressions) is smooth and buttery. Not rough or gritty.  There is a certain grainy texture to it you can see close up. If you want to add more texture you can then roll paint with SW Cashmere...this has a really lovely period nubbiness that I adore.  (I mostly use SW paints at home and also professionally...like the predictability)  I will say that unless you intend to glaze or do some other ageing effect like ragging or color wash the dimensional basecoat might not be worth the expense/bother.

There are other brands maybe Ralph Lauren? make a paint with grainy texture. I forget what they call it.... You can roll that and get a good look.

Jill

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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on December 16, 2012 at 5:25am

Where you buy the stuff they will have various applicators. I rolled then trowelled, but you can do a test and see what results you get.

Like I said, it can hide a lot of ills. I used it on drywall that I taped and tried to hide the seams. The walls also had extensive liquid nails stuff on it from where the previous onwner had glued down paneling.

Though I did sand down any ridges, the textured paint pretty much covered it all, or hid it. I could tell, as usual, where the errors were, but someone walking in could not.

The other thing you will need to do is stabilze any cracks in the plaster. If you do not, they may recrack and/or spread.

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Permalink Reply by alethea Crowe on January 3, 2013 at 8:45am

“Stabilze any cracks in the plaster. If you do not, they may recrack and/or spread.” >>> That’s what I was thinking. Using a product to cover ills or hide them will make problem worse.

What do you use to fill these cracks?

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Permalink Reply by Jill Perkins on January 3, 2013 at 11:26am

I've repaired small cracks in plaster by widening them out slightly, vacuuming particles out of the crack, then using fiberglass tape method and drywall patch to fill and cover.  This is time-consuming and takes drying time and careful sanding to blend in with the plaster.  OHI has a good tutorial I think.

FYI The hairline cracks I just went ahead and textured over (without using the tape) re-appeared in the texture paint in less than a year, whereas the cracks I repaired correctly haven't re-appeared.  I think even the tiniest hairline crack will reappear if you don't use the tape, unfortunately.

If anyone has a better way I'd sure love to know it!

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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on January 5, 2013 at 7:17am

There a a few ways to take care of the cracks we used the washer and screws method. Looks like this:

We used about 1500 of them through out the house ceilings and walls. Worked great. Here is the approx same spot finished:

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Permalink Reply by Richard Pryor on January 7, 2013 at 5:31pm

Bill and Jill -

Thanks for the responses so far.  The big question I'm facing is whether I should have a skim coat done BEFORE the  plaster-y paint.

This is for a room where the wallpaper was removed in a rather too enthusiastic manner, leaving ripped drywall paper and rough spots.  In the past, when this happened, I'd coat the entire wall with GARDZ to stabilize it, then have a mud guy come in and do a new skim coat of the whole room to even out the surface before applying the finishes.  Problem with that is, of course, is the problem with skim coats:  moving everything, putting up with several thin coats and dry times, sanding, sanding dust, etc., etc.  Not to mention the expense of the mud guy.

But reading your description of the plaster-like paint makes me wonder whether the  skim coat could just be skipped altogether, and the paint just applied directly over the GARDZ.  Seems to me that the texture of the paint will hide any differences in the texture of the drywall underneath.

What do you think?

Thanks.

Richard

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