How To Skim Coat Your Textured Walls (Just Like The Professionals)

If you have textured walls and are looking to smooth them out, I’m breaking down exactly what you need and the process to make it happen.

Because it’s summer and school’s out, I had to work on the application during nap time and in the evenings after the kids went to sleep. So, I’d say the first coat (mudding and scraping) took me about 3 days very broken up.

I am listing all of the tools I used in the process, however, I know how expensive these things can get. Use this as a guide to either getting these exact tools (the only ones I personally have experience with) or to find alternatives that would work just as well!

MATERIALS + TOOLS

USG Sheetrock Plus 3 Ready-Mixed Joint Compound
Milwaukee M18 FUEL Mud Mixer
Helix Paint Mixer Drill Attachment
Level 5 Skimming Blade 32” - These larger blades can get expensive, but so worth it!
Heavy Duty Roller Frame (Not Pictured)
3/8 Paint Roller Cover
Husky Mud Pan
Husky Joint Knives 6” , 10”
Home Depot 5 Gal Buckets x2
Gorilla Ladders Heavy-Duty Platform (Not Pictured, but shown in sanding video below)

MIX YOUR JOINT COMPOUND

Using one of the smaller joint knives, add half of the compound into one of the empty HD buckets.
From there you’ll slowly mix water into the compound with the mud mixer and drill attachment, to create a yogurt-like consistency. Start with a few ounces and mix in more as you need - I usually end up adding 8-10 ounces total. Once you have your “yogurt”, let it sit for 10 minutes and check it again, adding more if needed.
- If you have heavily textured walls, getting this consistency is key!
- If your mixture is too thin, you can always add in more of your compound from the original bucket.

START MUDDING & SCRAPING

Once you have the correct consistency, it’s time to start rolling.
Dip your roller fully in the bucket, moving it around to get enough to cover.
- I have also seen professionals use paint grids in their buckets to help get excess compound off of their rollers, I didn’t feel it necessary. I needed all the compound I could get on these walls.
- If you’re doing a large room or space, work in smaller sections as the compound will start to dry and make it difficult to smooth.
Start rolling your walls/ceilings
Once you have a section rolled, using your mudding knives you’ll want to move your way down the wall, applying light pressure to keep the thickness consistent and avoid creating heavy lines.
- Watching some videos, the professionals made mention of trying to avoid lines altogether. However, I’m not a professional and if I didn’t want to be scraping the walls for weeks, lines were unavoidable. Luckily, Ro told me not to worry about it too much because the sanding (next step) would remove the discrepancies anyways. Soooo, don’t get hung up on the lines!
- I used the Level 5 joint knife on the larger wall sections and the smaller joint knives for the corners and edges.
- Use your mud pan to collect excess compound from your knives. I would reapply using a smaller knife to fill in areas that got scraped off.
Make sure you have a cleaning area! Joint compound can cause major issues with your drainage, so I highly recommend filling the other HD bucket with water and cleaning off each item with a rag in that. It’s also easier than taking everything to the sink every time you need to clean things up. The water can grow bacteria/get moldy if it sits too long, so make sure you empty the dirty bucket regularly. You can pour the dirty water into the toilet and you should have the mud left in the bottom, which can be scraped out and thrown into the trash.

Another note: We will be replacing all of our flooring throughout the house, so I’m not covering them/don’t care if the current ones get messed up during the process. If you are keeping your floors, make sure to cover them!

I found that having a pretty thick layer of compound on the walls filled in the depth of the texture quickest and best (pictured on the left). You may have to play around with that, depending on the texture of your walls.

SANDING… THE WORST OF IT

MATERIALS + TOOLS

Mirka Orbital Sander, 5”

Mirka Dust-Free Sanding Vacuum - Linked is the whole system (including the sander)

Dura Gold 220 Grit Sanding Disks

Goggles

Milwaukee Cordless Stick Light

3M Sanding Sponge 120 - for the corners and hard to reach areas

Honestly the mudding portion wasn’t all that difficult, but the sanding O.M.G… I get it now. Specifically the ceiling :/ I have a newfound respect for those who do this every day, so brutal.

Do not start sanding until your first coat of mud is COMPLETELY dry!!

Here’s where your light will come in handy… You’ll see just how bad your work is! haha Pictured on the left is the wall in natural lighting - doesn’t look so bad right?! But on the right is what the actual wall looks like once I put the light on it… yikes… Luckily for me (and possibly you), sanding gets rid of all those lines and ripples.

Here on the left is the same photo with lighting pre-sanding and pictured on the right is the same wall - same lighting - after sanding. HUGE DIFFERENCE. So obviously our walls are pretty textured, so according to Ro, I will probably be doing at least two coats… possibly three (most likely three on the ceiling, yay) total. And yes, I will have to sand after each coat.

The reason you need to sand after each compound coat is because the thickness will vary and sanding allows for there not to be a large build up in areas. Very important to get smooth, non-wavy walls.

Be prepared to get very dusty. Even if you are using the vacuum, you will most likely have some nice “tan” lines and be completely covered in dust.

DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN…

You thought that sucked? Welp, gotta do the whole routine over again! Unless… You’re lucky enough that your walls were smoothed out from one coat or they’re smooth enough to add wallpaper/beadboard type of wall coverings.

Otherwise, see you in a week or so…

WELCOME TO REUD HOME

I believe you should love where you live… So follow along on my journey to put a little love back into our home and share how you can do the same in yours! - Kim

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