Patching and Plastering - covering up stucco

I have an entranceway and hallway that are stucco (almost like popcorn).

I am planning on filling it in with compound to smooth it out into a smooth wall.

Ive never tried this before....


Any tips?

I have some tips but first I have some questions.
Are you using the term "stucco" to refer to the texture of your walls or do you mean Portland cement plaster?

Are the walls in question interior walls?

Have the walls been painted?

What part of the country are you in?

How old is the structure?

How smooth do you want the walls?

have you tried scraping off any of what's there? You might be able to cut down on what you put on if you are able to take some off first.

What is your competence with the hawk and trowel?

And finally how many square feet of area are you doing?

Are you using the term "stucco" to refer to the texture of your walls or do you mean Portland cement plaster?
Texture of the wall....its like compound

Are the walls in question interior walls?
yes

Have the walls been painted?
yes
What part of the country are you in?
new york
How old is the structure?
1975

How smooth do you want the walls?
smooth as possible

have you tried scraping off any of what's there? You might be able to cut down on what you put on if you are able to take some off first.
I planned on chipping off any extra big bumps

What is your competence with the hawk and trowel?
I guess not too great as I was planning on using 2 "scrapers" Willing to try though if i fail ill just put new sheetrock
And finally how many square feet of area are you doing?
about 125 for this project. if it works ill do a ceiling of about 400[/QUOTE]


Thanks

Here is what to do:

Cover the floors and woodwork and anything else you don't want messed up.

Scrape off all the texture that you can. You might be able to soften it up by spraying it with water first. This is more mess to clean up so use your best judgment.

I think you will have better luck if you use a setting type of joint compound. Something like EasySand by USG is a good candidate. The number on the bags is the set time in minutes. Go with 90 or so. What this will do for you is give you a harder surface and it will let you do more in a day. As soon as the first coat is hard you can give it another coat. If you use a mist of water to lubricate the trowel just as the mud sets you can trowel it down nice and smooth and the smoother you get it the less sanding you will have to do.

No matter what kind of compound you use it will probably take at least two and more likely three coats to lay it down nice and smooth. If you are not able to lay it down smooth enough not to have to sand, (And you should be able to do that with an area as small as you describe.) you can use all purpose mud or topping for the last coat. It is much easier to sand.
So do the walls, get them perfect, sand and touch them up one more time then sand again, remove all the dust, prime and paint.

Thanks for the advice. I went to buy the setting compound today and saw it comes in powder form. I figure Id rather wait for drying time than deal with the mess of mixing the compound, and risking an ununiform consistansy. I guess ill use the all purpouse and just wait for drying

That will work just fine. Let us know how it goes.

Guess its actually about 200 sf or so.

I sanded down the stuco for a little while just to get rid of the big bumps. Now I just finished the first coat of compound...looks better already. It does take forever to dry, but its my own house so not in a rush.
Looks like 2 coats will be enough.

Question why does the compound have bubbles (USG green) any way to get rid of them?

Also a note: some a-hole had the railing going to the basement mounted ONLY in the sheetrock. Had to cut open the wall, put in a piece of 2x4 then close the wall back up..... its never easy:rolleyes: