Painting - Entire wall in one room has grit-like surface - easy way to fix this?

I have a room that has one wall with a grit-like surface finish. All of the other walls are traditional smooth walls. I have just finished up patching several places in the wall where the drywall paper layer had come off after former owners removed mountings from the wall.

I do not want to replace the drywall - I am not up for that!

I am worried that the patched areas will really look a lot different from the gritty areas. The whole wall is about 10x10 ft wall - has 4-5 6" patched areas and several other 1"x 2" patches.

It is hard to describe the grit - but I thought I should try some more. The finish is not what is called a "orange peel". It really is somewhat like a find 110 sandpaper grit?

I suppose I could sand the whole wall - but that would be too much work and I am not sure if it is worth it! I would probably have to rent a power sander. I am not sure how perfect I could get it anyway.

So..... I was hoping that there might be this really great primer that would do a half-way decent job on at least reducing the grit look?

Ideas anyone ( I tried searching the web and did not find much help on this specific problem).

Thanks!

Sounds like sand texture, an additive some people use in paint, primer or paint is not going to cover this. You can re-apply this texture to the patched spots to match, after sanding these patched spots take a wet rag and feather out the edges of the patches, add a little of the sand additive (paint store) to a little of the primer and re-apply to the same consistancy as the rest of the existing sand texture. You can use one of those tiny pen rollers to do it, a regular 9" roller is probably too big for your small patches. Don't roll on too much at a time, wait for it to dry and see if it is about the same consistancy, if not do it again, it is easier to add a little than to take some off.

I don't care for sand texture myself, I would rather sand all the stuff off and re-paint.

One way of softening the grit texture is to scrape and rub down the high spots and then facefill with a wide caulker, rub down again and prime filled areas...Cross line the walls with a heavy grade lining paper and repaint.

Also, you can check your wallpaper stores, there are wallpapers that are made to be painted over, most of them are textured but you may find something you like, like a very lightly textured one. You would still need to knock down the texture a bit and size(prime) the walls for it.

This wall you speak of, where one wall of a room is a different texture and/or color are called accent walls, Accent walls are more common commercially than residentally expecially popular in Schools and furniture stores. Just a little tidbit I thought I would add :)

If I were to go ahead and paint anyway will the change be that apparent? It is always so hard for me to tell how much will change once paint is applied!

I am leading towards patching up with the sand texturing method. It is a bit lazy, but seems the easiest solution at this point.

I hate the sand texture too, but I would think it will take me a long time to sand the whole wall ( 10x10 ft wall) and to do it evenly? I would have to rent a power sander ( I assume so?)

On using the sand additive - is this really hard to match the texture? I have tried in the past to do ceilings ( popcorn, and another hard texturing pattern where you throw globs of heavy stuff at the wall and then smoot it out a bit ) and it has been hard to match the texture. Although I came somewhat close, it was not a perfect match. Maybe matching the sand texture will be a bit easier - and maybe it will look better than several flat areas on the wall?

Thanks for the choices!

Ok I am not giving up hope on the idea of magic paint!

Will two coats primer ( please there must be some sort of magic/thick primer??? :) , two coats of paint maybe cover up the difference? I am priming and repainting the whole wall.

I wish the walls could talk! Although it does not matter I am curious why this one wall was done differently! We have lived here 2 years and I only just noticed now that the finish is different from the other walls in the room!

I am putting off the hardware trip until I can figure out what the right thing for me to do about this wall will be!

re: textured wall paper - would I just put the wall paper up in cut up sections? Or would I have to do the entire wall?

You would have to do the whole wall!!
No there is no such magic paint/primer.. I only wish there were!
Take the extra time and try our suggestion...You`ll be glad you did..

1. What is a "wide caulker"?

2. What does "cross line" mean?

3. If wanted things to be perfect .... then would I want to use lining paper that is smooth? I saw some slightly textured paper at the store. But I would ideally like a smooth finish because the other walls are smooth.

4. What do you do with lining paper where the edges meet?
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5. The sand texture is really a fine texture ( i.e. I looked at a swatch at hardware store that showed on to apply sand textures. It was not that rough). Would sanding with a pole sander maybe be enough or worth a shot?

Something else I need to avoid is making the wall look so different from the other walls ( or any MORE different than they are now)

Don't rent a sander, if you sand the walls you won't need to sand it that vigorously. If the sand texture sample seemed rough then yours is a fine texture than I imagined, good job spotting that.

Now, I can't actually see the wall so you have to use your best judgment, with the texture being as fine as it is I would probably try sanding it off and just painting the wall. It would not take long, by hand 15 to 30 minutes if that long, if it is how I picture it. You can use a pole sander but for a 10 x 10 ft area I would just buy a block sander and some 150 grit quality sandpaper, press gently at first, just try to knock the sand out of the paint and smooth a little, don't try to take the paint off the wall. If this is not satisfactory (test paint a spot and let dry to see) then use the money you saved by not renting a power sander and get a pro to JUST skim the wall for you, assuming you already sanded the sand out without tearing up the wall, it shouldn't cost very much, then you can prime and paint it.

1. What is a "wide caulker"? 2. What does "cross line" mean?

A wide caulker is a large filling tool/blade aprox 12" across.

Cross lining is hanging lining paper horizontally..We do this so that in future years,if you would like to hang a finish wallpaper..the seams will never meet because they are going the other way..
You could also "box line" the walls...That means hanging the first layer vertical (fill/prep where necc) and hang the second layer horizontally. [spellcheck]If you have the time..This is the best method from a decorators point of view although having the wall skimmed by a plasterer is always going to be best bet!!(by far):D

You know toptosher, if I read your posts very carefully I can actually hear your accent, I am from TX, can you imagine say, a Canadian trying to understand the two of us talking in person.

I to sometimes wonder myself what some of your terms mean :)

Thats the good thing about the internet, you can get opinions from around the globe.

I am getting ahead of myself.... but here is my current plan for my walls. I have a pole sander and the grit sandpaper. I did a little bit of sanding and it seems fairly smooth. I will try an area about 2x2, prime it and maybe even put some of the "county blue" paint on this section to see how it looks....

In looking ahead though..... I hope I do not need to skim coat, but, I was wondering about how to do it myself. ( I am not sure how expensive it would be to hire someone. I can try to make a few calls.) I tried various search engines on the web and here on dyi and could not find a lot of information on the skim coating technique. Is is really that hard to do? I have gotten quite good at repairing drywall cutouts /holes left by plumbers, and matching up some heavy wall textures. So what if I take a stab at it? This is how I think you skim coat (from my web research: use something like a "lite topping compound", move quickly while doing it (not sure why you have to move quickly!), use a 10" flat trowel ( I have one!). The lightly sand afterwards with 100 qrit regular sandpaper.

Could I try to skim coat? If I do a really bad job would I be able to recover myself somehow or would I have to hire a pro and he would not cost any more if I had him in the first place? It seems like someone would charge at least $100 ( USA west coast ) to do the a 10x10 wall? Plus I have not had too much luck in getting people out for small jobs.

Thanks again for the various approaches!

Well at least your walls are going to be semi-smooth after you sand the texture off, if it were bigger texture I would ask you to think twice but, seeing that you want to try it, this wall is probably perfect for you to give it a go.

You want to make sure your mud is and is kept very clean for skimming, no little dry pieces, dirt or sand, even if this means starting from a new box of mud. If the mud you already have has dried around the edges, got a dry skin on it or is trashy in any way save it for future patches and start with a fresh box, to keep this from happening, always dump your mud in a 5 gallon bucket (if it didn't come in one), after every use (not every scoop) take a very wet rag and clean the wall of the bucket all the way down to the mud itself, if there are dry pieces on the wall of the bucket just keep wiping until they disolve, use lots of water, don't scrape the pieces into the mud, poor enough water on the mud to completely cover it, this will last until the mud rots. When ready to use poor the water off, mix it up and your ready to go, be aware that every time this is done the mud is a little thinner.

I like to thin my mud a little for skimming, not much but just enough to make it easier troweling, a cup or 2 of water per box should do it. Start at the bottom and apply the mud going up, be sure to go below the base trim line, then reach up just above head level and skim down, be sure not to leave any missed spots, overlap the rows a couple inches, I usually apply about 3 rows of mud then go back to the first and wipe down, after each stroke wipe your knife clean on the mud pan, after the first row I will wipe down the other rows appliing slightly more pressure to the side of the knife of the direction I am going (if I am skimming left to right, slight pressure to the right) this will help avoid leaving gouges in the skimmed mud, try to do it in a way that it will leave a very SLIGHT ridge on the left side of the knife but not a gouge, ridges can be sanded out, gouges have to be touched up with mud later. Continue down the wall to the corner. Then get on a ladder and start again from the ceiling down, overlapping the lower by a few inches.

You will not need a thick coat at all, as a matter of fact, in this senerio you can probably apply the mud to the wall and wipe it all back off, this will leave mud in the pits from the texture, and will be easier on you than trying to leave and actual skim coat of any caliber, remember to work only a couple rows at a time, you don't want the mud to start drying before you wipe down.

If the skim coat is leaving little pits or fisheyes, try wipeing down the mud in the opposite direction then you applied it.

Hope this helps!

I to sometimes wonder myself what some of your terms mean

Hows ya bees off fer hunny me ole mukker!!
So yer dont always get my drift then??.....??:confused:

I like to thin my mud a little for skimming

Over ere, Mud`s the stuff we wipe off our boots after diggin the garden .:D

He he he,

Yeah, we wipe mud off our boots too. It is mainly the pro's that use the term "mud", if you were to walk into a big hardware store and simply ask for mud there isn't any telling what you would get.

Bricklayers yell "Hello mud" to inform their helpers there running low on morter, so it is not just the painters :)

Don't get as worked up as an old wet hen, I was just kickin a little dust. Heck I'm happy as a possum in a gum bush just being a regular part of this hoosegow, I ain't aiming to toss two roosters in the hen house, catch my drift? I think your a right nice fella and I've grown kinda fond to hearin about how ya'll kick the can around in your parts.

I just wanted to give a followup on the outcome...... all turned out very well!

I sanded down the wall ( it was hard work and took 2-3 hours ) and did a test patch of primer and the wall looked very good.

I have since painted the whole room with primer and two coats of paint and it looks great. I guess the wall must have been painted with paint that had a bit of sand additive??

I am glad I took the time to do it right. I would not have even attempted to sand if it weren't for the advice!

Thanks!

I just wanted to give a followup on the outcome...... all turned out very well!

I sanded down the wall ( it was hard work and took 2-3 hours ) and did a test patch of primer and the wall looked very good.

I have since painted the whole room with primer and two coats of paint and it looks great. I guess the wall must have been painted with paint that had a bit of sand additive??

I am glad I took the time to do it right. I would not have even attempted to sand if it weren't for the advice!

Thanks!

If you ever had to do this again the easiest fix would be to skim coat the wall you say its ten by ten it would take about ten minutes then aboutten to twenty minutes to sand much easier P.