How to Put a Mediterranean Texture on Walls

If you have damaged walls, but hate sanding, consider a Mediterranean texture. This also works well over wallpaper, saving you the horrid job of wallpaper removal. Textured walls add depth and interest to otherwise blah walls. They can be painted the regular way or will look extra fabulous with an easily applied glaze.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• All-purpose joint compound
• Scraps of drywall or cardboard for practice
• Drywall pan and knives
• Primer for wallpaper
• Masking tape
• Drop cloths
• Quartz sand
• Stepladder
• PVA drywall primer

1. Prep the wall. Wall prep is minimal for a heavy texture. You do want to fill or caulk larger cracks and holes because they can crack through the texture later. It is mandatory to use a shellac or oil primer on wallpaper because the texture will loosen and pull it from the wall. Remove switch plates. Tape baseboards and the ceiling, and tape over all the outlets.
2. There are three ways to buy joint compound, and you will go through a lot of it. Most economical is the powder, which you have to mix yourself, but it takes care and measuring to have consistent batches. Premixed compound can be bought in boxes or five-gallon buckets. It takes about 10 gallons to do an average-sized bedroom. Definitely use a drywall pan instead of working straight out of the bucket. The job will go much faster and easier.
3. Experiment first. A basic Mediterranean texture is applied with 6-inch or 8-inch drywall knives in fairly short, choppy strokes, changing direction often. For a little added texture, try adding some fine quartz sand to the plaster mix. Old paint or scrub brushes can add some swirly texture. Practice a little to get a feel for it, and play with different methods.
4. When applying your texture, work in random patterns and try to avoid too many straight line breaks between batches because these may be obvious later. Even though this is an irregular texture, it does need to look consistent, so stand back periodically and cast a critical eye over your work.
5. Avoid laying it on extremely thick. Heavy blobs of plaster can crack as they dry. You can always go back later and fill in parts that look a little light. Leave the tape on and always use a PVA drywall primer as your first coat of paint. This texture will soak up the primer so count on half the coverage noted on the can.

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