How to Skip Trowel a Wall

Skip troweling a wall is a fairly easy process that makes a big difference to the appearance of the walls in your home. It can add new dimension and texture to an otherwise boring wall and make paint application look more interesting. Skip troweling your wall can be done in a few easy steps and is an inexpensive and quick way to give your walls a little face-lift.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Joint compound
• Water
• Large paint roller
• Drywall knife
• Drop cloths

1. Clean the wall you want to skip trowel well with water and allow to dry completely.

2. Place drop cloths directly beneath the wall that you will be working on to protect your flooring.

3. In a large bucket, combine joint compound with enough water to bring it to a peanut butter consistency. The amount of water will be different for each brand of joint compound, so it's important to watch the consistency to reach the desired thickness.

4. Dip the paint roller into the bucket, loading it with joint compound.

5. Roll the paint roller over the wall. You'll notice that the effect is not unlike popcorn-type ceilings. Roll on a patch about 3 by 3 feet.

6. Lay the drywall knife almost flat against the wall. Use the drywall knife to lightly draw it across the texture the roller made, pulling the compound into a more complex texture by flattening it. The action is much like lightly icing a cake.

7. 
    

   Draw the knife in opposite directions and "skip" patches to get the most texture. See picture for finished product. Another name for skip trowel texture is orange peel texture, since it takes on the appearance of pieces of orange peel arranged on the wall.

8. Move to another section. When the wall is done, allow to dry and then seal with primer in preparation for painting.