How to Skip Trowel Texture Drywall

You can add visual appeal to plain walls using a skip-trowel texture technique that will give you the look of stucco but without the big price tag. This type of texture is also called "knockdown" or "California knockdown" because you'll knock the tips off the wet texture with a trowel, creating a mottled appearance. You'll need an assistant, as one person must apply the texture while the other person creates the skip-trowel effect before the texture dries.

Things You'll Need

• Spray hopper gun
• Thinned drywall compound
• Large drywall trowel
• Non-slip drop cloth
• Protective eyewear
• Old clothing

Instructions

1. Prep the walls, or ceiling, by removing light fixtures, switch cover and outlet covers. Use masking tape to cover electrical boxes. Drape floors with a non-slip drop cloth.

2. Pour thinned drywall compound into the hopper of a spray hopper gun. You can purchase premixed compound for applying texture, or you can mix your own at the rate suggested by the hopper gun manufacturer.

3. Practice spraying texture on a spare piece of drywall. For the best results, adjust the nozzle of the spray gun until you have a large texture with peaks that extend outward.

4. Start in an upper wall corner or on a corner of the ceiling. If you're doing both walls and the ceiling, do the ceiling first.

5. Spray the texture in even strips, approximately 5-feet wide, moving the hopper gun back and forth to cover all of the drywall with the texture. When the person applying the texture completes one strip, the person creating the skip-trowel effect may begin, while the first person continues to spray on more texture on an adjacent strip.

6. Sweep the large drywall trowel in long, even strokes, wiping only the tips of the wet texture. The person using the trowel will also benefit from practicing the technique before starting on the wall.

7. Use a light touch when wiping off the tips of the texture. Too much pressure will result in smoothing away all the texture.

8. Continue until you've completed the entire wall before taking a break. If you stop before a wall is complete, you can have lap marks where you started again.

Tips & Warnings

• You can vary the skip-trowel technique by using a different size trowel or by altering the motion of your wipes, but be consistent in your pattern.

• Don't use plastic or nylon tarps or drop cloths. Spraying on the texture is messy and droplets will soon cover the floor, creating a slipping hazard on slick drop cloths.

References

• Drywall Tips: Ceiling Knock Down Texture
• Family Handyman: How to Apply Knock Down Texture