# Orange Peel Texture Help please



## kalaniwavo (Nov 8, 2005)

Ok, so I've just recently finished repairing and re-moding some walls around the house. The walls are orangepeel and I am having a hard time finding how to match the texture.

I've tried a can of "spray tex" idustrial orange peel but the texture turns out much finer. I need bigger blobs in my orange peel! Any reccomendations will be greatly appreciated! 


Thanks!
Nick


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## mark942 (Feb 2, 2008)

You need a texture machine.25.00 a day and you will be able to match the orange peel you have.With a texture machine you have a constant pressure,which equates to the same consistency of texture being applied. Here is a link to show you what I am talking about.
http://www.ur.com/index.php/equipment/rental/browse/view/?category=Power+Tools&id=2175&page=4


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## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

You can mix the mud yourself and "spatter" it on with a very course brush, like a wall paper paste brush.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

Did you try adjusting the nozzle of the Homex Orange Peel sprayer can? The nozzle adjusts to give you large spatters to more fine spatters.


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## krankykitty (May 16, 2008)

Ok, so there are two possibilities... and it sort of depends on how much wall you need to do.

1) If you have a lot of wall to do, you can either borrow or rent a texture sprayer... I don't know if Home Depot has em, but a lot of smaller place do. If you already have an air compresser, I have actually seen the hoppers for sale for $50 or so, for the cheaper type.

2) If the area is pretty small, you can get one of those straw hand brooms, remove some of the straw, dip it in your drywall mud, and "throw" it at the wall. Make sure you don't throw it at an angle, or it will probably look weird. (Unless the original texture was sprayed at an angle.)

I've never had the spray can stuff work well for me. Always looked more like that ceiling popcorn than orange peel. Maybe my technique was bad.

In both cases I would recommend that you practice on a spare piece of drywall before you try to do a whole room. But one of the nice things about DIY texture is you can always gently scrape it back off if it isn't working out for you on the first try.

Good luck!


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

Sounds like what you have is more commonly called a splatter, rather than orange peel, which tends to be a finer, more consistent finish. You need either a hopper and compressor, or a texture pump for this, like krankykitty says. Matching texture is an acquired art, so you might consider seeing how much a pro would charge you for the job.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

For one thing, it is not easy to completely "match" a new orange peel texture to an existing orange peel texture surface. That difficulty, is the case with the pros, ..... let alone DIYer. 

When we have to do "patch-type" orange-peel repairs for clients, we will state in our proposals, that the only way to guaranty a seamless, consistent, uniform pattern (new _"with"_ old), is to re-texture the entire area, or the entire length of wall, or the entire room's ceiling. 
(It is much like auto repair. Example: A repaired and painted fender. Sometimes, you have to paint the whole car over, in order to get the color the same).

The cans are fine for simple smaller wall patches. However, if you are attempting to create a "close-to" or an "exact" match, then you would have to go with a sprayer. Use the correct nozzle, the correct compound consistency, and consider the possibility of having to re-coat large areas , in order to get the orange peel spatter to a uniform pattern. 

Remember that with a repair where you have to match a new surface-finish to an existing surface-finish, always do some prior test runs, on same materials, in order to adjust and fine tune your method, prior to the actual application.

Good Luck.


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

Using the cans can also become quite pricey if you have alot of areas to do @ $10+ per can.:yes:


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

I just found this Orange Peel photo in my collection of job photo's.
Is this what your Orange Peel looks like? Keep in mind this is very cose-up.


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## joewho (Nov 1, 2006)

This is an issue for me as well. As a pro, the cans just aren't going to cut it. But being a painter, not a texture/drywall installer, I can't justify buying expensive equipment. There are some neat tools out there besides a sprayer. There's a small, hand pumped unit that looks like the old time bug sprayers. Canister with a pump handle on one end and a nozzle on the other.

Another tool I saw, but can't find for purchase is a small box with a crank on the side. It's filled with compound, turn the crank and thick wires throw the splatter out the "shute". Saw both on commercial jobs where I was on the touch up crew. Anyone know of these items?


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## diyseattle (Jan 27, 2008)

The best way to cover dry wall repairs is to skim coat the entire wall first and then re-texture. That way you'll have an even surface and the walls will look new again.


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## ElleNavorski (May 26, 2012)

*Use a Straw*

I do not want to rent or buy a machine to do this for areas of around 2 inches x 2 inches. I have tried several less expensive techniques. The best outcome I have had is by using joint compound and a standard size drinking straw. Cut the straw to three inches length or so. Thin the joint compound a bit with water as needed. Apply the joint compound to the area you want to patch to a thickness a bit higher than the wall. While drying, the compound shrinks a bit. Plan accordingly. With the straw, blow puffs of air to shape orange peel like shapes. Angle the straw upward some, since afterwards gravity acts a bit on the globs of joint compound. As needed let the compound dry a bit and try again with the straw. The consistency/viscosity of the joint compound makes a difference. Let dry completely. Try 220 grit sandpaper or simply a barely damp paper towel to smooth the edges of the new "peels." Let dry again. Apply paint carefully so as not to melt the peels. It won't be perfect but after painting, it blends pretty well and looks better than doing nothing or using any of the approaches below


What else I have tried:
Apply joint compound, let dry, and with a utility knife, scratch out small craters. They are naturally irregulary shaped. Not bad.

Hand sculpting wet joint compound. Not so good.

Making a stamp from hobby store clay that hardens by putting it into the oven. I pressed the clay into an intact section of orange peeled wall, then baked it per the instructions. Looks good, and it stamps sort of. The biggest problem is the compound sticks too much to the stamp.

The aerosol cans of textured wall repair. I never got the hang of these. Plus the aerosol does not last long.


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## seephor (Mar 9, 2014)

ElleNavorski said:


> I do not want to rent or buy a machine to do this for areas of around 2 inches x 2 inches. I have tried several less expensive techniques. The best outcome I have had is by using joint compound and a standard size drinking straw. Cut the straw to three inches length or so. Thin the joint compound a bit with water as needed. Apply the joint compound to the area you want to patch to a thickness a bit higher than the wall. While drying, the compound shrinks a bit. Plan accordingly. With the straw, blow puffs of air to shape orange peel like shapes. Angle the straw upward some, since afterwards gravity acts a bit on the globs of joint compound. As needed let the compound dry a bit and try again with the straw. The consistency/viscosity of the joint compound makes a difference. Let dry completely. Try 220 grit sandpaper or simply a barely damp paper towel to smooth the edges of the new "peels." Let dry again. Apply paint carefully so as not to melt the peels. It won't be perfect but after painting, it blends pretty well and looks better than doing nothing or using any of the approaches below
> 
> 
> What else I have tried:
> ...


The main reason why you could never match orange peel texture with those cans or otherwise is because the texture material, whatever it may be, is sprayed out at a high velocity and flattens out on impact giving you the true orange peel texture. The spray cans try to compensate for the lack of air volume you get in a professional texture gun by using a very liquidy, light material which doesn't work most of the time and is inconsistent. The problem most DIYers have with texturing is not only the tool which costs roughly $60 for a low end one but an air compressor with the kind of cfm necessary to achieve the desired texture.

The closes I've come to matching orange peel is using the Homex texture cans, matching the texture size, then once dry, going over it very very lightly using 400 git sandpaper to flatten the high spots. You have to be very careful because that stuff is as soft as edible popcorn so any hard pressure while sanding will take the $10 texture right off your patch. Good luck.


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