# Re-Painting textured walls: the Frustration



## New2DIY

My husband and I just bought a new home built in 2005. Before we move in, we've decided to change the paint colors on the interior. We can't afford to have professionals do the work, so we're attempting it ourselves. The house is painted ceiling to floor in every room with a sand color called Santa Fe from PPG. (I know this because a bucket of it is still in the garage) The walls and ceiling have a knockdown texture on them. When I went to Pittsburgh Paints I told the guy there all about the flat paint on the walls and the knockdown texture, so he suggested which rollers and brushes that would work best. I decided to buy their Pure Performance zero VOC paint in Antique Moss (a yellow-green)in eggshell because I am very sensitive to strong chemical odors and I need to be able to have my baby in the house with me while I paint. So far I've washed and dusted the walls ( the paint store guy said that I shouldn't need to sand since the house is fairly new and has textured walls). I've started to brush and roll on a tinted primer (Pure Performance). I'm so frustrated with how many times I have to go over an area just to cover all the little divots in the texture. I find I have to really load up the roller to get good coverage, but that also creates a "dimpled" effect on the paint when I do that. I'm using 1/2" nap Wooster rollers. I wonder if using those Teflon coated Shur-Line rollers would help me get better coverage. If anyone knows any good techniques to painting textured walls I would greatly appreciate the help. I'm sorry this post was so long. Thanks for reading it.


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## mark942

Go with a 3/4 inch nap.What will happen is you will not have to load up the roller as much.Also when you apply to walls/ceilings you will have a easier time getting the stipple your looking to achieve and filling in the highs and lows.. Using the brush is as it always is with textured areas................"TROUBLE SUM" Good Luck



:thumbsup:


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## Sir MixAlot

Mark is right. Also, If your not already using one. Try a 5 gallon bucket with a paint grid, it helps even the paint out on the roller better than a roller pan. Good Luck!


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## Nestor_Kelebay

Personally, I think it's a crime how general contractors will texture over everything just to hide any possible defects in the drywall subcontractor's work.

Flat is good. Flat surfaces are easier to clean, easier to repair and easier to paint.

That little bit of extra work on the drywalling contractor's part to ensure his walls don't have defects in them that need to be hidden results in the owner of that home having a lot of extra work cleaning and painting the walls for as long as the house is standing (barring someone going over that wall with a plastering trowel to fill in the texture and restore some resemblance of flatness to it.


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## Sir MixAlot

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> Personally, I think it's a crime how general contractors will texture over everything just to hide any possible defects in the drywall subcontractor's work.










:icon_rolleyes:
Not all textures are added to hide a crappy drywall finishing job. Some people like texture. I think it adds dimension and style. Different strokes for different folks. Don't be such an Elitists!:laughing: (JK)


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## Nestor_Kelebay

Sir MixAlot:

People like texture on their walls or ceilings until there's a roof leak and they have to find a way to match that texture after the repair. People like texture until they try to clean textured walls or ceilings and realize there's no good way to do it.

FLAT is easy cuz it's easy to clean, easy to paint, and easy to repair. That makes FLAT practical too. And easy and practical make FLAT walls and ceilings desireable in my view. If I ever built a house, there would be no texture anywhere, and the walls would be painted in a satin gloss for easy cleaning. None of this flat paint all over the place to hide defects either.


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## 747

Well at least your going with a good paint in pittsburgh. I would have went with a different primer i prefer zineers bullseye 123. This is a tough job when ever painting texture. Just take your time. Best way to handle texture is to spray in my oppion. I agree with poster above i hate texture and it is a way to hide defects.


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## New2DIY

I'm not a fan of texture either, but it's hard to find new construction without textured walls here in Texas. If I had built rather than just bought the house, I would have insisted on smooth walls. As for painting the texture I've already got, spraying is not a good option for me since I have zero experience with spraying. I'm afraid I would really screw it up. The reason I went with the Pure Performance primer rather than the Zinsser is because I'm very sensitive to paint fumes and I have a small baby in the house. There's no use paying extra for zero VOC paint if you're just going to use a regular primer with all the usual chemicals. It may cost me a little extra time, but having a fume free home is worth it for me.

Question: Wouldn't the higher nap rollers leave more dimpling on the few flat areas of the texture?


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## mark942

Once the nap has flattened down a bit you should have no problems with rolling the stipple down to your liking. As it has been said before.Get a 5 gallon bucket from the paint store,then get a roller grid.It will hang from the lip of the bucket down in the paint. Fill the bucket 1/4 full. The just like a pan, use the grid and bucket set up.Makes for easier painting. This is used with a extension pole as well. Good Luck.


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## New2DIY

Thanks for everyone's replies. I actually had already boxed all my paint in a 5 gallon bucket and was using a screen to load my rollers before I posted this thread. I did decide to buy a roller sleeve that has a Teflon coating and it's working much better than the Wooster. Now that we're done with the primer, the paint is going on really well with the new roller. I have more questions though:
What's the best way to prevent getting tracks from the roller edges? Should I just use a dry brush to try to blend them in when they occur? If I notice spots that the paint didn't completely cover should I roll over them again or just wait until the next coat? I don't want to end up with splotchy walls.


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## slickshift

The 3 biggest causes of roller marks are:
1) Inferior Quality Paint
2) Inferior Quality Rollers
3) Inferior Quality Technique

I can't speak for the paint or sleeves you are using toward rollers lines (I've not used either)
But I can say that the most common technique mistake is to try and squeeze every last drop out of the roller
The roller should be loaded with paint, which is then laid down rather then squooshed out

You can roll over lines again, w/o loading the roller, but don't "dry brush" them

How to handle "holidays" varies with the paint used
Many types/sheens are best touched up while wet
Some are best to let dry
Safe bet is to let dry then touch up
...safest bet is to not have holidays


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## New2DIY

Thanks for the insight, slickshift. I think our problem is definitely technique. Once I stopped pushing the paint out of the roller, I no longer got roller marks. My husband's technique needs a lot of work. The walls he painted last night are covered in roller marks and is all uneven in coverage. Should I sand those areas before applying the second coat? Or will applying a second coat with good technique cover up the marks on the first coat?


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## mark942

Give them a scuffing. It is to your advantage. Have hubby do the sanding.It will teach him to not leave fat lines.....................:thumbsup:


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## slickshift

I would agree
One of the best ways of larnin' the value of good technique is trying to fix the mess bad technique left behind


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## New2DIY

So what grit sandpaper should I use? I saw some that says that it's for use between coats, would that be the right one?


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## New2DIY

Now that I look more closely at the walls, the problem seems to be that some areas were overworked with a roller. Also there are some places where he touched up while the paint was still wet, so those spots are a different shade than the rest of the wall. I don't see any drips or raised areas of paint. I'm starting to think that sanding it would just remove the paint altogether. What's the purpose of sanding the walls between coats? And by "scuffing" do you mean just one light pass with a pole sander?


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## slickshift

Sanding between coats removes lumpies, klingons, roller fuzz, bugs, etc., and helps give the next coat some "tooth" (adhesion)

A scuff sanding means a very light sanding

My preferred method would be a sanding screen on a pole sander


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## New2DIY

Will painting the 2nd coat without sanding the 1st coat cause any problems with the finish? Would the overworked and touched up areas in the 1st coat show through to the 2nd coat if I didn't sand the walls? My husband thinks that sanding these textured walls is a bad idea. 

I'm just trying to get this project finished. Since we are working on the painting in shifts due to his work schedule and our baby's schedule, it's taking a lot longer than it should. I'm worried that our paint is going to get thick and hard to work with since it's sitting in a 5 gallon bucket that is only a 1/4 filled.


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## Nestor_Kelebay

New2DIY:

Do you mind if I ask what kind of paint your first coat was. That is, colour, chemistry (oil or latex) and gloss level please?

I'm wondering if their discontent with the paint job may just be incomplete hide after one coat.


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## New2DIY

I'm using Pittsburgh Paints Pure Performance Latex in Eggshell the color is Antique Moss. The problem is not the paint. My husband was using poor technique on the walls that he did and ended up with over worked areas and roller marks. The walls that I did using proper technique look great, and only need a second coat to cover the "holidays" that inevitably show up when painting textured walls.


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