Scraping off one texture, and replacing with "knockdown"

Sir Mixalot

oraaro,
I recently skim coated a large ceiling that had vermiculite acustic texture . 2 coats(90 min. mud) opposite directions and 1 touch up coat(all purpose) then srayed w/ Knockdown.

OraarO

Looks pretty similar to what we are doing right now, Sir Mixalot. Nice work.

Brockster

I wonder what the chance of spraying some thick mudd with a thick coat and smoothing it all out with a big knife, knock down paddle or skip trial knife and let it all dry out, sand and re-texture? I would much rather to mask off the walls than to have to apply several coats by hand.
I think we are all going to be seeing a lot more of this shiftwork coming our way with new housing slowing down and people just wanting to remodel and update their homes.
Also, you think the unaggregated texture mud would be less prone to cracking than regular box mud?

ps. No, I'm not smoking pot, maybe I should be though with stupid ideas like this one...

OraarO

Brockster, that is exactly what I have been thinking about trying today....If I do, I will let you know how it turns out...

cooper

I removed some painted popcorn from the ceiling of my in-laws 'bonus room.' In the past I have used water and that is clearly the best, but really the best is getting someone else to do it...

Anyways, I scraped the ceiling, dry, with a 10" knife, then sanded down what was left. Dust is irrelevant if you turn off relative cold air returns and mask the room tight. Doesn't take long, you're a painter, should just take a few minutes. I then daubed the ceilings with some semi-thick mud. A real ugly tight daub that covered the ceiling almost 100%. Then took my trusty 22" knock down knife and smoothed everything out. Then sanded that, skimmed with a hawk and trowel, then textured.

No problems whatsoever...

The daubing and knock down knife part can be down twice if you are not handy with a hawk and trowel. Almost any idiot can daub and knock something down smooth enough and sand to be ready for texture...

OraarO

Spraying the compound then wiping smooth with a 12" knife worked great! Sped the process up at least 4X!

If I did this again, I would let it set up a little more, then smooth it so it could be a little thicker, but I should be able to sand and then apply knockdown after this one coat.

Brockster

Fantastic OraarO! What kind of compound did you end up using? I have a bedroom that I've put off since last summer that I started fixing yesterday. Hope to spray mudd on Saturday and OP Sunday.

OraarO

Brockster -

I used Plus3 Compound thinned quite a bit with water.
I spray with a small compressor - Marshall brand I think, and a hopper/gun setup.

KingOfDrywall

there are places you can now rent them.......

A+ Texture LLC

Brockster, how did shooting and skimming go in that room? I've been thinkin about trying it as well.

eastex1963

Am I missing something here, or are my dates all f'ed up?

A+ Texture LLC

Its ok to bring up old threads.

eastex1963

Of course, I just thought my puter was on the blink. No worries.

A+ Texture LLC

Just tried the knockdown knife and texture thing to skim yesterday. Sprayed on knockdown pretty heavy and used I think a 24" bluesteel walboard knife, it worked well but this was just a test spot.

LightRock

AS for using a box to skim: personally, i would skim with a 16" trowel and soft mud because the lines at the overlap, wheelmarks, air pockets etc you'd get running a ceiling with a box to skim it would negate the apparent benefit. the best investment to skim a ceiling would have to be a pair of stilts. half the cost of a box and 10 times as useful. drawback: deadly over loose drop cloths, oh and your 500.00 box needs a 400.00 pump to fill it :P

I'd thought of doing the 'spray and wipe' skim, but i never have my texture sprayer along on skimming days. It is an idea I'll keep in reserve though

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silverstilts

I don't think you know what you are talking about , sure it's nice to hand trowel out a skim coat but using a box is about 30 times faster and if you know how to run one you can do a better job than a hand finish that i will guarantee... i would like to see you hand trowel out without leaving any lap marks , only if u pull super tight you won't , the same for a box use the proper settings and don't run into wet mud , let it dry for a few minuets and go back over works perfect...... and as far as the investment of a pump and the boxes u have to have the right tools for the job... You wouldn't mix up mud with a stomper would you? i think you would have an electric drill for that .... I think most that don't want to invest in the proper tools are just plain cheap and are not worth a damn..... if i hired any carpenter to frame a house if he just showed up with a hammer and not a air gun i would know what kind of a carpenter he was .... come on get with the times , how many years have these tools been out ,,, way longer than you are older

Whitey97

^ agree 100%

LightRock

OK Here is what i am talking about: skimming over scraped texture. this was a response to the end of the first page, when Orarro wasn't sure if a box was the answer to his ceiling repair. How does that work out for you? I imagine scraped popcorn would give you endless runs with the box
I may someday try skimming with a box on a new ceiling, but i find that if the ceiling needs skimming , then i need the feedback from the trowel to get it perfect, since i only need to under critical light areas in the first place (sunshine straight down the wall) If I get a large volume of work that requires level 5 for spec, i would go to a mud sprayer like the heavy Graco's, but so far no one is paying a premium for that, mores the pity cause that is a toy i want

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alltex

you dont have to prime it,just scrape it skimm
and touch it up and shoot it .dont let anyone talk you into doing more tha needed.knock down is very forgiving.Just watch when you knock it down.(not too soon.afterword prime and paint.

brdn_drywall

no kidding i don't know what kind of pistols/hoppers these guys are using but with a decent splatter and a good coverage spray you can hide a murder underneath there's no way you would have to finish to perfection with touch-ups for a knockdown. when you've been in this business long enough there's things you know you can get away with and the end result still looks like a million bucks!