How to Spackle a Crow's Foot Ceiling

Remove all furniture and window coverings from the room. Lay tarps over the floor and items that remain in the room.

Sink loose or popping nails into the ceiling with a hammer. Press spackle into holes and other defects on the ceiling with a putty knife. Allow the spackle to dry for 30 to 45 minutes. Sand the spackle surface flush with the surrounding ceiling with 220-grit sandpaper. The repair does not require perfection; you will cover it later.

Attach a paint roller to a painter's pole. Pour a latex-based primer into a paint tray and roll a coat of primer onto the ceiling. Spackle achieves greater adhesion on a clean surface. Allow the primer to dry for one to two hours.

Pour powdered spackle into a large bucket. Add water to the powdered spackle and begin mixing it with a mixer bit connected to a power drill. Continue to add water and mix until the spackle is the consistency of cake batter.

Pour the watered-down spackle into a paint tray. Roll a paint roller, screwed on to a painting pole, through the spackle and apply a coat to the ceiling in a 4-by 4-foot section.

Submerge a slap-brush into plain water and wring out the excess. Dip the slap-brush into the watered-down spackle and knock off excess spackle onto the side of the bucket.

Climb a stepladder to access the ceiling and smack the slap-brush into the wet spackle, leaving behind an imprint. Continue to dip the slap-brush into the watered-down spackle, knock off excess and smack the ceiling until you cover the 4-by 4-foot section with a crow's-foot texture. Rinse the slap-brush in plain water as necessary to remove excess spackle.

Apply watered-down spackle to the ceiling next to the first textured section and repeat the technique. Continue applying the crow's-foot texture, section by section until you cover the entire ceiling.