How to Make a Rough Sheetrock Wall Smooth

If you have a Sheetrock wall that has bumps, ridges and contours, it was not properly “taped” during installation. This is not a structural problem, but it can certainly look bad. To address it, short of ripping off the existing tape and plaster and re-taping, you can simply skim-coat the walls. This is the process of applying a thin layer of plaster over the whole wall and getting it flat, so that the ridges and contours are flattened out and become invisible.

Tarps
Stepladder
10-inch drywall knife
Skim-coat plaster
Drywall sanding pad

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the furniture from the room. Lay out tarps around the base of the wall.
- 2
  Use a drywall knife to scrape the whole wall, knocking off any peeling paint and other loose material.
- 3
  Spread plaster over the wall starting at top, on one side, using your drywall knife. Drag the knife straight over the surface to apply the plaster in a thin, translucent layer, filling any low areas and crevices without significantly building out the flat areas.
- 4
  Do the whole wall. Let the plaster dry for six hours.
- 5
  Scrape the dried plaster with your drywall knife to remove any ridges or other high points.
- 6
  Apply a second coat of plaster in the same manner as the first, keeping it very thin. Let it dry. Scrape it flat. Add a third layer if necessary, based on whether the wall surface is flat.
- 7
  Let the final layer of plaster set for eight hours. Sand it very lightly, to smooth it out. The wall is ready for repainting.

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