How to Hide Rough Drywall Finish Showing Through Paint

Joint compound, used to finish drywall along the seams between the drywall sheets, is meant to meld the sheets together and make them appear as one solid surface. If that finishing work isn’t done well, you will have ridges and contours throughout the wall. One way of addressing this is to texture-paint the wall, using thick paint made to be worked into peaks and bumps, giving depth to the surface and hiding the problems.

Tarps
Stepladder
Wide paint scraper
Paint roller
Wall primer
Textured paint
Grout float (flat rubber trowel)

Instructions

- 1
  Remove all furniture from the room and spread tarps over the floor. Scrape off any peeling paint or loose material from the wall with a wide paint scraper.
- 2
  Roll a coat of primer over the entire wall, using a paint roller. Let the primer dry 24 hours.
- 3
  Spread textured paint over a 3-by-3-foot section of the wall, using the paint roller. Lay it as thickly as you can.
- 4
  Press your grout float into the paint on the wall, then pull it straight out to leave peaks and ridges.
- 5
  Press the float back into the paint beside the spot you just worked, then pull it out again.
- 6
  Continue pressing and pulling the paint, working the whole surface. Stop after every six or eight pulls to step back and assess the consistency of your work.
- 7
  Spread more textured paint over the next section of wall and repeat the process with the float. Do the entire wall, section by section. Let the paint set for 24 hours.

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