Textured Drywall Techniques and Swirls

Knockdown

• Knockdown is a technique used with texturing compound in which a smooth, thick layer of the compound is sprayed on the drywall and allowed to partially dry. Trowels, sponges, brooms or various other tools are then used to flatten the surface in different places, giving it a different look. A common way to use the knockdown technique is to drag a trowel over the compound and make it look like exterior plaster. The high relief of the compound may leave lots of places for the wall to collect dust, however.

Skip Trowel

• The skip trowel technique of applying texturing compound to drywall is exactly what the name indicates. Make the texture by skipping a trowel across the compound on a flat surface of the wall. What is left behind forms the texture. A specially designed skip trowel is recommended for true skip trowel design. It is an 18-inch knife with a curved blade. Spread the compound on the drywall in a thin layer, and then drag the blade across the compound at an angle that makes it skip along its path. This motion creates the look known as true skip trowel design.

Stamp Design

• Stamping is a good way to give a unique look to your drywall because you can use anything you want to create the texture. Apply the compound to the wall, and use a trowel to smooth out the compound. Then, use an object as a stamp, pushing the object into the wet compound. The stamp can be any item, such as a sponge, footprints or leaves from trees. You may choose to dip a flat brush into some compound and smash it on the wall to create a random stamp. There are also stamps specially made for the task available at home improvement stores.

Swirl

• Swirls are a common way to texture drywall on ceilings and sometimes on walls. The appearance is that of a smooth wall with many overlapping partial circles. To accomplish this look, you will need to sand the wall smooth to get rid of imperfections. Then, roll on a smooth layer of texturing compound or plaster that has been thinned. Once the area is covered with a smooth, wet coat of the texturing material ,use a medium bristle brush to swirl the pattern over and over again on the wall.