How to Texture Drywall Using a Brush

Clear the room of all furnishings and cover the floors with drop cloths. Remove all outlet covers, and loosen fixtures with a screwdriver. Cover the fixtures with plastic bags, taped at the base. Place masking tape over the baseboards and trim to avoid splatters onto their surfaces. Cover windows with masking paper.

Clean the walls with a mixture of mild liquid soap and warm water. Add just enough soap to make the water suds. Use a sponge to wash down the walls without saturating them, then rinse the walls with clean water. Pat them dry after cleaning with a cloth.

Apply a layer of primer to the drywall to seal the surface, using a paintbrush and paint roller to cover the surface completely. Brush in the edges of the drywall surface with the paintbrush, and then cover the center of the space using the roller. Allow the primer to dry for two hours before continuing.

Pour one gallon of drywall compound into a bucket, then thin the compound with 1/2 cup of water. Mix the water into the compound, using an electric drill with a mud paddle attachment. Pour the thinned compound into a paint tray.

Apply the thinned compound to the drywall surface, using a paintbrush to cover the edges of the surface and a paint roller to fill in the center. Layer the mud about 1/8-inch thick on the drywall. If doing an entire room, work in 4-by-8-foot sections to keep the mud from drying before you can texture.

Mount the slap brush onto an extension pole. Slap the brush against the mud on the drywall, rolling or sweeping it slightly on removal to create different textures on the drywall’s surface. The general texture will appear as a series of random ridges running across the surface of the drywall.

Apply the mud onto a new section when you complete the previous one, then overlap the slapping to avoid having borderlines appear where various sections begin. Continue until you’ve covered the entire surface, and then allow the drywall compound to dry overnight.