How to Get the Knockdown Texture on Your Walls

Remove existing wallpaper by spraying it with a water bottle filled with warm water and then scraping it off the wall with a wallpaper scraper. With the wallpaper removed, sand the walls with 60-grit sandpaper to remove glue residue and to scuff the walls up for the textured finish. If you do not have to remove wallpaper, just sand the walls with the 60-grit sandpaper.

Wipe the wall down with a tack cloth to remove sanding dust.

Tape off surfaces you do not want to texture such as crown molding, floor molding and window molding. Remove cover plates and outlet covers with a screwdriver and then place drop cloths on all furniture and on the floor.

Fill a 2-gallon bucket with approximately 2 inches of tap water and then fill the remainder of the bucket with aggregate texture powder. Mix the contents of the bucket. Add more water until you have the consistency of pancake batter. Wait 15 minutes before you move on.

Add additional water to restore the mixture to a thickness of pancake batter. Expect it to stiffen a bit during the 15-minute wait period. Pour the mixture into your airless spray painter.

Apply the texture to the wall in 3-by-3-foot sections. Do a 40-percent coverage ratio: when you make a single pass from left to right, 40 percent of the wall during that pass should receive texture. Wait 15 minutes before you move on.

Slide a rubber squeegee or knockdown knife across the surface of the texture to knock down the top points of the texture. Overlap each row by 3 inches to ensure you do not miss any high points. Wipe the squeegee clean after each pass to avoid buildup.