Painting Over Mud Swirls on the Walls

Wall Preparation

• 1

  Move any furniture, carpets and other items from the room containing the mud-swirled walls you want to paint.

• 2

  Mix 2 ounces of Borax, 1 teaspoon of ammonia and 2 quarts of warm water in a bucket. Stir the soap mixture with an old sock. Wear latex gloves to keep your hands dry.

• 3

  Wring out excess soap mixture and scrub the wall you want to paint from the bottom up, using the mixture-soaked sock. Scrubbing from bottom up keeps dirt and debris from soiling clean areas. Use a clean, old sock when the one you are using becomes too soiled. An old sock won't leave strings on your mud swirl walls.

• 4

  Continue scrubbing one wall at a time until all the walls are clean. Let the walls air dry thoroughly before moving on to the next section.

Painting

• 5

  Sand mud-swirled walls with a piece of 220-grit sandpaper, if you don’t want the swirls to show through the new layer of paint. Otherwise, skip to step 3. Use a new piece of sandpaper when old pieces become smooth and soiled.

• 6

  Continue sanding until the walls are completely smooth. Wipe the walls thoroughly with a soft cloth or rag to remove any sanding dust.

• 7

  Fill a paint tray with latex or other type of paint and apply the paint to a roller. Start rolling the paint on one wall, using a "V" formation. Roll the paint over the mud swirls so the letter V is painted on the wall. Paint a straight line in the middle of the V to complete the formation. This formation provides paint evenly to all areas of the mud swirls.

• 8

  Use a paintbrush to paint areas and trim that you can't reach with the roller. Let the walls air dry and repeat steps 3 and 4 to apply a second coat of paint to the walls. Allow four to six hours for the paint to completely dry.