Guess you can say that but it may not be as easy as it seems. You will find matching texture may not be as easy as it seems as well. First you must determine how the present texture was applied and it appears you have done that. You will need a compressor large enough to keep air supplied to the hopper maintaining a constant pressure. I use a PC dbl tank compressor. With the purchase of your new hopper you will probably find a variety of sizes of nozzles. The smaller the hole the finer the texture. Spray distance from the wall (2-3 ft. perhaps)will also affect the splatter and air pressure will do the same. Probably 15-20 lbs will be sufficient. Also the mud consistancy has a great deal to do with the end result, something of a not to thick gravy will probably be best. Then timing the knockdown is something else to be considered. I use a 6" drywall knife for small areas and a 12-14" for larger surfaces. If the texture dries to much prior to the knockdown, sanding may be requires, if to wet, the result may be more of a skim effect. I suggest doing only a wall or two at a time. Do the ceiling first. practice on a piece of sheetrock prior to starting your project. It is not rocket science, however a great deal of patience may be required for best results. And then there is the cleanup!!

Thanks for the reply. I get the feeling that there's going to be alot of trial and error. I'm definitely going to practice before I get started on the actual repair. There are basically 4 areas that need repair: 1. area where I stepped through the ceiling, 2&3. 2 long strips where the joint tape is peeling, 4. crack along wall above bedroom door.

I have access to a decent air compressor. I just wasn't sure if there were regulators I had to buy to maintain a specific pressure (as in auto body painting). This doesn't appear to be the case.

I'm not looking foward to the clean-up, but I can no longer handle the eye-sore.

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

It would be best to purchase a regulator. Think a cheap one will run around $20. Well worth the expense. One other thing, the mud will scrape off easily as soon as it is applied so if it is not what you like, simply scrape off and try again.

I just textured my ceiling last night and it was a first time project for me. Turned out pretty good but I can offer a few pieces of advice, some from mistakes I made.

Buy the spray texture instead of using normal drywall mud. It has a better ability to expand and contract. Also even the non powder version will still have to be thinned with water. Don't try to mix it with anything but a mixer attachment for your drill. You will never get it smooth! After a long time mising with a big stick I ended up with a big glob in the bucker when I poured it into the hopper.

The knockdown look, the part I thought was going to be easy, turned out to be the tricky part. You HAVE to wait until the texture is partially dry or like jrice said, your either going to have to start over, or your going to smooth it all down. Wet texture has a dark color and as it dries it will start to turn a lighter color. The point where you do the knockdown is when most of it is dry except for the thick "globs". The problem is if you don't apply the texture very evenly it will all dry at different rates. Since you are a beginner like me, that will probably happen so you will be on knockdown patrol for a while doing small areas as they dry.

This is a very messy project! Cover any surface in the general vacinity you don't want this stuff on, floor to ceiling. It can be wiped off while still wet, but will still leave a white powder look (especially if the surface is not white) and will need to be re-painted.

If you are doing a ceiling you won't be able to tilt the hopper at more than about a 45 degree angle so you won't be able to get as close to the surface as you would on a wall. To compensate you will need to add a little more pressure to get the texture up there. In my case I used 30 psi on a finish that called for 17-20 psi. At 20 the texture wasn't making it to the ceiling. Also, since higher psi usually gives a finer texture you might need to compensate by using a little larger orifice. Something I wish I would have known because i ended up sith a small to medium texture knockdown when I wanted a large texture. Still looks fine, but not what I was going for when I started.

Don't fill up the hopper, especially if you are doing a ceiling. This stuff is heavy and you will get tired quick! Your holding thing thing at an angle with one hand over your head. Put as little in as you can get away with.

When your done clean out your hopper gun as quick as you can. The more the stuff dries, the harder it is to get out.

Lastly most air compressors come with regulators that will work fine. Just use a compressor with a decent amount of air volume, not one of those little portable ones. What you use for automotive paint are filters and dryers because any dirt or water in the paint will ruin the paint job. We are dealing with water based material here so that stuff isn't necessary. Dryers are also used in applications with heavy use of air tools (like impact wrenches) to lengthen their life but for average use a few drops of oil after your done disperses any moisture that got in there.

If you are just doing patches - forget the hopper and compressor. Just purchase several of the 'texture in a can' products and get to work. Instead of using a joint knife to knock down - use a 10-12" piece of garage door weather stripping (the stuff that goes on the side of the frame with the flap of rubber). The pliable rubber makes the texture just right without leaving 'edges' or flattening out the material. Use very light pressure and go in random patterns.

Remember to cover everything as it is very messy. The cans work perfect after you figure out which nozzle size to use.

We used the spray cans after opening parts of the wall for a plumbing repair. While it's not "perfect" it blends really well with the rest of the wall and you have to really look hard if you don't know where they are.

Just practice first! (Wish I had known about the weatherstripping trick - sounds like it would work great.)

Hello everyone

Wow, great input - it's very much appreciated.

I discovered the compressor I'm going to be using already has a regulator, so at least that part is taken care of.

Thank you for the hopper suggestions ttugrad95, they're very helpful. I had the impression that the ceilings were going to be a challenge because of the angle. So use more pressure (30 psi, right?) with bigger spray outlet for ceilings, and don't fill the hopper completely - got it.

Use spray texture instead of joint compound (etc), wait til partially dry before knocking down and mix using drill w/ mix bit. - will do.

As far as the 'texture in a can' go, I have not had any luck getting the texture to match. The existing texture is far thicker than I could achieve using the cans. This was after multiple trials using a couple different name brands on spare sheetrock I have laying around. I like the weatherstrip idea. I will definitely give that a try.

Thanks again

I am attempting to spray knockdown on my walls and ceilings. My question is, do you spray on a first coat of the mixture let dry then follow up with a second coat and then do the knockdown technique. I have done the trial and error routine. IT has been all ERRORS. Any help is greatly appreciated.