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J U M P TO G U I D E J U M P TO V I D E O PRINT GUIDE
Want modern smooth wall texture in your home? Follow this DIY tutorial to learn how to skim coat a textured wall to get
a beautiful smooth finish and get rid of that ugly bumpy wall texture!
We’ve done this many times in our remodeled homes and it’s an easy DIY — just takes some practice and patience and labor.
I’ve shared a little bit about how we skim coat to achieve our smooth wall texture when we built our bathroom built-ins and
when we added a layer of soundproofing drywall to our master bedroom.
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Today I’m sharing all the details for prepping and skim coating a wall to give it a smooth finish over the existing texture.
This post and video includes all the details about how to smooth textured walls for a beautiful flat looking wall.
We like our skim-coating technique because it gives us great results, even on our 50+ year old walls.
We applied this skim coat to smooth out the knockdown texture on our walls (shown below), but this technique will work for
orange peel texture or any different textures (even popcorn walls!).
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If the drywall paper is ripped, you’ll likely want to start with a peel stop primer/sealer to give the joint compound a good base.
Then you’ll pick up the skim coating process after the prep step below. I did this when we retrofitted with soundproofing
drywall and it worked great!
Answer: These are just two words for the same thing! Joint compound is the official term and what you’ll see printed on the
bucket. Drywall mud is the unofficial term for the same product (which we also often call plaster), or you might hear “drywall
compound” too. We use these terms interchangeably in the post and video.
This post contains affiliate links. Learn more and read our full disclosure policy here.
Here is a full video tutorial of how I created the smooth wall finish. (Be sure to subscribe to the Remodelaholic channel to see
the other projects we’re working on!)
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Materials & Tools Needed to Skim Coat for Smooth Wall Texture
To smooth your textured walls, you’ll just need a couple buckets of each joint compound (drywall mud) per room.
This amount of joint compound covered our walls which were 15′ by 12′ at 8′ tall. A total of about 1395 sqft of wall surface
without the door and windows.
An important note about your drywall joint knife: The blade of a drywall knife (aka plaster knife) is slightly curved to help
apply plaster or mud evenly without leaving lines along the right and left edges of the blade. As you apply the mud with the
knife, be sure to keep that curved edge against the wall.
Begin by covering your flooring with drop cloths or plastic. This will get messy!
If there are any major dents that require repair, fix those first using spackle or joint compound.
Minor surface imperfections, scratches and dents (less than ~1/4″ deep) will be easily covered by the skim coating, but that hole
where your couch leg nearly punctured the drywall (oops!) would be better filled before beginning.
1. Remove switch and outlet covers and any hardware from curtains or blinds, decor, etc.
2. Wash the wall with a small amount of mild detergent added to a bucket of water.
3. Dry the wall thoroughly with old towels or rags, making sure they are as lint-free as possible.
applying the first thin coat of joint compound
Be sure to stir the joint compound well before beginning so the texture and consistency is uniform throughout! I recommend
using a mixing paddle attachment for a drill.
Apply a thin coat of all-purpose joint compound to the entire wall using a wide drywall knife (10″ or 12″).
You want this first coat of mud mixture to fill in the “pockets” of the previous texture. Don’t stress too much about this layer
being perfectly smooth. Just cover the wall texture and then come back for the corners later (see below).
Allow the mud to dry 8-10 hours (following the manufacturer instructions).
Note: Some prefer to apply the drywall compound with thick-nap paint roller and then use the knife to smooth it. I prefer just using
the drywall knife to apply.
Apply a thin layer of mud to the corners, and use the corner tool to smooth it out.
Then, use a wide drywall knife to feather out the edge of this fresh mud, applying slight pressure to the edge *away* from the
fresh mud to level it out without creating a line in the mud.
Layer 2: Skim Coat to Fill Holes
This second layer of drywall mud is another skim coat using the all-purpose joint compound.
Lightly sand the wall using either a hand sanding block or, like I did, a damp sponge to keep the dust down.
Pay special attention to covering any holes from the first layer. Touch up corners as needed on this layer as well.
Depending on your previous walls, you may need more layers of the all-purpose joint compound before you’re ready for the final
smooth skim coat.
Once your foundation layers of joint compound are dry and bubble-free, you’re ready to finish with the final smooth coat.
Lightly sand the walls again — I used the vacuum sander for a quick light sanding job.
Apply a thin smooth layer of top coat joint compound using a large plaster knife. You may want to add some water to get a
texture you’re happy working with.
Allow to dry.
applying the final topping skim coat layer
Be sure to wear proper safety gear when sanding drywall mud! A particulate respirator dust mask at a minimum, and
safety glasses are helpful as well. I also recommend using plastic sheeting to block off the doorway to contain the dust to the
room you’re working in.
Since you’ve done an awesome job smoothing out the walls already, the last step is to lightly sand the walls to finish.
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I highly recommend using a vacuum sander attachment to keep the dust down for the initial sanding.
Then, use a spongy sanding block to hand sand and smooth out the last of the texture remaining on the walls. Pay attention to
any imperfections or scratches and smooth those out.
Use a shop box light at the bottom of the wall and from various angles to help see any uneven spots of texture.
With this room, however, we installed a whitewashed pine plank ceiling and we love it!
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4. Minor surface imperfections, scratches and dents (less than ~1/4″ deep) will be
easily covered by the skim coating, but that hole where your couch leg nearly
punctured the drywall (oops!) would be better filled before beginning.
5. Then, follow these 3 steps to prepare walls for a smooth texture:
6. Remove switch and outlet covers and any hardware from curtains or blinds, decor,
etc.
7. Wash the wall with a small amount of mild detergent added to a bucket of water.
8. Dry the wall thoroughly with old towels or rags, making sure they are as lint-free
as possible.
Layer 1: Rough Skim Coat
1. This first thin layer of joint compound is a rough coat, meant to cover all of the existing wall texture.
2. Be sure to stir the joint compound well before beginning so the texture and consistency is uniform throughout! I
recommend using a mixing paddle attachment for a drill.
3. Apply a thin coat of all-purpose joint compound to the entire wall using a wide drywall knife (10″ or 12″).
4. You want this first coat of mud mixture to fill in the “pockets” of the previous texture. Don’t stress too much about this
layer being perfectly smooth. Just cover the wall texture and then come back for the corners later (see below).
5. Allow the mud to dry 8-10 hours (following the manufacturer instructions).
6. Lightly sand the walls again — I used the vacuum sander for a quick light sanding job.
7. Apply a thin smooth layer of top coat joint compound using a large plaster knife. You may want to add some water to
get a texture you’re happy working with.
8. Allow to dry.
3. I highly recommend using a vacuum sander attachment to keep the dust down for the initial sanding.
4. Then, use a spongy sanding block to hand sand and smooth out the last of the texture remaining on the walls. Pay
attention to any imperfections or scratches and smooth those out.
5. Use a shop box light at the bottom of the wall and from various angles to help see any uneven spots of texture.
N OT E S
Be sure to wear proper safety gear when sanding drywall mud! A particulate respirator dust mask at a minimum, and
safety glasses are helpful as well. I also recommend using plastic sheeting to block off the doorway to contain the dust
to the room you’re working in.
*This amount of joint compound covered our walls which were 15′ by 12′ at 8′ tall. A total of about 1395 sqft of wall
surface without the door and windows.
Note: Some prefer to apply the drywall compound with thick-nap paint roller and then use the knife to smooth it. I
prefer just using the drywall knife to apply.
An important note about your drywall joint knife: The blade of a drywall knife (aka plaster knife) is slightly curved to
help apply plaster or mud evenly without leaving lines along the right and left edges of the blade. As you apply the mud
with the knife, be sure to keep that curved edge against the wall.
LORENE
+ posts
Lorene has been behind the scenes here at Remodelaholic for more than a decade! She believes that planning projects
and actually completing them are two different hobbies, but that doesn't stop her from planning at least a dozen projects
at any given time. She spends her free time creating memories with her husband and 5 kids, traveling as far as she can
afford, and partaking of books in any form available.
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3 Comments
Walt says:
December 2, 2021 at 9:12 pm
This information is spot on. We run a handyman company in Concord, NC and can attest to that! Like you say in the article, skim
coating is more about patience than anything else. When people do call us to do this for them, it because they don’t have the
bandwith for it.
Reply
KAt says:
November 29, 2022 at 5:23 pm
Why did you mix the joint compound with water? Isn’t it pre-mixed? On the home depot listing it says not to mix it with
anything
Reply
Justin says:
November 30, 2022 at 3:34 pm
I mixed it with water to thin it out to be smoother for the final coat.
Reply
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