How do I smooth out a wall that has been covered with popcorn finish?
Question:The house was flipped, and to cover over defects (the house is 1920 three decker), the flipper covered the walls in three rooms with a popcorn finish and painted over them-they have a texture akin to a ceiling, but covered with a layer of paint. The period moulding and floorboards would be difficult to remove if I wanted new drywall. What are my options?
Answers:
If the flipper just installed the texture and painted over it it should be easy to remove. You will need a 12" drywall knife and scrape it off. Try a small area to see how easy it will come off. DO NOT SAND OFF!! This will just make a huge mess. If you are lucky it should come off in big strips as the paint will hold it together. If not it is still not to bad. You should be able to do an entire wall in about 15-20 minutes. You will probably spent more time cleaning up the scraping. Once it is all removed you will need to float the walls with joint compound to make smooth again. If the walls are really bad you make want to consider hiring a professional to float out.
Lots of sandpaper on the end of a stick. It should come right off but it can be messy. Have someone vacuum while you work. There is also an electric sander with a built in vacuum that can be rented.The bad news is the texture can't be compressed. It will just pop back up. It must be removed. The good news is that it isn't hard to sand off.
I know exactly what you are talking about, as they put that stuff on ceilings, for better acoustics, or to make the room look bigger. I hate that stuff, so to smooth it out, we used a big, paint scraper, and scraped it off. Once you start though, you got to get it all off, or the walls will not look good. I would try an area where it is not to visible, and see if that stuff will scrape off. You can use a sander, but that will make a big ole mess,so try scraping first.
I know you really have some work ahead of you. You have to get a trowell and scrap it off.I have done it you better get friends involed.Time consuming.Good luck.
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