I had to replace a large piece of drywall in the kitchen. I finished it with 3 or 4 thin coats of joint compound and a thin layer of topping compound. That section looks really nice and smooth, the way I'd like the whole wall to be. The original wall is textured. I tried smoothing over other parts of the wall with a thinned out coat of topping compound using a 12" taping knife, but it's going really slow and tough to get it perfectly smooth. What's the trick to this??
(I'm sure this subject has been discussed on other threads but I'm not sure which keywords to search on. -- thnx)

 

I usually sand the old texture, then skim coat and sand again when dry.

No real tricks for this, experience makes it go faster.

 

It would probably be easier to match the texture in the patch than make the whole wall match the smoother repair....anyway....

Bumps in the texture creat headaches when you are trying to skimcoat. It leaves lots of raised ridges. Try this if you are already midway in the process. Put on a skim coat by pulling your 12" taping knife in the same direction throughout the whole wall. This will orientate all the bumps and ridges in the same direction. Scrape the wall lightly with a putty knife after it has dried to get rid of any really high spots. Put on a 2nd skim coat pulling the 12" taping knife again in uniform direction across the whole wall, BUT this time at 90 degrees to the original direction. This will fill in most of the original ridges and leave you with a wall that will have minor defects. Sand the minor defects smooth to blend the 2 skimcoats and then give the wall a final topcoat.

 

forgot to mention........ thinning the j/c slightly and mixing it well, will make it apply easier.

 

You cant get it slick in one coat. Usually takes 3. I would use a lightweight mud instead of the topping. Its lighter and goes on better and is still easy to sand. Also make sure you are using the right side of the knife. When you skim the bend should face out, meaning the ends of your knife wont touch the wall.

 

Thanks for all tips, the most important one being 'patience'! I was only trying to get a perfect finish in one coat without any sanding -- that's not asking too much is it (ha ha). Well I've adjusted my mindset and will do what it takes, sounds like 3 coats minimum, maybe 4. I've got plenty of patience once I plan it into the schedule.

In fact, after the kitchen, I've got a living room wall just begging for a nice smooth finish...

thnx again,