Spray Texture

Piney

Greetings--

Im going to try my hand at spray texturing. I bought a hopper type spray gun to try with my compressor.

I'd like to apply a "fine" texture to the walls somthing similar to a rolled on variety. I'd like to apply a heavier texture to the ceilings. I plan to practice on some sheetrock scraps.

The main question I have it what is a rule of thumb does one use to thin the mud ?? Some sort of a general recipe I can start with ?

Also-- how does one go about spraying a ceiling with a hopper-type gun ?

Thanks--

AtlanticWBConst.

We don't use a general recipe, only because, we may use different brands and 'kinds' of mud (Light weight, regular mix, etc) What we do is mix it based on the consistency we can get it too. That consistency would be like: 'pancake batter'....
If the mix sits for more than 1 hour, you should re-mix the compound, possibly adding a 'little more' water to keep it loose.


You have to hold the gun and trigger with your dominate hand and use your other arm, raised above your head - to hold the handle on the hopper. Use both arms -moving in the same 'spray-stroke' direction. Spray in sweeping movements (Like an air brush painter does if they were painting an automobile).... this way you also avoid heavier inconsistant spraying when you get to the end of your spray strokes. You want to 'feather'/'blend/ the end strokes...

Be prepared, this stuff goes EVERYWHERE. You should wear goggles.

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torpainter

I'd like to make a suggestion.
Whatever you decide to do ,go pick up some cheap primer and mix it in with your stucco.This will give it a cure and prevent it from flaking off .It will also be easier to paint in a few years

AtlanticWBConst.

If spraying over existing painted surfaces, I can see the advantage of adding a primer to the mix.
Tho, I don't quite understand what you mean by ; ..... "give it a cure"...?
Please explain?

BTW- This is not stucco the poster is asking about. Stucco is not applied with a sprayer. Sprayers are used for: knockdown, orange-peel and popcorn. By the poster's comments, I am assuming that he or she is referring to orange-peel texture.
If spraying onto new drywall surfaces, there is no need to add any primer or paint. The compound mixture will stick fast to the surface, since it is manufactured this way. Additionally, you can get inconsistencies in the spray (clogs, drips, splats, chunks) and these will get onto the walls and ceilings. We regularly go back and either lightly scrape these off, or run a sand pole over all the work (if we want the 'blended' look)...Adding paint to the mix, will make it difficult to do that last step, as it will seal the mixture and make it difficult to make any corrections...Priming last...over the 'finished work' will seal and protect it when the process is fully completed.

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- Build Well -

torpainter

Maybe you call it something else ,but north of 49 ,its popcorn.knockdown,etc stucco and its sprayed.There are knockdown stuccos that are done by hand too.
Getting back to spray I have often added primer to the mix(stucco here) .What I mean by cure that if you touch it with your fingers it wont come off.If you go in these subdivisions that have been done 4 or 5 years ago,you can touch the stucco and it will fall off. Adding a bit of primer to the mix prevents this.
In your case it sounds like you do custom work and it might not be suitable

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