Problem with Home-made Textured Paint - Help!

Wasn't cutting Corners

The Home Dept where I live does not carry this Behr Texture in the stores. It has to be special ordered. I am tryiing to finish my renovation in time for Christmas - it will be at least 2 weeks before the order arrives. Also, I find it odd that Behr plus numerous other sites act like creating your own texture is not only easy but commonly done. I don't mind your "bluntness" but you had nothing useful to add so I really don't see why you wasted your time. And as far as "screwed" - my Mom didn't raise me to be a loser - I find a way to make things work. It may have taken a little more elbow grease but the job on my walls surpases that of any contractors I've had work for me in the past 2 years.
Now, if anyone actually has any useful input I am very curious as to why all the websites that tell you how to make this, including DIY, talk as if you add the powder by the cupfuls; one even said 1 cup per gallon. To come even close to my Behr consistency I had practically more powder than paint and it still was droppy and required vigilant babying to make it work. and again I'd like to ad: I did get it to work just a pain in the butt -- but sometimes you have to improvise if you want the job done. I'm sure there are at least a few out there who can appreciate that which is obviously lost on you.

I did have something useful to say; I pointed out that changing from what worked to what was a game of chance was a mistake. A good percentage of the people who come here do so because they made a mistake.

What, or how, does saying you're screwed equate with being a "loser"? I never said, or implied, that you were a loser, why did you infer it?

Why, in your reply to me did you say that it worked, though a pain in the butt, yet in your initial post you said you couldn't get it to work?

When it comes to painting, everything is presented as "easy". Well, this forum and those who come here prove otherwise. It's been a pet peeve of mine for years that HD, Lowes, etc mislead the public into thinking such. It's not. I've said many times I've been at this for some two and half decades and I'm still learning and still struggle to make my brush and paint do what I need it to do at times.

Finally, in order for someone to tell you how to make one product, your homemade concoction, replicate another product, the store bought one, we would have to be able to see both outcomes, and even then we probably couldn't provide you more advice than I or Matthew1970 gave you. That's a highly specific situation, especially since most of us are not Behr users, and few of us deal with texture. Believe it not, texture finishes are only regional choices. I see very little to no texture in the mid-Atlantic region where I live. However, there are those here who could probably advise you on doing your project with one product/technique or another, but not a combination of both.

If you're so good good at improvising, and apparently I'm not, and it's "lost" on me, please improvise your way to success on this project. Other than that, the question of what you're doing wrong with your mix is probably more appropriately answered at the site where you got the formula.
Over and out, and with all due respect.

shadowcat said:

Hi:
I started a project using Behr Smooth Texture Paint. I ran out and researched that I could make a substitute homemade texture paint out of joint compound mixed into my paint.
I got plain latex paint & dry joint compound. Based on all the info I found, I should not have to mix all that much dry powder to get into a nice texture. Well I now at equal parts paint to drywall powder and altho it seems sort of thick when i roll it onto my walls it droops or still runs. Kind of like egg whites that won't stiffen up. It eventually drys hard as a rock but I did a "knock down" technique with the Behr & I simply can't get to that stage with this stuff. I have to keep re-rolling it as it dries just to keep some definition and to keep it from wheeping down the walls. Thank goodness I don't need to do this much longer but what the heck am I doing wrong?

Click to expand...

Hey Shadow...

Normally I'm not one to recommend adding anything non-paint related to finish products to enhance performance or other app characteristics. Anything you add to this product will diminish the coating's integrity and ability to provide a durable, stain resistant finish...

Having said that...Try this: If we're talking about a gallon of product, mix about 1/4 cup of regular, household corn starch into about 1 cup of warm water until completely dissolved - allow mixture to cool - then slowly mix a little bit into paint concoction with a drill mixer. If you've used corn starch in cooking, you know a little goes a long way - don't mix the full amount into paint yet...mix only a small portion with drill mixer, then allow to set several minutes for product to thicken up - with that, you should be able to determine how much more will be needed to get to the desired consistency.

If this works (which it should), I'd then recommend priming surface with a high quality acrylic primer, followed by 1 or 2 coats of an un-altered finish product to provide the protection one expects from a new app of paint.

thanks everyone

thanks everyone for your stories and input and suggestions. i was able to finish my project but it was a bit of a pain. I ended up in this dilemna while painting my dining room which has a chair rail splitting the wall about 1/3 way up. i used the whole 2 gal bucket of behr smooth texture that i'd purchased to do the top part; using the knock down tech. this requires applying the texture twice so it used a lot of it. (looks great tho). as i stated i really wanted to finish the bottom so i could get my house put back together, not just bec it's the holidays but i'm sick of having stuff crammed in my living room and bedroom and the dust and crap all over. anyway, i did order more behr smooth texture but thinking it wouldn't be in for the 2 wks stated researched options of making something similar. i did finally get the process to work "ok" - but i used a LOT of the joint compound powder in the paint. and i mean a LOT. I lost count - i just kept adding it until the darn paint wouldn't run "weep" down the walls. I say "weep" bec it didn't run exactly - wasn't that bad. i used a texture roller which normally would hold a bit of a point when rolled on. my home-made mix would make the point but then it would droop down so it made it difficult for me to do the same 2 step knock down technique i did up top. in order for me to get this to work, every 10-15 min or so as it was drying i went back and ran the texture roller over the area i'd "painted/textured" with my homemade mix to get it to stick up again. for any cooks out there it was like making meringue & getting it to hold a stiff point. yes it was a pain but it was means to an end. once the area was dry enough i used one of those had sanders that look like a dishwashing scrunge and lightly went over the surface to smooth out any bumps. It actually looks pretty nice! Not exactly matching the top, knockdown tech but it's close enough and solid. I will be painting over this, with either a primer coat, then paint or a paint w/ primer in it. To reply to a few comments: I wasn't using Behr paint with the powder, it was Glidden w/o primer . when i first posted I had not yet found a solution but just was determined and eventually did get it to work. But let me tell you something: for the cost of the gallon of paint, the box of drywall powder and the extra time and aggravation -- get the Behr Smooth Texture paint!! I actually got (2) 2- gallon tubs of it from Home Depot for $13.67 each. That however was a "gift" they didn't intend - when I got home and was checking the recite my boyfriend gave me I was pretty happy as the gal only charged me the advertised "per gallon" price not realizing it actually sells for $32 per tub online! I'm glad I bought 2 - Merry Christmas to me I've spent a ton of money there lately but I know, I should go back and tell them about the error, please don't make me feel guilty. Anyway: yes - you can make your own texture paint - you can also scoop out your eyeballs with a teaspoon - not that you'd want to; even in a pinch! ha ha Use the Behr - it's actually fun to use and makes a great knock down, linen and stucco texture - also any technique where you might run a brush of sorts thru. I would think you could take and thicken this up a bit if you need something a bit thicker and be leaps & bounds ahead over making something from scratch . Best of Luck and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!