It looks a lot like the icing on a baked Alaska cake.
Yes it could have been applied than pulled with a trowel to make the stipples.It is hard. I mean, it you are painting and those ridges it your knuckles, you will bleed 🙂
What you are saying makes sense, mostly. Though I am torn on thinking it was sprayed though it absolutely could be.
And wow, the name that has been tip of the tongue all this time just hit me! It is stippling! That is the texture that the ceiling has.
It really doesn't look like a spray, looks more like it was pulled into ridges while still thick and wet.
Yessir, that looks exactly like what I need to do. Are you using mud or plaster here? I'm going to have to use plaster, though admittedly, I haven't really worked with it that much before. I have plenty of plywood scraps I can practice on for sure.After the compound was applied by hand or roller, it looks to me like someone used a sponge to create that texture.
In this photo, I'm using a sponge to match knockdown texture on a small wall repair and this is what it looks like before it gets knocked down.