Skim coat for a smooth new wall.
Smooth walls are standard in most homes, but if stripped wallpaper, gouges or pictures hung with tape have damaged the surface of the wallboard, you can skim coat the wall to return it to its former smoothness. Sheetrock, a brand name of wallboard, is made from powdered gypsum particles, tightly compressed and covered with a protective paper face. Skimming the sheetrock is messy but not physically demanding. Recruit a friend because it takes two people to do the job efficiently.
Instructions
1. Protect the floor with a drop cloth, and cover windows, doors and adjoining walls with painter's tape that features an attached plastic drop cloth that you can roll out to protect large items. Wear old clothing, splatter-proof goggles and gloves.
2. Combine joint compound with just enough water to make it the consistency of thick cream, and fill a paint pan about halfway with the thick liquid.
3. Submerge a paint roller in the thinned mixture, and roll the wall, starting at the edge of the wall and rolling from the ceiling to the floor in a thick, even coat. Roll about a 4-foot strip.
4. Skim the wet compound by placing a 14-inch wallboard trowel at the top of the wall and pulling it straight down, leveling out the compound as you go. Skim all the way to the bottom of the wall. Reposition the trowel at the bottom of the wall, with the handle up, and pull it lightly upward a couple of feet to even out excess compound on the lower portion of the wall.
5. Work with an assistant. One of you will roll the compound on, and the other one will skim the mixture smooth.
6. Repeat the procedure across the entire wall and then let the compound dry completely.
7. Attach a sanding screen to a pole sander, and sand the wall to smooth out bumps and ridges. Wear a respirator mask while sanding.
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