Can You Cover an Interior Faux Stone Wall With Drywall Compound?
- 1). Choose a drywall compound that sets in about 90 minutes. Drywall contractors call this hot mud, and it shrinks less than all-purpose compound. While it generally dries more quickly, the temperature and humidity in your room will also affect drying time.
- 2). Fill a drywall mud pan with hot mud, and use a small, 5- or 6-inch taping knife to scoop up the mud and quickly spread it into the horizontal joints in the faux stone. If the joints are staggered or uneven, that's OK. Use a horizontal fill pattern anyway, starting at the top of the stone and working from side to side.
- 3). Make one complete pass over each row of joints. The idea is to fill the crevices without leaving too much excess mud on higher areas. Remove large globs while they’re fresh, using the taping knife, but don’t focus on a smooth surface right now.
- 4). Let the horizontal mud application dry completely before repeating the process, using vertical strokes to fill vertical joints. Before applying the vertical strokes, clean your mud pan and taping tools.
- 5). Continue to apply thin coats of hot mud, allowing each application to dry completely before adding the next. As you work, you’ll gradually build up the compound until the wall texture is nearly flush. Follow the same fill pattern, horizontal and then vertical.
- 6). Switch to a wider taping blade for subsequent coats once the joints are filled and smooth. A 10- or 12-inch blade spreads the hot mud out over a wider area, reducing thick seams.
- 1). Sand down the wall with a drywall pole sander fitted with a coarse sanding screen once you have a nearly flat wall. Depending on the depth of the crevices, you may have to apply six or more individual mud coats to reach this point.
- 2). Thin the joint compound with water or purchase thinned compound made for texturing walls and ceilings. Pour the compound into a large paint pan and use a thick-nap paint roller to roll a complete coat over the new wall. Roll a 4-foot swatch evenly from the top to the bottom of the wall.
- 3). Smooth the rolled wall with a large drywall trowel that's 12 to 18 inches wide. Place the trowel lightly at the top of the wall and pull it downward gently to form a flat surface.
- 4). Repeat the process until you’ve rolled and smoothed out the entire wall covering the faux stone. No traces of stone should be visible.
- 5). Sand the dried compound, and paint the wall.