Hi all,
I’ve been watching the drywall discussions and have learned alot.
Finished a bullnose surround around a window and it looks good.
Couldn’t have done it without your help! But now I have a finish
question.
I’d like to do a finish coat in what’s here (Phoenix) called
Santa Fe style. It’s a smooth topcoat with an occasional irregularly
shaped void in the smooth surface. It’s definately troweled on and
not blown. It’s almost like they tried to do a smooth skim coat but
didn’t completely cover in places. It’s not a rough trowel.
Can anyone tell me about the technique used to apply this finish?
As always, TIA for any help you can give.
Glenn
Replies
Here, if it's what you describe, it's called knock down. It is sprayed on, splatter style and then a flat knife is used to "knock down" the high spots, effectively leaving a smooth finish with craters. Coarseness depends on thickness of spray.
Is this a full wall, room or just to match existing in the area you finished? There are small aerosol cans that will apply the splattered finish, tho these are used in repair mostly.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Edited 9/9/2005 1:56 pm ET by calvin
I've seen a couple of things that could be what you are describing. One is exactly what Calvin describes. Sprayed on, knocked down (there is an animal called a knock down knife - long, plastic, flexible) and the other is actually a trowelled on finish, but I think from your description that you're seeing #1. Troweled on drywall that I have seen doesn't much look like an attempt at smooth. It looks like an attempt at stucco. It can create neat effects, i.e. followed with faux painting, but I don't recall seeing an entire room or house done this way.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
is this the look;
http://www.artsparx.com/pec_venetianplaster.asp
No that's not it and it's definately not traditional knockdown. I've
got that in some other parts of my house. In this surface you can
find areas that are absolutely smooth for 1.5 feet in any direction
and then a few little irregular depressions, then literally smooth
again. It's as if you were trying to be smooth but missing spots
here and there. Would it help if I shot a pic and put it on my
website?glenn
I helped trim a big house with exactly the finish you described. I hadn't seen it before and asked a drywall guy how it was put on. It is basically troweled on like a skim coat of mud--except for the depressions. He said after you get the hang of it it's not all that hard to do and it's easy to sand after the last coat. He claimed it isn't any more time consuming than a skim coat once you get the hang of it. That's all I know. Hope it helps.
Oh, I almost forgot to add that the two variations on this theme are irregular random sized "depressions/missed" spots and somewhat tidy squares.
Hey Glenn,
I lived in Phx for 25 years. What they use is thinned joint compound with a knife/blade that's 15-18' wide. There is a curve in the blade up near the handle. The jc is spread evenly with the blade at 20-30(?) degree angle to the drywall. A few passes over the jc renders it smooth. If the blade is almost parallel to the wall it will drag a patch and give you the area that looks like it was missed.
I'd send you a photo of the blade , but I haven't seen it since the big move east about 4 yrs ago.
If you habla espaniol, the mud guys will explain it to you.
Mark
Sounds like what we call "skip-trowel", looks like a hand-plastered finish. Use a wide flat blade with some flex, thin topping, over dust-free drywall (it doesn't skip well if its too dusty). Light touch makes the blade "skip", leaving voids. Then you go back shortly after applying, and knock it down a little flatter, and eliminate any blade lines. Attractive finish, and very easy to match when you patch!