Skimming the walls

Sand-textured walls and kitchens do not mix. These sand-textured walls are difficult to clean and equally difficult to match textures if you have to repair a hole in the wall. Unfortunately for us, our kitchen had sand texture on the walls and ceiling. Yuck.

We knew the sandpaper-like walls had to go. We also knew skim-coating the walls was in our future. We also remembered what a pain it was when we skim-coated the bathroom after removing wallpaper in 2015. There had to be an easier way. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, we stumbled across the Magic Trowel.

The appeal was simple and was (almost) a "just add water" scenario, but one that drew our skepicism. It seemed too good to be true:

1. Thin drywall mud to consistency of mayonnaise
2. Using a paint roller, roll drywall mud onto walls
3. Moisten Magic Trowel
4. Draw Magic Trowel across mud to smooth
5. Repeat

While picking up paint at the local Sherwin-Williams store, we picked up a Magic Trowel in the hopes that it would produce magical results.

First, we scrubbed all the walls and ceiling with industrial-strength degreaser (we chose Zep Fast 505). It was a fantastic degreaser in that it degreased surfaces very well, removing 20 years of cooking residue easily. However, it was miserable to work with and required use of masks and gloves. Yuck.

Next, we painted the walls with a sealing primer to ensure we would have a good bond to the existing painted surfaces. In this case, we used a Zinsser 1-2-3, a trusted product that has worked well for us in the past.

Once all the primer was dry, we followed the Magic Trowel instructions. We first added water, then mixed using a paddle mixer on a drill. I burned out my old corded drill in the process (literally: smoke was pouring out of the vents at the tail end of the mixing process. Oops. I didn't like that drill anyway.)

I put a 3/4" nap roller cover on a roller frame, put it in the mud bucket, and started to roll the mud onto the walls. It seemed totally unnatural.

Bucket of mud, consistency of mayonnaise

Being skeptical of the process, I started behind the refrigerator, so any terrible results would be hidden behind said appliance. I got the hang of the process pretty quickly!

Roll on the mud! 

Smooth it with the trowel! 

About 90 minutes later, we were done. Final results: very smooth finish with no remaining sand texture! I am pleased to report that the Magic Trowel delivered on its promise and actually provided magical results.

Smooth. Glass-smooth.

Onto the boring and less magical stuff: after the skim coat dried, I took a vacation day to extend the long weekend. I rented a drywall sander to sand smooth the surface before putting up a coat of primer in advance of the final paint coat.

We are thrilled with the results and most importantly, that it is easier to clean.

This project was completed over Labor Day weekend--well before the installation of counters and floor--but we didn't have time to post about it until now.