painting over a textured wall???

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okay i need some help here we recently bought a house and we are doing some fixing up. In our bedroom there was some ugly wallpaper so i got that all off fine. Now on the rest of the walls half the wall(the top half) is painted white which is fine problem is the bottom half of the wall is textured with this ugly purple wood grain.they applied a light purple paint first to the entire bottom half of the wall and then it looks like they had some sort of wood grain that they pressed on with a deeper purple. i have tried sanding this with both sand paper and sanding blocks but im not getting anywhere at all. i tried an electris hand sander but that also didnt work that great and would probbaly end up wrecking the drywall if anything.So now i am at a loss as to what to do?One person suggested adding a thin coat of drywall mud and then sanding it but i dunno if that would work either?any suggestions would be appreciated

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I think you should sand the whole thing down. And try not to ruin the sheetrock/drywall. But, I'm no professional.

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Will the texture still be apparent with three or four coats of paint over it? (The old San Francisco painting solution...)

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If it's the texture that is the problem, stop sanding and spread a coat or two of mud on as was suggested. Do it in two layers if the texture is really rough and try to get it on as smooth as possible so you won't spend a great deal of effort trying to get it flat.

If it's only the purple color with wood grain (what WERE they thinking?) just use a fluffy roller, 3/8 to a 1/2 an inch thick, to paint one coat of Bullseye One Two Three over the offending color. It dries in a half hour. Paint over with whatever color you want.

http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/047719/047719020011sm.jpg

Joe(Alway opt for the least amount of dust)Nation

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Assuming that it really is just texture applied directly to the drywall I'd agree with Joe's approach. Also, don't sand the joint compound to smooth it. Apply it using a wide taping knife as smoothly as you can. Go back after an hour with a very damp (not dripping!) sponge and smooth off the surface. You can probably eliminate sanding (and the mess) entirely that way. Don't apply a lot of pressure with the sponge. If you go lightly over the surface in 18" circles you can smooth things out very nicely. Rinse the sponge out often to keep it clean while you are working (use a bucket of water to rinse in).

After the compound dries (at least a full 24 hours) you'll want to use a primer/sealer over anyplace where you applied the joint compound or else you'll end up having to put 5 or 6 coats of paint over it to get a decent looking finished wall.

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[Also, don't sand the joint compound to smooth it.]

okay thanks for the answers all i want is a wall that is one color none of this two different colors and wallpaper border crap maybe its the hill billy in me but i think it looks stupid.ive been kinda nervous to try the compound in case i screw up but i think i will just try it on the wall with the closet doors it has the least amount to cover and see how i do. I was just wondering if you could explain what you mean about not sanding it to smooth it? Do you mean to spread it out as smooth as i can and let it dry. then when i go over it with the wet sponge just to smooth it out so it all looks even? also what kinda sponge do i wanna use just like a sea foam sponge or something more rigid?

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Fishin is right and I left out the part about the sponge instead of sanding in my answer. You'll need just a basic sponge but one large enough to get the job done before Christmas,

http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/Murals/Tools/C31_Large%20Sponge_small.jpg

Don't overcomplicate this. Read what Fishin wrote:

Quote:

Also, don't sand the joint compound to smooth it. Apply it using a wide taping knife as smoothly as you can. Go back after an hour with a very damp (not dripping!) sponge and smooth off the surface. You can probably eliminate sanding (and the mess) entirely that way. Don't apply a lot of pressure with the sponge. If you go lightly over the surface in 18" circles you can smooth things out very nicely. Rinse the sponge out often to keep it clean while you are working (use a bucket of water to rinse in).

emphasis mine.

When you start smoothing with the damp sponge the compound makes this nice muddy-clay slick soupy stuff that is easily made even. You'll get good at it very quickly.

Joe(We want to see the pictures-before and after)Nation

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Joe Nation wrote:

Fishin is right and I left out the part about the sponge instead of sanding in my answer. You'll need just a basic sponge but one large enough to get the job done before Christmas,

Don't overcomplicate this. Read what Fishin wrote:

Quote:
Also, don't sand the joint compound to smooth it. Apply it using a wide taping knife as smoothly as you can. Go back after an hour with a very damp (not dripping!) sponge and smooth off the surface. You can probably eliminate sanding (and the mess) entirely that way. Don't apply a lot of pressure with the sponge. If you go lightly over the surface in 18" circles you can smooth things out very nicely. Rinse the sponge out often to keep it clean while you are working (use a bucket of water to rinse in).
emphasis mine.

When you start smoothing with the damp sponge the compound makes this nice muddy-clay slick soupy stuff that is easily made even. You'll get good at it very quickly.

Joe(We want to see the pictures-before and after)Nation

Quite right Joe!

hogie - I pick up my sponges in the car washing supplies section of the hardware store. They don't need to be natural sponge or anything. They do need to be bigger than what you'd use to wash your dishes in the kitchen sink with though.

Throw some joint compound on a garage wall or a piece of scrap plywood. Do a 2'x2' section and play with it there to get the swing of things. It really isn't all that hard and you'll get up to speed in a few minutes once you actually do it. It's just one of those things that a lot of people have never done so they are hesitant at first.

If you think you are mucking it up just stop and let it dry a bit. Then you can try again an hour later.

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Excellent suggestion, Fish. Practice is always good.

Joe(My boys painted a lot of closets and garages before I let them try it in the house.)Nation

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k thanks for the help guys i'll let ya know how she goes

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k well i spread the compound on the wall and got it pretty smooth i let it dry for about 2 hours then i went over it with a sponge. i guess i must have been pressing to hard or maybe the sponge was to wet cause all it really did was wash the compound off.I decided to put two coats on now and then sponge .I will see how that goes.Getting the compound on is kinda hard on the first coat thou but once you have one very thin coat on then the second coat goes on nicely.anyways i will take some pics here and show you how it was before and after.

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painting over a textured wall???

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