Knockdown wall texture

[Joanie M]

We are considering Knockdown texture finish for our living room walls. Does anyone know anything about this? We've found info on it but are not sure about the current finish on the wall. They are now painted with Kilz to make all the wall uniform after some repair work. Is there nay other prep needed? Also, we've removed all our base, crown and chair rail molding. Do we do the knockdown before we replace them or after?
Thanks,
Joanie

[bernie g]

Sounds like your walls are ready with the exception of a quick cleaning.Knock down your finish and then install your new moldings.Nice finish! Have fun!

bernie g

[rodney123]

Yes, it sounds like your walls are ready to texture. I don't know if you are doing a blow-on texture, a brush-on, a roll-on or other, but the important thing to remember is, don't knock it down too soon or you will just smear it. And don't wait too long or it won't knock down very easily without making it crumble.

And be sure to use a topping compound wrather than a base compound. The topping dries more quickly and evenly, and is much easier to sand if need be.

Use a good knock down knife. My favorite is the large Clear Lexon knockdown knife. Use very light pressure at first, until you start to get the finish you are looking for.

After it dries completely, before priming, go over it with a wide wipedown knife to knock off the little pieces that make the wall rough.

Prime and paint. Also, it's much easier to paint your trim BEFORE you put it back up. That way once installed, you will only need to do a little touching up.

Hope this helps.

[plasterguy]

You say your living room walls are primed with Kilz. That means that the walls are no longer porous. For knockdown to work best, it should be applied over a wall that is still able to absorb moisture to some degree. This is what helps the newly applied knockdown to stiffen as moisture is sucked out, so it will flatten nicely without smearing.

In your case, if you are doing the spray type knockdown, you will have to be very careful how you do the knockdown part. It will need extra time to stiffen since the wall itself will not be drawing out the moisture. You are depending more on the air in the room - temperature, humidity, etc. will be factors. So go easy and test small areas first, more inconspicuous places, to see when the time is ripe to flatten.

When you do flatten, you may need to consider using a narrower tool than the big wide blades usually recommended. Good luck!

[Nuggethead 420]

What pressure would you start at for the compressor?