How to Do a Splatter Drywall Texture Patch

Cover the floor beneath the patching area and any nearby furniture with drop cloths to avoid damaging spills from the patching process. Secure the cloths in place with masking tape. Place plastic sheeting onto the walls and cover the entire floor and furnishings with drop cloths if you're patching the ceiling.

Put on a face mask and safety goggles. Strip away all of the texture from the damaged area by spraying the area with water from a hand-held sprayer to wet down the texture material, then scraping the texture away with a putty knife. Allow the area to dry completely for about an hour, then sand it smooth with a coarse sandpaper placed on a sanding block. Wipe down the sanded area with a dry cloth to remove any residue.

Remove any damaged drywall tape and cover the revealed joints with a thin layer of joint compound. Press a strip of wet joint tape over the compound and then smooth the tape out with the putty knife. Allow the compound to dry for about two hours.

Spray the area with a paint sprayer to apply a layer of primer to create a surface for the new texture to adhere to. Let the primer dry for two hours as well.

Pour 1/2 cup of water into a 5-gallon bucket followed by a gallon of premixed joint compound. Mix well with an electric drill equipped with a paddle bit attachment to thin the compound enough to use as texture. Add more water if necessary to create a mixture with the same consistency as cake batter.

Fill the hopper of the drywall texture sprayer with the thinned compound. Attach a 3/8-inch nozzle to the sprayer. Set the air pressure of the sprayer to 30 psi and the sprayer to use a medium spraying pattern.

Hold the nozzle of the sprayer about 2 feet from the blank surface. Spray the texture from the ceiling downwards, moving the sprayer in a back and forth motion to distribute the compound to the surface evenly. The texture will form naturally on the wall where it hits in splatters. Try to match the texture distribution on the undamaged areas of the surface when spraying. Faster movement with the nozzle creates a more disbursed texture, while moving the sprayer slowly creates a closer pattern. Allow the texture to dry overnight.

Paint the patched area using the same color paint as the rest of the surface to blend in the patch. Use a paint roller to apply the paint in overlapping rows across the texture surface. Wait 48 hours' drying time after painting before clearing away the protective plastic and drop cloths.