| Filler
Materials |
| There are many, many products on the
market to repair damaged walls. Each have various properties and benefits. |
| Joint Compound - Joint
compound is an inexpensive filler material that spreads and sands very easily.
These are made in two types: drying and setting. Drying-type compounds, which
contain water, must be allowed to dry completely to ensure creation of a strong
joint. They can only be used with paper joint tapes and dry overnight to an
easy-to-sand but relatively weak surface. Setting type compounds harden
chemically before drying. This makes them particularly useful for where speed
is of the essence. Setting type compounds can be used with both fiberglass and
paper joint tapes. Generally speaking, stronger compounds tend to be more
damage resistant and more difficult to sand, while lighter-weight, more easily
sanded compounds tend to develop less strength. |
|
Spackle is actually a
trademarked name that has been generalized to include all kinds of patching
pastes. Spackle is generally used to fill cracks and holes in small,
non-loadbearing applications. The traditional spackle is a heavy paste made
usually with talc and a vinyl binder. This kind of spackle has a tendency to
shrink when used in deep or large surfaces. Holes over 1/4 inch in size often
require two or more applications to get a smooth even
surface.
Lightweight Spackle is made from microscopic glass bubbles
and a low shrinkage binder. These can often cover large areas without the
characteristic shrinkage cracks seen in regular spackles. This material has a
different feel and working characteristics compared to traditional spackle
products. |
|
| Plaster is a powdered mixture
of lime or gypsum that is mixed with water (and sometimes sand) used to cover
walls and ceilings. It can be used to patch drywall or plaster walls. Plaster
walls should be repaired with patching plaster which sets slower and harder
than plaster of Paris. When repairing cracks or holes in plaster walls it is
important to wet the surface prior to applying the patching plaster. |
|
| Beyond these conventional
fillers there are also a number of super-duty products that can be used for
load bearing and structural repairs. These include 2 part products such as
Bondo Stucco and Masonry Repair and Epoxy Pastes from Protective Coatings.
|
| INTERIOR
PATCHING |
| Scrapes, holes, indentations and
tears happen. Surfaces get banged up by any number of ways and need to be
fixed. There are several types of damage that can occur including holes,
gouges, and cracks. No matter what kind of repair you are doing, it is
important to have a solid, clean surface to work with. Always prepare the
surface by chipping or cutting away any loose material and removing dust. For
small holes and gouges a premixed patching material is applied to the damaged
area then sanded and touched up. Large cracks and holes often take special
measures to ensure a long lasting, invisible repair. The hardest part about
repairing a large patch is matching a pre-existing texture. Smooth surfaces are
easiest to blend into their surroundings. Harder still are specialty finishes
such as knockdown and orange peel effects. |
INTERIOR HOLES
Interior
construction today typically consists of drywall sheets on steel studs. Often
times the drywall is simply painted after the joint compound has been sanded.
With its paper facing and relatively soft gypsum core, drywall is easy to tear
or punch holes into; fortunately it is also easy to repair. Patching a large
hole in drywall consists of cutting the opening into a larger regular shaped
area such as a square. Wood strips longer than the hole are then inserted into
the recess behind the sheet and then held in place by screws. A piece of new
drywall matching the shape of the cut-out is then fitted and fastened to the
furring strips. The edge of the patch can then be filled with compound or
spackle. Once hardened, the filler is sanded, primed and painted.
Another method for holes without backing is to insert a piece of wire
lath with a piece of wire looped through the mesh into the hole. Pull the wire
and tighten it around a thin rod until the assembly is held firmly against the
wall. Use a putty knife to smooth plaster into the hole, about halfway to the
surface leaving an opening so that the retaining wire can be removed after the
plaster hardens. After the first coat has hardened rewet it before applying the
second coat. Then, smooth on the second coat to a level just below the surface.
Rewet the second coat after hardening. Use a plasterer's trowel to achieve a
smooth finish on the final coat; press heavily on the trowel to pack the final
coat tightly. After the final coat stiffens slightly, rewet the surface with a
clean brush. Immediately retrowel, tipping the leading edge up slightly, while
pressing heavily on the training edge; this will produce a shiny finish.
| Self-adhesive hole patch materials are made of
fiberglass mesh with a permanent adhesive to secure them to the wall. Heavy
duty types include an aluminum panel to prevent flexing and breaking over a
large hole. Unlike wire mesh or a replacement panel, these overlays sit on top
of the surface and can create a bulge. Fiberglass mesh repair panels should
only be filled with a setting type filler such as patching plaster or fast-dry
joint compound. These patching materials set harder and stronger than pre-mixed
products and result in a more durable patch. |
 |
|
| Interior cracks are usually found where different
surfaces join together and where movement stress is concentrated. Some joints
may be filled with a bead of caulk to provide a strong, flexible radius along a
seam. More difficult repairs involve cracks in the middle of the wall. Often,
these kinds of cracks are the result of vibrational stress or thermal cycling.
The problem with movement cracks is that they will eventually break a rigid
patching material such as spackle. Re-cracking can be controlled by using a
flexible patching system or by reinforcing the patching material with mesh. In
either case, any crack larger than a hairline should be opened, cleaned out and
filled. |
|
| Benjamin Moore’s Smooth Elastomeric
Patch is available in both a brush grade and a knife grade for various
applications. These do a good job over all kinds of stress cracks and will
shrink less than the spray on kind. Also may be used on exterior surfaces. |
| |
Self-adhesive mesh can also be used over cracks to
reinforce the patching material. It isn’t going to hold the wall together
but it should provide a means of keeping the crack from reappearing. Once
again, mesh reinforcement will create a bulge on the surface where the patching
must rise above the mesh. Feathering the edges several inches beyond the mesh
is a must and setting type patching material is best. |
MATCHING TEXTURES
Wall
texture can come from a number of sources. The most prominent texture is likely
to be from the original construction. Hand applied finishes include smooth
drywall or putty coat plaster, skip troweled plaster. Sprayed finishes include
orange peel, knock down, and popcorn effects. Additional texture can come from
roller stipple, brush marks or prior repairs. Smooth surfaces on drywall and
plaster can be sanded to match the adjacent wall surface. Working through
various grits from coarse to fine will speed work while leaving a smooth
finish. Hand applied finishes such as swirls, skip trowel, waterfall and other
techniques should be practiced first before an attempt is made on the actual
surface. Be sure to blend and smooth edges where the new texture overlaps the
old. Sprayed textures can be touched up with a number of DIY products and kits,
whereas contractors may prefer to use specialty texture sprayers. DIY texture
repair products include aerosol touch up kits, hand powered sprayers and roll
on products.
| The aerosol sprays are very effective at
recreating orange peel splatter. The Homax Spray Texture container comes with 3
color coded straws to adjust the output for a fine, medium, or coarse orange
peel effect. Pictured examples are shown on the label for proper selection.
There is also an aerosol spray that is designed to shoot straight up to repair
popcorn ceilings. Unlike typical spray paints, caution must be used with these
sprays as they release a lot of energy at once. They discharge their contents
rapidly and usually can only be used once. |
| Bondex Roll-A-Tex |
 |
|
Roll on texture products can come premixed
, as a powder, or as additive to paint. Additives used to add the special
features of texture begin with Bondex's Roll-A-Tex line of graded perlite for
simulating sprayed stucco. Any of the three different grades of fine, medium or
coarse are added directly to liquid paint to produce decorative effects or help
obscure surface defects. A high-performance formula of texture additives that
emulsify and become part of any paint. For use on drywall, plaster, cement
block, poured concrete, stucco, brick or wood. Available in Fine, Medium or
Coarse particle size for three distinct types of texture finishes. |
|
WAGNER POWER
TEX |
 |
FEATURES:
*
Powerful Air Turbine
* 1 Gallon Adjustable Hopper
* 3 Spray Nozzles
* Variable Flow Trigger
* Comfort Arm Rest
* 3 Point Stand for
Filling
* Lock-N-Go Technology
* 120 Volt, 3.7x Amps, 60 Hertz
|
The new
Wagner Power Tex texture sprayer features a built in air turbine with more than
enough power to spray texture to the whole ceiling yet with the simplicity to
make it perfect for small touch up jobs. No need for a separate air compressor
and long air hoses. Simply fill the hopper, plug into a standard 15 amp wall
socket and spray.
POWER TEX sprays the same
material the pros use to achieve the look you want. And with Lock-N-Go
Technology, set-up and clean up are fast and easy with no tools required. Power
Tex included 3 nozzles to achieve the desired look of Popcorn, Knockdown or
Orange Peel texture finishes. And the 2-position hopper can be configured for
spraying walls or ceilings without the use of adapters. |
| All kinds of textures can be found but they require
some practice to do well. Contractors who do texture repairs or construction
should have at least a hopper gun and an air compressor. As the name implies, a
hopper gun has a large 1-2 gallon hopper above the pistol where texture
material is loaded. When the trigger is pulled compressed air blows the texture
material through an orifice, splattering it onto the wall. Texture guns use
orifices of different sizes to achieve different effects. Smaller diameter tip
orifices create a fine spray. As tip diameter increases, the size of the
texture increases up to big blobs that are flattened to make knock down
texture. Compressed air hopper guns are also often used to shoot popcorn
ceiling overhead. |
[Click here to see Graco Texture
Sprayers] |
When patching is completed and the texture is matched
and blended, it will be time to paint. No matter what patching material is used
or how it was applied, there will be a difference in the absorption rates
between the patch and the surrounding areas. Using a primer appropriate for
your patching will seal the patching and equalize the porosity between old and
new surfaces. Often times, especially when using other than flat paints, two
coats of primer are recommended, first as a spot prime and then a full coat
over the wall. |
 |
 
 |
O-Gee Paint Co. 6995 Bird Road Miami, FL 33155
USA
Local 305-666-3300 ~ US Toll
Free 866-666-1935 ~ Fax 305-666-5169 |
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The Web Diddler
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