Hi all! We're looking to repaint our walls and ceilings that have a knockdown texture. They're currently a peachy color, but we want to switch to a satin Swiss coffee shade. We're planning to clean the walls with a sponge and dish soap, sand them a bit, and then apply the new paint. I've heard that priming isn't really necessary for knockdown textures, especially since they're already painted, but I'm not entirely sure. Also, I read somewhere that we should use a 3/4 inch roller and apply a bit more pressure while painting. Any other tips you all might have would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
I’d recommend waiting to wipe down the walls after sanding to avoid doing it twice. When you paint, make sure to use a thick roller nap and load it up with plenty of paint. You might want to go over the area a few times to really work the paint into the texture. Since you’re switching from peach to white, you might need a couple of coats, but primer may not be necessary unless you're making a drastic color change. Good luck!
Just remember, those thicker rollers will absorb a lot of paint. You may go through more than you think. If you're using tinted primer, try to go a bit lighter and grayish than your final color; it really helps to see missed spots. Also, good prep is essential, especially if the walls have some old paint on them. Primer acts like glue for the new paint to stick, so be mindful if you skip it!
So should we definitely consider primer in that case? If we skip sanding altogether, will we still need to prime?
You can get away with a thick nap roller, and you won't need to push too hard. Let the roller do its job, especially with all the nooks in knockdown texture. I’ve painted over light colors without primer before, and two coats always worked for me. Just make sure to seal any edges with painter's tape if you want a straight line. Since you're doing the same color throughout the house, that simplifies things!
Since everything is going to be Swiss coffee, taping off shouldn’t be too much of a hassle!
We’re not going super dark, just peach to white, so I guess we can skip the primer? And I’m curious, do we really need to sand the knockdown texture?