Can I put drywall compound on a painted, textured wall?

15 years ago

We've got some irregularities on our walls (of drywall) that would look better if the dents were filled a bit, and seams were feathered out better. However, the wall is already painted and heavily textured. My husband thinks we've got to totally sand the area smooth before we can apply the joint compound to the depressions and seams. He says the compound won't adhere to the painted surface.

I think we should be able to fill in on the existent surface and then retexture, prime, and paint just the affected areas.

Can we do that, or is my husband right in thinking the compound will simply fall off the painted walls?

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Comments (6)

joed
15 years ago
The compound will stick fine.
mightyanvil
15 years ago
You can always use a paint softener (deglosser) if the paint has a high gloss finish, otherwise the compound should stick. Drywall compound is easy to sand but it shrinks a lot. Think about what is really needed and try some sample spots.
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ventupete
15 years ago
Agree with the other posters, it will stick. IMHO the bigger issue is being able to texture the patched area to match the surrounding wall texture - if you don't do it well it will really stand out. You should practice getting the texture right on a scrap piece of drywall or plywood until you are confident that you've got a good match. Also be careful not to fill the patch in too much or when you are done the new texture will stick out further than the adjacent wall texture.
drywall_diy_guy
14 years ago
If you can fill small dents by dabbing in the compound, then yes you can do this - compound sticks fine to paint. I have taped new walls to existing painted walls many times.

If you want to fix the joints and feather them out, then your husband is correct - you need a smooth level surface. Even a single screw head sticking up 1/64" will mess up a finishing job since the taping knife hits that bump as you are finishing. That is why I always scrape my surface level between coats - any little chunk or bump raises havoc. For tips on finishing drywall, see the site below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Taping and Finishing Drywall
lazypup
14 years ago
i would much prefer to use lightweight spackling compound, it dries in minutes and doesn't shrink.
ttfweb
14 years ago
I have done it many times - no problem as long as the wall is fairly clean. I typically give the wall a light sanding with a pole sander to open the paint a bit.