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Mud magic

Just a swirl of sheetrock compound can bring new life to tired walls.

My father is a child of the Great Depression. He is frugal to excess. Under his watchful and economical eye, many a summer of my adolescence was spent in the pursuit of the three P's: patching, plastering, and painting.

One of his restoration methods, which I use to this day, involves the savvy use of common sheetrock compound - mud, as the tradesmen call the doughy, plasterlike goo. The compound is an ideal medium to cover a "multitude of sins," as my father would say. In the tired walls and ceilings of the rental apartments in the three-decker where I grew up, these sins included nail holes, dings from flung objects, and gaps left by burst water pipes that sloughed away whole chunks of plaster, as well as a dozen other kinds of wreckage inflicted by unmindful tenants.

My father's technique is simple and the cost low. Anyone can do it, and no special tools are needed. The method works wonders on sheetrock walls as well as on old-fashioned lath and plaster. The result is a rustic, stucco effect, like what I imagine the walls of a 19th-century French farmhouse would be.

First, remove any nails, staples, tacks, or other fastenings. If the surface has loose wallpaper, remove it with a scraper and steamer. Wash the bare surface with TSP or a similar heavy-duty cleaner. Rinse well. A painted wall needs no extra preparation. Occasionally, in very old buildings, surfaces were whitewashed with a dusty, calcium-based product called moresco. This must be washed off, which is a difficult and messy chore since the moresco tends to cling to walls or ceilings. But beware: Unless it's completely washed away, nothing will stick.

If the surface has tightly gripping wallpaper that has been painted over, it may not be necessary to go through the agony of removal. The rule of thumb is, if you will only damage the surface more by scraping off stubborn paper, leave it on and cover over it.

Any holes that are deeper than inch or larger than a dime need to be filled with spackle. This may take several layers if the hole is large, deep, or both. Long cracks should be covered with sheetrock tape, then, using a flexible, wide-blade putty knife, slathered with a thin layer of sheetrock compound. Place more tape on top, and smooth it out with a little more mud.

Large sags or holes can be fitted with a sheetrock patch. The best way is to place the prospective patch over the damage, scribe its perimeter on the wall with a pencil, then cut away the plaster (or existing sheetrock) so the new bit fits right in like a puzzle piece. Nail (making sure to countersink the head) or screw in the patch so it's tight. A thin coat of compound and tape around the edges is a good idea.

Now, get out a stepladder, a 2 1/2-gallon plastic pail, a pair of rubber gloves, and prepare to daydream of Provence. This is a messy job, so cover the floor with plastic or a dropcloth.

Dip your pail into a 5-gallon bucket of mud and fill it about halfway. Starting with the ceiling, simply scoop out a handful of mud and slather it on the surface so it leaves about a -inch coating. No need for tools here: Use your hands. Repeat this process until you have covered about a square yard, which is just about the right size area to work. Any larger, and the mud will start to set up before you can finish manipulating it.

Now comes the creative part. You have aesthetic options about how to texture the surface involving two fundamental choices: the type of texturing tool to use and whether you want a straight or curved look. My favorite texturing tool is a whisk broom. I simply make some swirls with the bristles. I don't get too fussy, nor try to be too symmetrical.

If swirls don't please your eye, straight, short, random strokes work nicely, too. Experimenting first on a closet wall is a good idea. Wallpaper brushes with plastic bristles or scrub brushes produce a good look, too. I have an old horsehair whitewashing brush, trimmed down so that it's stiff, that also works well. For a more subtle pattern, try dabbing the mud finish with a large sea sponge. It may take practice to develop a touch that can get you the look you want. Remember, you're seeking the easy look of a 200-year-old farmhouse.

Repeat the process until the ceiling is done. Make sure you squish (another technical term) some of the compound into the corners where wall and ceiling meet. Depending upon the humidity, temperature, and ventilation, two days may be required for full drying. Uncured mud has a grayish tint, but as it dries, it turns white.

Now follow the same procedure on the walls. Any mud that gets onto the woodwork can be removed easily with a damp rag.

Before painting, you'll need to tidy up a little. Loose burrs or high spots can be evened out with a light pass of 60-grit sandpaper. A wooden ruler with a metal edge works, too.

You can paint both wall and ceiling just as you would any traditional plaster or sheetrock surface. Cut in the corners with a brush, and roll the rest. My recommendation is two coats of satin or eggshell latex paint in an off-white tone for both ceiling and wall. The ever-so-slight shine sets off the relief of the texture. And it makes a great stenciling surface.

If at some point you want to go back to the perfectly flat look of sheetrock, a skim coat of plaster will do the trick.

Here's the best part: For a 12-by-12-foot room, both walls and ceiling, you will need about four 5-gallon buckets of mud and a 5-gallon bucket of paint. At discount store prices, that's about $100 - a sweet figure, compared with $1,000 or more for a new blue board and plaster job.

And your teenagers can do the work while you get to fly off to Provence with the savings.