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A freshly painted white textured ceiling
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5 from 3 votes

How To Patch a Textured Ceiling

Learn how to perfectly repair a textured ceiling and match the texture with these step-by-step instructions and tips.
Prep Time5 minutes
Active Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 1 ceiling
Author: Rachel
Cost: $60

Equipment

  • Wide Putty Scraper

Instructions

  • For brush textures, soak the brush in warm water for at least an hour, or overnight. This softens the bristles to create the right texture for your ceiling.
    Ceiling texture brush in water.
  • Remove any loose plaster by scraping off with a dry putty knife. If you have stains, use a stain blocker like this spray stainblocker to keep the damage from bleeding into paint.
    Ceiling vent closeup with water damage around it.
  • Apply joint compound. Test out your pattern on a spare board or extra piece of drywall until you get the right texture. Once your ready to move on to the real area, spread the joint compound on with a putty knife or magic mudder across the area to be patched. Try to blend any edges with the existing texture.
    Smoothing out texture on a ceiling with a putty scraper.
  • Using your texture tool, stomp the texture into the applied joint compound in the same fashion as the practice board. If you have a knockdown ceiling, you will have to use a large putty scraper to go across the texture to smooth it down to a knockdown texture.
    Closeup of hand putting texture on wall with plaster.
  • Once you’ve achieved the pattern or texture you desire, wait overnight or longer before painting.
    Person painting a wall indoors with a paint Sprayer and holding carboard to edge the paint.

Notes

General Tips
  • The single hardest part of this job is figuring out which ceiling texture type you have. We have a handy list in the post to compare.
  • With the exception of popcorn and orange peel, all textures are applied using a corresponding brush to create the pattern. Popcorn and orange peel are made using a spray.
  • An irregular edge on the patch area makes it easier to hide a patch to the observer.
  • White ceiling paint is very hard to match perfectly, so plan to paint the whole ceiling unless you don't mind a line where you patched.