# how to get a great look after removing popcorn



## c.c.co.

We have used a couple of different people lately to remove the popcorn texture on the ceiling then re float and texture with a light splatter but it just seems to come out looking about 90% perfect and I would like to get it 100%. Is it just the fact that the drywall guys are not adding enough mud or not sanding enough or what? You drywall experts out there please let me know your technique for a perfect ceiling post popcorn removal. Thanks for the help.


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## 375RGR

Hang a new layer of drywall over the textured drywall. Its a lot easier than making a mess trying to remove the existing texture. I have done both and in the end the new layer route always ended up costing less with better results.


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## boman47k

No expert, but I have done a little. Have seen some come clean and not even need skimming expcept may the seems where it was not finished for a smooth ceiling. I have also seen some that definitely would need to be capped over, no doubt. Especially some previously painted ceilings and/or ceilings I assumed were not primed before being sprayed or a combonation of both.


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## c.c.co.

I cant imagine that hanging all new drywall on the ceiling would be more cost effective than removing popcorn. With a light water application the popcorn seems to come off fairly easily even when painted. The problem from what I see is that when the guys are looking at the ceiling after the texture is gone saying it looks pretty good and they dont spend the amount of time on it like they would on new drywall. These same guys produce some great looking textured walls with almost no flaws when new drywall and I just dont see the real difference between adding two coats of mud and sanding on new or existing. I just thing they are taking the slacker way out which I hate to see and will basically not get them the chance at my next project. Anymore drywall guys out there have an opinion?


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## boman47k

> With a light water application the popcorn seems to come off fairly *easily even when painted*


Some I have seen is anything but easy. Matter of fact, in my own kitchen the seams are very tough. I gave up on them. I will either recap or skim. Maybe a little skimming and a recap to get rid of the hump that is bound to show through.

It is according to what process was used when it was applied, imo. Oil primed and applied? Oil primed when applied then painted? That can be very tough in my limited experience. Painted many times over the years?


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## nEighter

What I do is take it off:

1. Spray bottle and drywall knife
2. Collect the dropped popcorn on the drops and dispose
3. Then go back and scrape the seams with a drywall knife to get the roughed drywall from the popcorn off
4. Go back over with a wet rag to "wash" or smooth the areas over
5. Hit the nail/screw holes and seams with a skim coat(s)
6. Sand
7. Prep for texture
8. texture & knockdown or whatever you do.

personally I think this is better than hanging.. but that is me. Oh and if they have painted it, an lil $50.00 wagner steamer does the trick real nice :thumbsup:


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## boman47k

nEighter said:


> What I do is take it off:
> 
> *1. Spray bottle and drywall knife*
> *2. Collect the dropped popcorn on the drops and dispose*
> *3. Then go back and scrape the seams with a drywall knife to get the roughed drywall from the popcorn off*
> *4. Go back over with a wet rag to "wash" or smooth the areas over*
> 5. Hit the nail/screw holes and seams with a skim coat(s)
> 6. Sand
> 7. Prep for texture
> 8. texture & knockdown or whatever you do.
> 
> personally I think this is better than hanging.. but that is me. Oh and if they have painted it, an lil $50.00 wagner steamer does the trick real nice :thumbsup:


Been there, done that and the rest when necessary.

OP, whole house or just one room?


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## remodeling joe

after i spray the ceiling with a pump spray, the popcorn comes of easy . then i refloat "where needed" , sand, then i spray a very "light orange peel" , prime and paint. it looks so smooth and even. just my experience.:thumbsup:


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## 375RGR

c.c.co. said:


> I cant imagine that hanging all new drywall on the ceiling would be more cost effective than removing popcorn. With a light water application the popcorn seems to come off fairly easily even when painted. The problem from what I see is that when the guys are looking at the ceiling after the texture is gone saying it looks pretty good and they dont spend the amount of time on it like they would on new drywall. These same guys produce some great looking textured walls with almost no flaws when new drywall and I just dont see the real difference between adding two coats of mud and sanding on new or existing. I just thing they are taking the slacker way out which I hate to see and will basically not get them the chance at my next project. Anymore drywall guys out there have an opinion?


The problem is that you don't know what kind of finish is beneath the popcorn. Add the fact that the drywall gets pretty beat up while scraping, no matter how careful you are. For a quality finished product you will need to fix any taping issues, then skim coat the entire ceiling at least twice. Then sand or texture dependent on what finish you have. Personally I would rather drywall over existing ceiling to avoid running into a hack taping job under the popcorn texture. Keeping in mind that the tapers are not typically fussy with the finish when there is a popcorn texture being sprayed. Also this is coming from a production oriented standpoint and not a drywall is too heavy to hang point of view.


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## SLSTech

375RGR said:


> The problem is that you don't know what kind of finish is beneath the popcorn. Add the fact that the drywall gets pretty beat up while scraping, no matter how careful you are. For a quality finished product you will need to fix any taping issues, then skim coat the entire ceiling at least twice. Then sand or texture dependent on what finish you have. Personally I would rather drywall over existing ceiling to avoid running into a hack taping job under the popcorn texture. Keeping in mind that the tapers are not typically fussy with the finish when there is a popcorn texture being sprayed. Also this is coming from a production oriented standpoint and not a drywall is too heavy to hang point of view.


There generally isn't a finish under it, just the normal tape & mud the screws. Use the water as mentioned above, hold the knife at the right angle, and it comes off really easy unless they painted it. So they didn't do the most professional job taping, just fix it - you are going to spend that time already with new. Time wise, it may take a fraction longer, but not by much. Just my .02 from my experience


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## boman47k

Whatever procedure you do, and like already said, different situation may call for different procedure, Make sure it is clean and dry. If not already primed/sealed, I would not skip this step.


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## boman47k

One thing I don't think has been addressed on this topic in this thread is the age of the popcorn and the possible asbestos content.


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## MUDBUCKET

I have done this both ways , scraping and rerocking.
Wet scraping involves a huge mess plus as has been said you don't know what kind of finish or problems you may uncover ,just did an insurance job last week:
900 sq.ft. of ceilings
1. drop cloths on floor ,2 layers poly over that and mask off and poly walls.
2.wet ceilings with pump sprayer and scrape popcorn texture (comes off very nicely with warm water ,need to rewet it once in a while).
3.roll droppings up in first layer off poly and toss that.
4.touch up tape job and a few cracks that we find.
5.prime ceiling with kilz paint(very important step if you are retexturing with popcorn type spray).
6.respray ceiling and teardown poly and clean up

Rerocking is pretty straight forward but the walls have to be painted around the top which probably means the entire wall.


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## SCBBUILDERS

boman47k said:


> One thing I don't think has been addressed on this topic in this thread is the age of the popcorn and the possible asbestos content.


What year did they stop using asbestos in the popcorn? My home was built in 1969. I'm thinking of scraping my ceiling but will re-drywall if there's a good chance I've got popcorn.


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## boman47k

SCBBUILDERS said:


> What year did they stop using asbestos in the popcorn? My home was built in *1969*. I'm thinking of scraping my ceiling but will re-drywall if there's a *good chance* I've got popcorn.


I would say you have a very good chance of it containing asbestos. I *think* it was in the mid to late seventies that changes were made. It is said what was still in the supply line was still sold for a few years. Some of the guys that work with rock a lot more than I should be able to confirm this, or just google drywall and asbestos.

Btw, my rock in my own house is very old, and I did go ahead and remove it in a bdrm I demo'ed, rocked and repainted. 

As far as removal, I got relatively lucky on it. But I have seen some that I would not want to tackle at all as far as attempting to remove it.


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## Dan V.

Asbestos in popcorn-type texture was banned in 1979 or 80. Anything installed before that or several years after is suspect.



> I would rather drywall over existing ceiling to avoid running into a hack taping job under the popcorn texture. Keeping in mind that the tapers are not typically fussy with the finish when there is a popcorn texture being sprayed.


This is precisely what I ran into the last time I did this. In that particular situation, it would have been cheaper and a lot less of a mess for the client had they opted for re-rocking. They wanted a no-texture ceiling, so I had do a good deal of patching, seam floating and sanding to achieve a good finish.


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## boman47k

As far as having to repaint the whole wall, why? Mudding hwere the walls meet the ceiling? I would consider being careful while handling the drywall near the walls, mud the wall/ceiling corner for code purposes ( fire block?) and put crown up to cover it. Not really finished slick. In my case that would include dummy boxes for the corners.


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## Frankawitz

I would have scraped the popcorn, then float the whole ceiling with Durabond 90(brown bag) then shave down then skim coat with topping compound, sand it smooth then prime one coat then paint two finish coats done nice smooth ceiling and no nasty texture to look at.


www.frankawitz.net


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## precisionbuild

I've had good luck with using a Porter Cable drywall sander before to remove popcorn. I own my own, but you can rent them for about $20.00/day. Then skim.


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