To make textured walls smooth, you’ll
1. Prep and clean the wall
2. Apply a first rough coat of joint compound.
3. Apply a second coat of joint compound.
4. Apply a third and final smoother coat of topping compound.
5. Sand the wall texture to a nice even smooth finish.
Layer 1: Rough Skim Coat
This first thin layer of joint compound is a rough coat, meant to cover all of the existing wall texture and fill in major voids.
The Trick to Touch Up Corner
After the first layer of joint compound has dried, the corners will need some work, as you can see in the video.
Apply a thin layer of mud to the corners, and use the corner tool to smooth it out.
Then, use a wide drywall knife to feather out the edge of this fresh mud, applying slight pressure to the edge *away* from the fresh mud to level it out without creating a line in the mud.
Layer 2: Skim Coat to Fill Hole
This second layer of drywall mud is another skim coat using the all-purpose joint compound.
Lightly sand off tall ridges on the wall using either a hand sanding block or, like I did, a damp sponge to keep the dust down.
If you see bubbles like this, don’t despair!This happens sometimes on walls like ours that have been painted many times over the last 50+ years. If bubbles or holes like this appear on your walls, skim coat with additional layer(s) of drywall mud.