How to cover popcorn texture without removing it: 3 methods and which to pick

What you need

• Stainless steel trowel, 30-40 cm
• Filling knives, 10 and 20 cm
• Wall sander with dust extraction (hire from Leroy Merlin or Bricodepot) or a large sanding block
• Roller, brush and tray
• Vacuum cleaner with a filter
• Stepladder
• FFP2 mask, goggles and gloves
• Skim filler, ready-mixed or powder (Aguaplast Alisar, Beissier or Titan), about 2-3 kg per m² in total
• Sealer or bonding primer (Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3, Bruguer, Montó)
• Sandpaper in 80, 120 and 180 grit
• Plastic sheeting and masking tape (Tesa 4334 or similar)
• Emulsion and primer for the finish

Step by step

1. 1

   Protect the room

   Take out the furniture or cover it with plastic, cover the floor with cardboard, remove the sockets or cover them with tape and switch off the room's circuit at the consumer unit. Filler and sanding dust make a lot of mess.

2. 2

   Check the gotelé is firm

   Run your hand over it and scrape an area with the filling knife. If dust or big pieces fall, the gotelé is no use as a base: it is better to strip it. If it is firm, carry on.

3. 3

   Knock off the sharpest points

   With a wide scraper or an 80 grit sanding block, take down the highest peaks of the gotelé, without reaching the plaster. Vacuum up the dust thoroughly with your mask on.

4. 4

   Apply the sealer

   Roll on one coat of sealer or bonding primer and leave it to dry for 4 to 6 hours. That way the filler does not peel and the gotelé does not suck up the water.

5. 5

   First coat of filler

   With the trowel, spread a thin coat of filler in strokes of 30-40 cm, filling the valleys. Do not aim for smooth on this coat. Leave it to dry for 4-6 hours, or as the pack says.

6. 6

   Second coat, crossing the first

   Apply a second thin coat crossing the first, going over the areas where the relief still shows. Cut off the excess with the trowel held at an angle. Leave it to dry for another 4-6 hours.

7. 7

   Third finishing coat

   Draw on a thin coat of filler, pressed very flat with a clean trowel, to seal the pores and leave an almost smooth surface. If you can still see peaks, apply a fourth coat only there.

8. 8

   Sand dry, with extraction

   When it is completely dry, sand with 120 grit and finish with 180 grit, in gentle circles. With the torch held at an angle, check for waves and go over them again. Vacuum the dust and wipe with a damp cloth.

9. 9

   Prime the wall

   Apply one coat of primer, which seals the filler and stops the paint coming out patchy. Leave it to dry for 4 hours.

10. 10

    Paint two coats

    Apply two coats of emulsion, with 4 hours between them, cutting in first with a brush and then rolling. Let it harden for 24 hours before putting the furniture back.

Three methods for covering gotelé without removing it

Covering gotelé means creating a new smooth surface on top of the old one. There are three ways, with very different levels of effort and price.

1. Skimming over it with filler. You trowel on several thin coats of skim filler until the peaks and valleys are filled. It is the most used method, gives the best result in a good pair of hands, and is the cheapest in materials. 2. Lining with fibreglass or smooth paper. You stick a fibreglass fabric or smooth non-woven paintable paper over it with a specific paste. It hides fine texture, but not very coarse gotelé, and it does not end up as smooth as skimming. 3. Boarding over with plasterboard (pladur). You screw 10-13 mm boards onto battens or stick them with adhesive plaster. It is clean and leaves a perfect wall, but takes 2 or 3 cm off the room and means more work.

When to cover gotelé and when it is better to remove it

Covering over it works if the gotelé is firm and well stuck. Check that it is not coming away: run the palm of your hand over it and scrape with a filling knife. If a lot of dust falls, there is lifting paint or the gotelé is loose, and the filler will not grip. In that case it is better to strip it: see how to remove popcorn wall texture.

It is also better to remove gotelé if it is very coarse (peaks over 3 mm) because it needs many coats of filler, which are heavy and can crack. Do not cover it either if there is damp or mould on the wall: with damp the filler does not dry properly and the mould comes through. Deal with the cause first, as we explain in how to remove mould from a wall.

Common mistakes when covering gotelé

These are the slips that ruin the result, whether you do it by hand or use a painter:

• Not sealing first. If distemper gotelé sheds dust, the filler does not grip and peels off. Apply sealer or a bonding primer.
• Putting on one thick coat. It cracks as it dries. Better three thin coats with 4-6 hours between them.
• Not letting the filler dry. Sanding damp filler makes lumps and waves.
• Sanding without dust extraction or a mask. Filler dust is very fine and gets everywhere. Use a sander with extraction and an FFP2 mask.
• Forgetting a primer before painting. Filler is very absorbent: without primer, the paint comes out patchy.
• Painting in raking light without checking. Every wave shows in the light from a window. Run a torch across at an angle before painting.

When to call a professional

Skimming a whole wall is slow, physical and dusty, and the result depends on how good you are with the trowel. It is worth calling us if there are several rooms, ceilings, large walls or if you want a perfect finish with no waves or lines.

With the painters service we skim walls with filler and paint: removing gotelé and skimming costs €12-18/m², which is also a fair guide for skimming over it. Painting the walls in white is another €6-8/m², and a complete 90 m² flat with paint comes to €800-1,500. You will find more examples in how much it costs to remove popcorn texture and in how much it costs to paint a flat. Boarding over with plasterboard is closer to a reforma (full refurbishment), which we refer to partners. We arrive in 20-45 minutes in Valencia, Alicante, Torrevieja and Benidorm with a 6-month written guarantee. You can also see painters in Alicante or painters in Valencia.

Damp, salt air and old paint on the coast

On the coast filler takes longer to dry: in high humidity it may need double the time between coats. Ventilate well, but without draughts, and avoid skimming on rainy days. In direct summer sun it dries too fast and cracks: work in the morning or late afternoon and lower the shutter on that wall.

In seafront flats, salts rising into the walls can lift the filler. If you see white marks or the wall is cold and damp, do not cover it. And one precaution: in buildings from before 1980, old paints may contain lead. Dampen before sanding, wear an FFP2 mask, vacuum instead of sweeping and do not let children into the room while you work. When you finish, how to paint a wall without streaks will help.