How to Cover Artex walls Without Plastering
There are 3 main ways to cover Artex walls without plastering. All of which can be done yourself.
- Painting
- Filling and Painting
- Over-boarding (Covering with Plasterboard or wall paneling)
Painting an Artex Wall
You can paint directly onto a wall with a fill coat. This is a special type of paint that acts like a very thick emulsion. It helps to fill in the hollows and smooth out any imperfections in the Artex. Then all you then need to do is apply your choice of coloured paint.
Everbuild Filler Coat has been specially designed to improve the appearance of textured walls and ceilings. It may not completely remove all the ridges in the Artex, but it will help to significantly improve the overall appearance of the Artex.
It is water-based so if you are not happy with the results you can always fill or skim over it afterward. It has got to be worth a try before you go spending more money on the expenses of replastering.
Filling and Painting Artex walls
With a little patience and a bit of elbow grease, anyone can tackle an Artex wall themselves to get it looking smooth, with no need to call in a plaster.
Anytime you do the job yourself you will be saving money as you are not paying for a specialist. But you will have to put a bit of time into it yourself. Fortunately, there is a product for just this purpose.
Before you can cover an Artex ceiling or wall with paint you will first need to make sure it is smooth. This can be done using a tub of SmoothOver which comes in a large 2.5-liter tub.
The best thing about this particular job is that it only requires the bare minimum of tools, and you don’t even need to leave the house. All you need is a smoothing trowel kit and a tub of SmoothOver.
For the best results you will have to build it up in layers, this reduces the amount of coverage per tub, so the cost soon adds up. Also bear in mind, it can take up to 6h to dry between coats.
You are best to apply one coat and then leave it till the day after, before applying the next. Keep building it up in thin layers until it will eventually cover the peaks in the Artex.
Once you have removed most of the peaks and troughs from the wall you can then start to apply some filler paint. This is a thick paint that will remove any unevenness left behind from the filling phase.
You may be ok with normal emulsion paint, but this filler coat paint gives you more chance of covering those remaining imperfections. Once this has dried simply give your Artex ceiling a colour of your choice, and you are done!
Covering Artex Walls in Plasterboard (Over-Boarding)
You can encapsulate Artex by covering it with plasterboard. Over-boarding the Artex with Plasterboard eliminates the problem of trying to fill in all those ridges. The plasterboard will need to be fixed through the Artex and into the wall behind. Once all the plasterboard is fixed the wall can either be taped and jointed or skimmed as you would on a new wall.
You could turn your Artex wall into a feature wall by covering it with wall paneling. There are lots of different types available depending on if you have a classic or modern taste.
If you have any more suggestions to cover Artex walls without plastering let us know in the comments.
