How to Apply Roman Clay to Textured Walls

Have you ever been curious if you could paint Roman Clay on textured walls? Well, I tried it out and I’m here to tell you that it is actually doable! Here is my step by step guide on how to apply Roman Clay to textured walls.

Now, I do want to preface this by noting that not all textured walls are the same. There are many different types of textures applied to walls and the finish on mine isn’t your standard orange peel, it’s knockdown. So when I say my walls are textured, I mean really textured. With that being said, you might not have to go through as much product as I did to get all of the paint into the grooves of the texture in the walls. Also, with that being said, with varying wall texture consistencies will come variations in the final product.

Roman Clay is a thick clay-based paint that is used to achieve a venetian plaster style of finish. Like lime wash, it leaves behind unique strokes of “movement” in the paint when dry. Both lime wash and Roman Clay achieve their best desired looks when applied to smooth surfaces, however Roman Clay works better at hiding the texture on walls due to its thicker and pastier consistency. I am going to break down what I did to apply Roman Clay on my textured walls into steps. Let’s get started!

Step One: Gather Your Materials

I ordered the 20 kilo container of Portola Paint’s Roman Clay paint in the color Patagonia. This is their most popular color on their website. It is a beautiful mix of creams, browns, and golds, creating the ideal neutral off-white color for your walls. I will note that due to the difficulty of getting the first coat of paint into all of the grooves of the texture on the walls you will need to use more paint than what they will recommend and why I had to order so much. That first coat, however, is so important in order to help smooth your wall’s texture out so that the second coat can be applied seamlessly and with the technique that Portola Paint’s recommends. To apply the paint you will also need a large stainless steel putty knife or trowel along with a simple container to hold your paint in when applying. Make sure that your pail for holding the clay is large enough to fit your trowel and light enough to carry with one hand. You will of course need all of your typical standard painting supplies like painter’s tape, tarps/sheeting, and paint rags as well as a sanding sponge, protective glasses and a mask. If you need to prime before applying the Roman Clay then you will also need the primer, rollers, and paint tray. Now that you have all of your supplies let’s get started!

Step Two: Prep & Prime

Before getting started on the Roman Clay the best practice is to apply a white stain-blocking primer. However, if your walls have already been painted with a flat white finish you can skip this step (like I did). You simply apply the primer like you would any other paint, with a roller brush that you dip into a standard paint tray. Before getting started make sure to line everything that you don’t want to get paint on and whip out the painter’s tape! Once everything is taped, prepped and primed we can move onto step three, the Roman Clay!

Step Three: Roman Clay, First Coat

Once you open up your bucket of Roman Clay you will notice that the consistency is much thicker than your average paint. Mix it up with a paint stick and pour some of it into a smaller container, then close the bucket back up so that it doesn’t dry out. Grab your putty knife or trowel and scoop out a decent amount of paint that is evenly distributed across the blade. With this first coat you are going to scrape the trowel across the wall with the paint, spreading it as far as it will go, and in every direction. This coat is all about coverage. I like to start with the top corner of the wall and work my way out. Try to move fast and spread as much as you can. Unfortunately, if you come across a section of a wall that has extra thick texture you will notice that it doesn’t spread as easily and you will need to apply more paint to your trowel in order to get the paint into all of the grooves. Do your best to conserve the paint so that you don’t run out. The thinner you spread the Roman Clay on the wall, the faster it will dry, so this first coat may require you to go over the same area multiple times to ensure proper coverage. What you are focusing on during this process is spreading the paint as far as it will go and covering the white of the walls underneath the paint. You may notice that the edges of the trowel will create ridges of paint, go over them to smooth the ridges back out, but don’t worry about them too much because you can always sand them down during the next step. Wait at least 2-4 hours for the first coat to completely dry before moving on to the next step.

Here is what the Roman Clay looked like on my wall as it began to dry after the first coat.

Step Four: Sand

Great job! You should have all of your walls covered in their first coat of Roman Clay and they should be completely dry. I hope you feel accomplished. You should, because you just completed the hardest step! I am happy to say that it only gets easier from here. Now that everything is dry, it is time to go over those ridges (the small chunks of dried paint that are sticking out of the wall) and lightly sand them until they are smooth. I prefer a simple sanding sponge for this step. Don’t forget to wear a mask so you don’t inhale any of the dust. You might want to throw on some protective eyewear too to block the dust from getting into your eyes.

Here is the first coat after it was completely dried and lightly sanded.

Step Five: Coat Two

As much as I would love to tell you that it only takes one coat of this product to finish the job, you will indeed need at least two coats of the Roman Clay in order to properly and fully cover your walls. But don’t worry, now that you have the first coat on, you will notice that your walls are already looking smoother and the clay has started to hide some of the texture! This will make it much easier to apply the second coat of paint. It will also only take about half the time! This is where I prefer to use the “s” method of applying the paint. With the trowel, scoop your paint up like last time and apply the paint to the wall in the shape of an “S”. If you want more movement in the paint apply short, light strokes. Pressure in how you are applying the paint will also affect highlights/variations. Once you get going, you will really get the hang of it and learn how your hand movements affect how the paint will dry and look. Have fun and play around with it until you find the method that you like best! You don’t have to use the “s” method, but it worked really well for me. Once you feel that you have enough coverage and the movement in the paint is to your liking, let it dry for another 2-4 hours, then go over any high spots with the same light sanding again. If you are still seeing that you didn’t get enough coverage or movement, feel free to go in with a third coat! You can now call it a job well done or go in with the top coat. This is particularly recommended to seal in the paint if the room you painted might get some moisture (so a bathroom or kitchen). I only painted my bedroom so I admittedly skipped this step.

Well, I hope your project turns out the way you had hoped! I’m really happy with the Roman Clay in my room and I can’t wait to use this application process on another room in my house and try it out in a different color! If you want to see more movement in the paint that is more noticeable I definitely recommend choosing a darker color.

Here is a breakdown of exactly how I applied the paint in a quick video tutorial. You can see the “s” painting method and sanding down the ridges much easier here.

The finished product!