A drywall knife is all you need to do a knockdown texture.
One of the most common ways to texture drywall ceilings and walls is to spray or spread texturing compound onto the surface, then flatten it with a drywall knife. The technique is called "knockdown," and there are various methods for it. Perhaps the least difficult approach for the ceiling, and the one that gives the most predictable results, is to spray texture on with a manual sprayer and flatten it with a wide drywall knife. It produces a random pattern of blotches that helps mask a less-than-perfect finishing job as well as other minor defects in the drywall.
Instructions
1. Cover the floor with a drop cloth. Wear protective clothing, eyewear and headgear while spraying the texture onto the ceiling.
2. Mix powdered wall texture or drywall joint compound with water to produce a solution that is thicker than paint, but pourable. Fill the canister of a manual texture sprayer with the mixture.
3. Point the sprayer nozzle at the ceiling and hold it about 2 feet way. Pump the sprayer handle to eject texture, and keep the nozzle moving while texture is being emitted. You don't have to move it in a regular pattern, but be sure to get texture on the entire ceiling. When you're finished, the ceiling should be covered with a random array of rounded blotches that are about 1 inch from each other.
4. Set up a step ladder tall enough to allow you to work easily from the second highest rung. Climb the ladder and knock down the texture with an 8-inch to 12-inch drywall knife. The way you do this determines the appearance of the texture.
5. Hold the drywall knife so that the blade is almost parallel to the ceiling and scrape it lightly over the texture. Maintaining the same direction when scraping produces a uniform effect, while changing directions produces a more random effect. You can also arc the blade while scraping to produce a swirl effect. Keep a drywall trough with you, and clean off the blade frequently so the excess texture doesn't rub off on the ceiling or drop onto the floor.
6. Scrape the ceiling in sections, changing the position of the ladder as needed to move from section to section.
7. Let the texture dry, then sand it lightly with a pole sander and 120-grit sandpaper. Prime it with drywall primer before you paint the ceiling.
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