Patelai 2 Count Cellulose Texture Sponge, 2 Pieces, Specialty Shaped, Ergonomic Design, For Walls, Ceilings, Wood, Painting, Texturing

Okay, not going to bury the lede, these things did an outstanding job. I had to repair a huge water leak in a bathroom ceiling, I lost half the room's ceiling so I replaced the drywall and had to try to match the existing knockdown texture on the other half of the ceiling. I used these sponges and the result is just seamless, nobody could tell there was ever a repair done. So they're good sponges and they get a five-star review for the results. But you also gotta know a couple of things. First, what you get is not what you think you're getting. You don't get a fluffy squishy sponge, instead you get something that looks like a nasty old McDonald's Happy Meal hamburger that's been vacuum-sealed in a NASA space meal pouch. It's a little tiny flat squished thing that would absolutely not pass any "is this a sponge?" test. Second, you gotta inflate it. They say leave it in a pan of water for a little while. Screw that, I left one in a pan of water and it took like TWO DAYS to fully fluff up. If you don't have two days to wait, submerge it in water and work it, squeeze it, roll it, smush it, etc, until it finally becomes a small half-dome shape. It'll get about as big as your palm, flat on one side and rounded on the other, and probably smaller than you were expecting. Don't sweat it, it's all good; once you get to that point you've got what you need. Then start the texturing job. Thin down some all-purpose joint compound in a drywall pan, and let it "set up" for about 10 minutes or so. Then smush the flat side of the sponge into it, then sqlorch it onto the ceiling, press it in, and then yank the sponge away quickly. You're trying to "draw out" the compound to stick out away from the ceiling, making little stalagtites. Do that for a while, I think I probably did it in about a 3' x 3' area before knocking it down with a rubber-edged knockdown knife. If it looks good and matches up, then go on to the next 3x3 area. If it looks bad, you can just re-sqlorch it and try again until you get it the way you want. It's a long tedious process, but the end result I got is absolutely fantastic. If you want to see a video, I watched Paul Peck's youtube drywall channel on matching knockdown texture and it tells you everything you need to know.

Great for arts and crafts. I have been using by wrapping off small pieces to add texture with my acrylic paints. I would recommend and will buy more when I run out.

At first glance, I had my doubts. Once I hydrated the sponges, the expansion was impressive. It took me little while to get the hang of it, the texture of my mud right, and the light pressure on my 12” bedding knife, the end product looked very good.

They come vacuum packed. Have to soak them in water till they fluff up, then let them dry. They worked well enough, and once done you can rinse them out and save for future use. My only complaint is the holes throughout the sponge that help to create the texture were too small and too consistent to truly match sprayed on knock down texture. I think having larger voids or holes in the sponges with less consistency would have done a better job.

Did the job as describe. Worked well Test on a cardboard to know exactly what kind of texture you are getting. You can make the holes bigger to get a thicker texture