Matching orange peel texture on a patch - impossible?

Posted by textureStruggle99 on January 10, 2026 at 8:45 PM

Ive patched a doorknob hole in my wall and the patch itself looks fine but now i need to match the orange peel texture and its driving me insane. Bought one of those aerosol texture cans from home depot and practiced on cardboard but it looks nothing like my walls. Either the dots are too big or too small or too dense. Is there some trick to this? Or do i just need to accept that itll never match perfectly?

9 Comments

RanchHouseRick Jan 10 at 9:18 PM

Those cans are honestly garbage for matching existing texture imo. You need to thin down some drywall mud and use a hopper gun. You can rent one from home depot for like $30 a day. Practice on a scrap piece of drywall first.

textureStruggle99 Jan 10 at 9:42 PM

is that worth it for just one patch though? seems like overkill

RanchHouseRick Jan 10 at 10:01 PM

depends how much it bothers you lol. if you can live with a slight mismatch then the can might be fine. But if its in a visible spot and youre gonna stare at it forever, the hopper is worth it

proPainterJoe Jan 11 at 9:33 AM

The secret with those cans is distance and pressure. Too close = big blobs. Too far = dusty spots that dont stick. You want like 18-24 inches away. And shake the can like crazy between every few sprays. Also the texture looks different wet vs dry so let it dry fully before you judge it.

textureStruggle99 Jan 11 at 10:15 AM

ok i was definitely way too close then. ill try again from farther back

diy_debbie Jan 11 at 2:27 PM

Heres a weird trick my dad taught me - once the texture is dry, sand it VERY lightly with like 220 grit. It knocks down the peaks and makes it blend better. Then prime and paint the whole wall so the sheen matches.

landlordLarry Jan 12 at 11:05 AM

After doing like 50 of these for rental turnovers i can tell you the real answer is to texture a bigger area around the patch. If you just texture the patch it always looks obvious. Do like a 2 foot square minimum and feather it out at the edges.

NewHomeowner_2025 Jan 17 at 1:22 PM

just tried this advice on my hallway patch. did about a 3 foot circle around it and you literally cannot tell anymore. the secret really is blending a bigger area. thanks for the tip

texture_tommy Jan 24 at 8:45 AM

Late to this but wanted to add - the temperature of the room matters too. If its cold the texture comes out weird and clumpy. I always run my heat for a bit before texturing and make sure the can itself is room temp. Learned this after ruining a can in my garage workshop in winter