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How to German Schmear using a paint roller instead of trowl?

Hi Folks,

I would love to apply German Schmear but I want to do it with a paint roller as it's on a stairs and without a scaffold with a specified stair kit it would be impossible to do with trowel & sponge. Is this even possible as I cannot locate any videos on this topic ?

Thanks in Advance,

Maria

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JacobZ

Hi @Maria_H1,

Thank you for your question.

I can't say I've ever applied a german smear, and looking at the process of how it is done, I'm not sure you'd be able to accurately replicate the look without getting up close.

You could certainly apply the mortar with a roller with a pole, but removing it to give that textured look without being able to get up close to it seems like it would be very difficult.

Is there an area closer to the ground where you could practice the technique? If you could refine your technique while on the ground, you might be able to attach a sponge or trowel to a pole to do it at height, but I wouldn't go ahead unless you were confident.

Ultimately, a professional doing this work would use a stair scaffold, so if you wanted a professional finish, then you would need to factor this into your costs.

Allow me to tag @Dave-1, @DIYGnome and @JoeAzza to see what they think.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

Dave-1

Good afternoon @Maria_H1

Any chance of a photo of the area you are refering? I have done sponge walls, and brushed walls before and they were both hard going even on a stand. I had to look up German Schmer to see what it was 🙂 It looks good I must admit but trying to do it at height mmmmm Maybe practice on a lower section as if you were working at height before deciding on 100% to do it that way? Otherwise I would be factoring in a stand of some kind, Maybe with the intention of onselling it after you complete the rendering style.

Would love to see the work if you do it btw 🙂

Dave

DIYGnome

Hello @Maria_H1 apologies for the belated reply, I must confess I had not heard of this particular technique and all subsequent research appears to indicate a trowel and or sponge is the best approach, given that the effect is permanent it doesn't give a lot of scope for fixing mistakes, thus I would not personally attempt it from afar (with a roller) and employ the correct scaffolding solution instead, additionally YouTube has a range of DIY German Schmear videos to choose from 😉

Not impossible (with a roller) but highly not recommended 😉

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