# Forum Home Renovation Rendering  Filling Raked Brick Joints

## wallafox

Hi Guys,
I am looking at using acrylic textured paint to coat an external brick wall. 
I have seen the same finish on a friends new home and the appearance / texture is great. 
It does not need to hide the brick joints completely to achieve a good looking finish. 
The required texture is achieved by adding fine to coarse sand to the paint prior to applying with a lambs wool glove. 
My problem is that my brick joints have been raked out and I wish to fill them prior to applying the paint. 
Is there an easier way than mixing mortar and filling each joint individually? 
Could I use one of the flexi fixing mortars used for tile roofing for example. I tried using mud (mortar) in a silicone type cartridge gun but it doesnt work. 
Something applied with a cartridge type gun would make the job much easier and less time consuming.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Wallafox

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## GeoffW1

Hi, 
I had good success with a larger type of gun I found in Bunnings, normally used for the large sausages of sealant. It was $10  Selleys Sausage Gun 
With this you must take steps to make the mortar flow out the nozzle easily. I used a dash of detergent in each bag of mortar mix, and made the mix fairly runny. 
There are specialty mortar guns, including a power drive attachment to an electric drill which looks good.  Diamond Way Mortar Saw, Mortar, Caulking, Grouting Gun, Mortar Mix, Mortar Plasticiser, Bricklaying Tools 
I did the front of a Federation house once, only with a pointing trowel, and although I got quite practised, it took many hours. 
Cheers

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## wallafox

Hello Geoffw1
                     Thanks for the info - much appreciated. The mortar gun looks the real deal.  I think I'll try Bunnings first for a one off job like mine.
Wallafox

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## Haveago1

You could also just rub over the wall with a wet mortar mix using a gloved hand....

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## zoj

> You could also just rub over the wall with a wet mortar mix using a gloved hand....

  Eventhough the joints are not raked?
Im curious because i would like to take on a similiar job at my place.
Let us know how you get on wallafox.Cheers.

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## Haveago1

_You could also just rub over the wall with a wet mortar mix using a gloved hand...._  _That was to fill in the raked joints before you start the finish coat...._

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## Peterwilliam

Dont know if you have finished the job yet but there is a product by cement Australia called Render It.
It is easy to use just clean the wall with a broom or brush dampen the wall not wet.
Mix the render it (instructions on bag) to a smooth soft paste then working from the bottom up using a smooth float wipe it in the joints. To stick it to the float just use a spatula to load enough on the float to work with. You can catch any that drops onto a flat clean surface (masonite?) and reuse it as long as you do so straight away.
You can do large or small areas quickly and easily and once it is drying, this depends on the temperature etc. you can work a finish into it. The steel float will give a sandy type finish if used to finish with, or you can sponge, brush or anything you want to try. A flat surface can be obtained by running a flat stick over it But wit till it dries a bit, use face of the bricks as the guide for the stick
Don't worry about mistakes as while it is still wet you can clean it off and start again. In the first few hours just rub it of brush it off. Trial and error will teach you all you need to know or look up rendering links on google that have text and videos.
Hope this helps

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## Oldsaltoz

Why not just bag the wall? Mix your render as a slurry and apply with a large flat sponge, This will fill the raked out areas and smooth out the wall but not hide the brick profile.

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## Brickie

> Why not just bag the wall? Mix your render as a slurry and apply with a large flat sponge, This will fill the raked out areas and smooth out the wall but not hide the brick profile.

  Bagging wont fill raked joints no matter how hard you try.  :Wink:

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