RXM Coatings
Cleaning & Maintenance

NECESSARY ITEMS

STEP ONE
Dampen the surface with clean, clear water and scrub the wall lightly with a stiff, clean, nylon brush. Towel dry with a clean, absorbent towel. If the spot does not come clean, allow the surface to thoroughly dry before beginning the next step.

STEP TWO
Try spraying with soapy water and scrubbing lightly with a stiff, clean, nylon brush. Towel dry with a clean, absorbent towel. Again, if the spot does not come clean, allow the wall to thoroughly dry before beginning the next step.

STEP THREE
Spray with a recommended cleaner (as mentioned in the third paragraph under "Important") and scrub with a stiff, clean, nylon brush. Towel dry with a clean, absorbent towel. Allow the wall to thoroughly dry before initiating any repairs to the wall.

IMPORTANT
Rinsing off any residue of soap is very important. Always rinse any soap scum or cleaning product off the RXM coated wall with plenty of clean water. Spray and pat dry using clean and absorbent towels.

Care should be taken to follow the steps for cleaning as noted below. In certain cases, repairs to the wall may be necessary. Please follow the instructions that were provided with the repair materials.

When necessary, RXM walls should be cleaned with the mildest cleaning agent possible starting with water, then soap and water, and if required a household cleanser without bleach such as Professional Lysol Basin Tub & Tile Cleaner, or a colorless industry specific cleanser such as Don's "Don-o-mite". Always try the mildest cleanser first.

NOTE
Moistening the RXM surface with water or a cleanser will tend to soften the coating surface. Care should be taken to not re-brush the stained area when the RXM finish is soft or the RXM layer may be damaged. Let the RXM surface dry thoroughly and regain hardness before moving from one step to the next. Continued use of strong or inappropriate cleansers may dull the RXM finish. Should this occur, or if the stain persists, repair the surface following the repair instructions.

RXM Coatings Repair Techniques

Introduction:

Before you can undertake a repair to a RXM wall, make sure you have the RXM repair kit materials. The latest kits include plastic texture tubes and the Homax #4105 Touch Up repair gun. The materials should include the Primer material, the skim coat material, the tinted undercoat material (either texture or eggshell finish), and the tinted topcoat material (either texture or eggshell finish material). Raised texture repairs only require an undercoat material and the raised texture material. If you don't know how your finish was installed contact us and we can help.

Preparation:

Repair to the underlying substrate must be made before the texture finish is repaired. Care must be taken to assure that substrate repairs are flush with the adjoining substrate or you will find the variation is noticeable after the repair is made. Make sure the wall substrate is dry before proceeding to the next step.

Priming:

All RXM repairs, except raised texture, should be primed with the RXM primer supplied with your order. The primer should be applied thinly (600 square feet per gallon is ideal) with a thin nap 1/4" roller or a brush. This layer is a tack coat designed to prep the wall for the additional RXM Coatings. Applying too much Primer will greatly reduce the permeability of the RXM finish. Remember thin, uniform, but not a covering appearance is what you are trying to achieve with the primer coat.

Top Coats:

Your RXM installation was done one of 5 ways, Eggshell over skim, texture over eggshell, eggshell over texture, raised texture or texture over raised texture. The directions below will help you repair the finish based on the type of installation.

Eggshell over skim:

An eggshell over skim finish consists of two coats. First apply the skim coat with a trowel to the damaged area so the surface is smooth and level with the adjoining undamaged wall area. After the skim coat has dried lightly sand any ridges or bumps in the finish. Clean away any dust. Apply the eggshell coat with a brush or roller and feather it in to the surrounding undamaged area.

Texture over Eggshell:

A texture over Eggshell installation is one where the texture is applied over an eggshell finish that is usually the same color. To repair this type of an installation, repeat the original sequence. We assume the Primer has been applied as instructed above. The next step is to apply the eggshell material with a brush or a roller at a coverage rate of approximately 250 square feet per gallon. If the eggshell coat is a contrasting color to the texture, avoid applying the eggshell coat to the surrounding texture adjacent to the repair site. After the eggshell has dried, apply the texture as described below.

The texture coat is applied using either the Homax spray gun at its largest setting and standing 1 to 2 feet from the surface, or the texture tubes supplied with your order. Please read the instructions enclosed with your Homax Touch Up kit. The texture tubes should be filled with the tinted texture material. The texture tube should be checked to make sure that the color matches the wall surface being repaired. Remember colors tend to look slightly different when wet. With the correct material, proceed to randomly apply small Hershey kiss sized pieces of the texture to the repair area with a density equivalent to the surrounding undamaged texture.
After several minutes, but no longer than 15, knock the texture kisses down with a plastic squeegee, index card, or broad putty knife. If you need to add additional material in order to fill in thin spots do so, wait a few minutes and knock down that area. If you are not happy with the way it looks, take a wet rag or sponge and wipe off the texture and start over after the surface has dried.

Eggshell over Texture:

An eggshell over texture installation is accomplished by applying the texture as the intermediate step after the primer and the eggshell as the final step. We assume you have installed the primer coat as instructed above. The next step is to apply the texture using the squeeze tube with the appropriate tinted texture material.
The texture coat is applied using either the Homax spray gun at its largest setting and standing 1 to 2 feet from the surface, or the texture tubes supplied with your order. Please read the instructions supplied with your Homax Touch Up kit. To apply the texture coat with the texture squeeze tube, first locate the correct material. With the correct material, proceed to apply small Hershey kiss sized pieces of the texture to the repair area using a dabbing technique with a density equivalent to the surrounding texture material. Take care to feather in the texture at the seam between the repair site and the original finish. After several minutes, but no longer than 15, knock the texture kisses down with a plastic squeegee, index card, or broad putty knife. If you need to add additional material in order to fill in thin spots, do so. Wait a few minutes and knock down that area. If you are not happy with the way it looks, take a wet rag or sponge and quickly wipe off the texture and start over after the surface has dried.

After you have applied the texture coat and allowed it to dry (at least 24 hours), lightly sand the repaired area with 60-80 grit sandpaper. You are now ready to apply the eggshell finish with either a 2" or 3" brush or a 1/2" high quality roller (depending upon the size of the repair). If your walls have become discolored from smoke or other factors, you may want to apply the eggshell finish over a broader area to make the repaired area less noticeable.

Raised Texture:

A raised texture installation is one where the texture material is applied over the eggshell finish in a heavy orange peal type of pattern. To repair this type of an installation, repeat the original sequence. In the first step, install the eggshell material using a brush or a roller. Wait for the undercoat to dry. Use the Homax spray gun at the small to medium setting and stand 1 to 2 feet away from the surface or use the texture tubes supplied with your order. Please read the directions enclosed with your Homax Touch Up kit. If you are not happy with the way it looks, take a wet rag or sponge and quickly wipe off the texture and start over after the surface has dried.

Texture over raised

A texture over raised installation is one where the texture is applied last over an intermediate light raised texture finish. To repair this type of an installation, repeat the original sequence. We assume the Primer has been applied as previously instructed above. The next step is to apply the eggshell material with either a brush or a roller at a coverage rate of approximately 250 square feet per gallon. After the eggshell has dried, apply the raised texture as described below.

Apply a very light raised texture background coat by using the Homax spray gun at its small setting and stand 1 to 2 feet away from the surface or use the texture tubes supplied with your order. Please read the directions enclosed with your Homax Touch Up kit. If you are not happy with the way it looks, take a wet rag or sponge and quickly wipe off the raised texture and start over after the surface has dried. The purpose of applying the intermediate raised finish is to have some small dots of raised texture in the background before applying the texture coat.

After the raised texture has dried apply the texture coat by using either the Homax spray gun at its largest setting and standing 1 to 2 feet from the surface, or the texture tubes supplied with your order. Please read the instructions supplied with your Homax Touch Up kit. To apply the texture coat with the texture squeeze tube, first locate the correct material. With the correct material, proceed to apply small Hershey kiss sized pieces of the texture to the repair area using a dabbing technique with a density equivalent to the surrounding texture material. Take care to feather in the texture at the seam between the repair site and the original finish. After several minutes, but no longer than 15, knock the texture kisses down with a plastic squeegee, index card, or broad putty knife. If you need to add additional material in order to fill in thin spots, do so. Wait a few minutes and knock down that area. If you are not happy with the way it looks, take a wet rag or sponge and quickly wipe off the texture and start over after the surface has dried.