On Oct 14, 1:15 pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:

The textures I see vary from the canonical "skip-troweled" texture to a
sort of blobby flattened oatmeal

The latter, I suspect, in many circles is referred to as "knock-
down". The "finished" walls are splattered with mud using a "texture
gun", then the splatter is gently flattened with a trowel.
http://www.toolfetch.com/Category--D...nits-cat.shtml

to a kind of rough old-fashioned
plaster look (on wallboard, not lath and plaster).

When I think "old fashioned" I think "flat and smooth, as if a
"craftsman" did it".

To me, texture is just a technique intended to hide shoddy
workmanship.

Any help here would be much appreciated, preferably using standard tools
and joint compound.

Like "mop stomp"? Thinned compound (or not) has a mop with cut off
strings dipped into it then the mop is stomped (usually against the
ceiling).

Then there's "broomed". A skim coat is applied and the broom bristles
are spun in it to create semicircles.

Sometimes a guy will just take his trowel and place it flat on the
last coat of wet finish mud and pull it more or less straight off,
creating "stipples".
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- gpsman