I have an article about 3 feet in diameter made of fiberboard.
It has a faux pigskin (like a football) texture on the exposed
surface,
and is painted flat black. It has gotten cracked here and there
around the outer rim.

I have successfully repaired the cracks and other dings with
fiberglass and am
now trying to restore the finish. After patching, I've applied primer
using a spray can.
The problem is getting a uniform texture. Right now, the repaired
areas are
smooth, presenting a noticeable contrast to the original pigskin
elsewhere.
It would be nice to restore the pigskin, but I would settle for
something like a modest
orange peel. I tried a spray can texturing product, but could not even
get it to come
out of the can. When I returned it to Home Depot the fellow in Paints
said, "Yeah,
people bring those back all the time. They don't work very good."

So, what are my options here? I saw another brand of spray can
texture at Ace,
but am dubious. Thick paint of some kind applied with a long knap
roller?
I'm not sure I want to invest in professional texturing equipment.

TIA

Ed