Repairing Small Holes in Drywall

The way in which you approach a drywall repair depends on the size of the hole to be repaired. Nail holes can usually be covered up with a little spackling or drywall compound. Mix a little compound up in a plastic dish or bucket until it is the consistency of a thick mud. The reason for using plastic is , if you let it accidentally let it dry in the bucket, a plastic bucket will allow you to break it up and peel it out to a clean the bucket. If the compound is too thin it will run down the wall, too thick will still have powder in it. A good mix will be like play dough. Where you can easily work it into holes, etc., Yet thick enough to stick where you put it. Be careful not to mix up too much as little holes will take forever to use even a small amount. You can always mix up more, but any extra is just waste.

Keep a wet rag with you when working with it. It not only comes in handy for smoothing and working the compound, but it also is handy for cleaning up little mistakes as you work while they are still wet. If you miss cleaning up a mistake (example- you drop a little on your carpet and let it dry), don't worry. A little denatured alcohol on a rag will safely wash it of most materials (off anything that is not a latex based surface). It is good for removing anything latex based even after it is dry. Just put a little on a rag and scrub the spot you want to remove. It works even better than "Goof Off".

Put a little compound on your finger tip and push it into the nail hole. If the wall is a smooth finish, you will need to wipe the surface smooth with the wet rag. Keep in mind that drywall compound and spackling both shrink as they dry. So if it is a big nail hole you may have to go back and refill the hole after it dries to get it smooth. It generally takes several hours for small filled holes to dry. The larger the hole the longer it takes. Get the texture and look you want before priming and painting. Priming and painting with a roller will give the surface a mild dimpled or small bubbled effect. Thus smooth surfaces still look textured to a small degree once painted.

If you have a rough surface type wall. You will need to dab the compound into the hole. Purposely letting it stick to your finger so as to create a similar rough surface. Let it dry, then prime and paint.

If you have an acoustic (little ball) type surface you can repair it like for a smooth surface and then while the compound is still wet. Take a little in your fingers rolling it into a similar sized ball in your fingers. Then stick it to the spot so as to make it match. If it is a flattened acoustic type you may be able to treat it like smooth surface or just take and flatten the little ball to match. Then carefully dabbing the primer and paint on when dry.

The more time and care you put into this the better the results you will get.