
To patch small holes in a wall before painting, clean the spots and sand them smooth with fine-grit sandpaper, then use spackle to fill the holes. Let it dry completely and sand the area again. Use joint compound and patches rather than spackle for larger holes and gouges.
Every lived-in home has a few cracks, dents, holes from hanging picture frames and mirrors, or from collisions with furniture and people. These sweet imperfections can ruin a new paint job. So patch your beat-up walls with these four super easy and quick steps.
Project difficulty: Beginner Estimated time to complete: 10 to 20 minutes Project cost: $10 to $75, depending on the size and number of holes. |
Gather Your Supplies
Here’s what you’ll need to patch a wall:
- Bucket
- Painter’s tape or pencil
- Putty knife
- Paint brush
- Scraper
- Sanding block or sandpaper
- Flexible caulk
- A small container of spackle
- Adhesive wall patch for larger holes
- Spackle or joint compound
Patching Small Holes and Dents

Clean and Sand the Surface
Unless your house is brand new, your walls will have imperfections and dirt. You need to clean and smoothen the area around the hole to ensure a proper patching job. Otherwise, there’ll be a bump sticking out like a sore thumb if you paint over it.
For a flawless paint job, your walls need to be clean, dry, and free of any foreign material. Dust, dirt, grease, and grime not only mess up the paint, making it bubbly, uneven, and short-lasting but also seal in the dirt to cause issues later.
Here’s how you clean the area before making repairs:
- Use a filling knife or scraper to remove any loose material from the wall. Be careful not to gouge or scratch the wall.
- Remove any nails, screws, or wall anchors. (Skip this if you’ll be hanging the art back in the same place.)
- Scrape away as much peeling paint as possible.
- If you see a crack, use your knife to cut an inverted “V” shaped groove all along the length of the crack so you have a clean “hole” to fill.
- Use a damp cloth and mild detergent to lightly dab and wipe the area, especially greasy and grimy parts. Clean and dry the area gently with a towel.
Now, grab a fine-grit sandpaper (preferably 220-grit):
- Sand all dented and bumpy areas to clean away any loose edges of drywall holes or previous paint and to roughen the surface over the nail hole.
- If there are multiple layers of old paint, you might need more than one sanding or scraping session to clean the surface.
- For larger and deeper holes, sand about 4 to 6 inches beyond the perimeter of the hole as well.
- Wipe off the sanding dust with a damp cloth.
Fill in the Holes
For small holes, use spackle, a quick-drying substance made of gypsum powder and binders. Spackling paste works great for small repairs, especially filling in holes from tacks and nails and small cracks in wood, drywall, and plaster.
- Scoop out a small amount of spackle with a putty knife and spread it over the hole.
- Hold your knife at a low angle to the wall and press the ready-to-use, smooth white spackle into the hole. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even fill nail holes using just your finger.
- Keep going and fill the hole.
- Smooth it over the area and scrape away the excess putty to leave a flat, smooth patch.
- Let it dry.
Patching Large Holes

Use joint compound, also called drywall compound. It’s a patching powder made from ground gypsum. It’s available in both pre-mixed and powder forms. Both forms contain additives that make them moisture- and mildew-resistant and aid a smoother finish.
You mix powdered joint compound with water to create a paste and use it for skim coating walls. It works best for filling in large holes, bumps, tears, and cracks and takes longer to dry than spackle. Large and deep repairs may need to dry overnight or even longer before they’re ready for paint.
Now clean and sand the hole using the same approach as for smaller holes, then:
- For cracks or dents, fill with spackle and smooth out the edges so they are level with the rest of the wall.
- Cover the hole with a self-adhesive wall patch.
- Press the wall patch down firmly.
- Use your putty knife to apply about 4 inches of patching compound only around the perimeter wall patch. Smooth the patching material with your knife 1 to 2 inches beyond the patched area.
- Let it dry.
Patching Tape Tears and Splits
- Pull away the loose tape using a sharp utility knife at the edges. Do not pull material from either side of the split or tear.
- Measure the faulty section and cut a new, slightly longer piece of tape.
- Apply a thin layer of joint compound to the damaged area with a putty knife and apply a new piece of mesh tape over it. Smooth out all the creases and bubbles by gently sliding your knife over and using light, vertical strokes.
- Apply a second coat of joint compound without waiting for the first one to dry.
- Let it dry for the recommended time and apply a final coat. Feather the edges of the patch so it blends with the whole wall.
Sand and Prime
Allow adequate time for spackle or joint compound to dry, then sand the area so it’s ready for a fresh coat of primer or wall paint. In rare cases when the repair area is very small, you can skip sanding.
Your repaired walls are now ready for priming which will cover the filler and create a level surface for the top coat of paint to adhere to. Primer also covers patches, hairline cracks, and other minor imperfections.
When the primer dries completely, you can apply the topcoat. Priming isn’t always necessary though.
DIY or Hire a Pro
Patching all the imperfections in your walls is a crucial step to ensure a long-lasting, smooth finish. Though it is a small DIY project, some homeowners might not have the time, energy, or simply the will to spend their weekend patching up walls. If so, contact a pro to handle all the wall repair and painting.
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