Place the sandpaper over the hole and rotate it back and forth between clockwise and counterclockwise a few times. This keeps your repair area smaller than sanding from side to side. You can use 100-grit sandpaper if the drywall isn’t badly damaged. If you’re patching a small area, like a nail hole, you can simply push the drywall in with your thumb or the base of a screwdriver, then spackle over the indent you make.
Don’t worry about removing paint around the hole. You’ll be painting over the area again later on.
Use a smooth, feathering motion to apply the spackle to the wall. You can use 2 putty knives if you want. Use 1 with a thin blade and another with a wide blade. Use the wider knife to remove the spackle from the tub and use the thinner knife to apply the spackle. The wider knife can act as a palette. You can also use an old plastic credit card or used gift card if you don’t have an appropriately-sized putty knife on hand. Always close the spackle tub after you’ve removed the spackle you need. If the spackle dries out, it’ll be useless.
Test the spackle with your finger to see if it’s dry.
Give the second layer another 4 to 5 hours to dry before you apply the next layer.
You can always apply a fourth layer if you think the drywall needs it. However, 3 layers should be enough. You don’t want to overdo it and end up with a small lump in your wall from all of the spackle. If your drywall is textured, dab a sponge on the last layer of wet spackle to match the texture of the repair to the texture of the rest of the wall.
If there’s still too much spackle on the wall, don’t overdo it with the putty knife. Use fine-grit sandpaper to sand the spackle until it’s level with the wall again.
Cover baseboards, door hinges, and the ceiling border with painter’s tape if necessary.
If you’re painting the whole wall, sand your spackle down well. Apply one coat of paint to the spackled areas and allow it to dry completely, then proceed with painting your wall. You won’t need primer unless you’re changing the color of your wall. Use even, measured strokes with the roller or the paintbrush to apply the primer.
If it’s cool or very humid, it might take an extra hour or so for the primer to dry.
You can take paint chips home from the store and hold them up to the wall to find the color that’s an exact match. If you can’t find an exact match, you’ll probably need to repaint the whole wall.
If you’re only painting the small section you applied spackle to, you can use a small paintbrush or a sponge paintbrush to dab your paint onto the patch.
You can also leave the paint dry overnight. This will ensure that the paint is completely dry before you paint the second coat.
If applying another coat, give the second coat 4 to 5 hours to dry first.
