Remove the plastic anchors. These are small holes in relative terms so all you need for these is a little plaster and a small putty knife.
I pick up a small amount of plaster on a corner of the knife and force what I can into the hole, repeat this a couple of times to fill the hole thoroughly then with a thin smear on the knife you pull it down across the hole to smooth the surface off. You will probably find after the plaster dries that it isn't flush any more, the plaster will shrink so you rub it out a little with sand paper on a block to take down any high plaster and wipe it clean then apply another thin layer of plaster over the dimple. Check again when dry and repeat as often as you need to get a smooth surface then paint. The damage done by the chair may be actually a little easier. If the holes don't go through I would just touch the area with a little sand paper probably 80 grit or so and dust it off. The point here is to put a little tooth on the paint to help hold the plaster. You will probably want a larger plaster knife something wide enough to cover any of the divots. You apply plaster to the knife and draw it down over the damaged area trying to leave plaster in the hole but not to add any significant amount to the good wall surface. When this dries and you rub off the high points with sand paper you repeat dusting, applying more plaster and so on until the depressions are filled. Often there will still be a perceivable bit of a line where the dint was, just apply very thin plaster and feather it out away from the damaged area so that the plaster patch is larger than the hole and any increased thickness of the plaster is gradual enough to disappear. Once the surface is acceptable, you are ready for paint. For the old screw holes you might prefer to use something like Polyfilla, a patching compound which does not shrink, it actually will expand a little and therefore probably grab the edges of the holes a little better. You could also reapply the towel rail with toggle bolts which expand on the back side of the wall and keep it secure. Good flexible putty knives are very helpful. You want enough spring to allow you to press the muddy side against the wall and have it flex slightly working on a 45 degree angle or a little lower. You raise the angle as you complete the stroke to scrape any excess plaster away and I often find it helps to wet the knife and make one final pass, the wet surface keeps the knife from sticking to the plaster and pulling it off but allows you to smooth or feather the surface a little better without adding any plaster. Hope this helps. ----- Original Message ----- From: Matt To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 8:16 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] how to fix holes in sheetrock? Hi, what do I need to buy to patch holes in sheet rock? These are my painted walls, and I have two problem areas. One is where a recliner has hit the wall, and punched holes, not all the way through, and the other is where they hung a towel rack in the house before I got here and they didn't bother to anchor it to studs, so the rack was always coming loose and I did away with it. There are these little plastic gromit type screw in to things which can either be pulled out or bunched through the wall to other side, but either will leave a hole. How do I achieve a smooth surface if I use wood dough or something? Matt [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.9/1419 - Release Date: 5/7/2008 7:46 AM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
