This leaves a slight divot that must be filled before the wall can be painted.

Either punch in of hole can be easily filled with ordinary drywall joint compound.

It is among the simplest of all DIY home repairs.

repairing a small hole in drywall

The Spruce / Margot Cavin

This is a much easier product to use than a powdered compound that requires mixing with water.

On very small holes, you could use a similar product, often calledspackle.

Like joint compound, spackle is made from a gypsum base.

tools for repairing drywall screw holes

The Spruce / Margot Cavin

Because it is lighter in weight and airier, spackle dries faster than joint compound.

It is not recommended for larger holes, however.

Brushing your hand over the area will tell you if there are any outward puckers remaining.

inspecting the drywall hole

The Spruce / Margot Cavin

Avoid overloading the knife, as this just leads to a mess.

The flexible knife blade should bend slightly as you draw the knife.

Check to double-check the hole is filled flat with joint compound.

loading up the drywall knife

The Spruce / Margot Cavin

If you notice any indentations, fill them immediately with a follow-up pass of the knife.

At this point, don’t worry about getting the surface perfectly flat.

Use the edge of your knife to scrape off the excess mud.

applying the first pass

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Don’t make repeated passes of the knife, as this can pull the joint compound from the hole.

Let the joint compound dry completely; with small holes, this usually takes less than one hour.

This nearly always fixes any remaining pits and depressions.

applying a second coat of mud

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Allow this second coat to fully dryat least one hour.

verify not to sand so aggressively that you damage the face paper.

Cans ofspray-on textureare available that allow you to spot-texture sections of your wall.

sanding the drywall fix

The Spruce / Margot Cavin

In some cases, you might need tocut a piece of drywallto patch a very deep or large hole.

Joint compoundcontains gypsum and limestone and is better for large-scale projects.

Its thinner than spackle but more difficult to smooth out, and it shrinks up more when it dries.

Spackle is made of gypsum and binding agents, and its easy touse for small wall repairs.

Spackle works best on small holes that are less than a few inches across.