Patching drywall took me 5 tries before I got it right

I spent three weekends trying to fix a hole in my living room wall from a doorknob slam. First attempt I used too much mud and sanded it down to a crater. Second time I put the mesh tape on wrong and it bubbled up like a blister. By the fourth try I was ready to just hang a picture over it and call it a day. Finally on attempt five I figured out I needed to feather the edges way further than I thought. Has anyone else struggled with something this simple for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_elizabeth6d ago

Has anyone tried using a damp sponge instead of sandpaper for the final smoothing? @xenarobinson, I wasted a lot of time with dust clouds before an old painter told me to wet-sand the drywall compound, and it made feathering so much easier.

xenarobinson6d ago

Oh man, I used to be the opposite. I thought patching drywall was one of those things that looked way harder than it actually is, but after reading this I realize I've just been lucky with my small holes. The feathering part is definitely where I've gone wrong before too, it makes all the difference.

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