Paint question: good drywall repair product

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi All,

I'm removing wallpaper from all my basement rooms and it is a very long hard job. The hardest part is removing the paste but I'm getting it using DIF and a lot of elbow grease. This is really a job to hate.

But my question is when you have some small dents and blems in the wall and have one coat of paint on already, what is a good way to fix this? I've already done a lot of drywalling and repair; I just want some product that sets up fast (unlike drywall compound) and doesn't need sanding to paint over it. Thanks in advance for any ideas. Now back to the basement for more dudgery.

[tod evans]

spackle. .02

[Travis Porter]

Spackle. The DAP pink kind that turns white works well.

[Scott Loven]

Use a spunge if you dont want to sand

[Chris Mann]

easy sand 5. hardens up in....5 minutes. actually, it usually takes a bit longer than that, more like a half hour before sanding and painting.

[Steven J Corpstein]

I've used the platinum gray lacquer body filler that is designed to fill the body seams on auto parts such as the cowling, etc. The guy in the wood model shop where I work uses it all the time and I've used quite a bit on nails before painting. Drys really fast ( 10 minutes) and if you are careful when you apply it and don't pile it on, you'll just need to hit it with 360 grit very lightly. Takes paint really well.

[Scott Parks]

I see your .02, and raise .02....


Try Dino's D-Mix if your wall is all beat up, and you need to skim the whole thing. Take your drywall mud, and thin it to a rollable consistancy with pva primer. Add plaster to speed up the dry time. Roll it on thick, smooth with a wide knife. Works great, and is fast. You can skim the whole wall in a room is less than 20 mins... Only problem is shrinkage. Roll it on thicker in deep depresions, and if it shrinks, you'll have to do another coat in the low spots....

[Alan Tolchinsky]

DAP first and see how that works. Thanks again.

[Barry O'Mahony]

Get your wife interested in doing some of that Faux-finish painting that you do with sponges. 'nothing better at hiding wall imperfections.

[Jim Becker]

...and don't forget that once you do all your filling and repair work you MUST prime the surface before painting. Two coats is not unreasonable, either, if you want to get a good paint surface. Prep work is the key to a good paint job.

[Ole Anderson]

I hate spackle that is too hard to sand if it doesn't go on right. I prefer drywall compound, if put on in a thin layer, it dries fast if the humidity is reasonable and you can wet (sponge) sand it if needed.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

of drywall and I'm getting tired of this. I agree that drywall is easy to work with but with the "mud in the can" you have to wait overnight for it to dry. Removing old wallpaper paste has to be one of the worst jobs I've done in a long time. It takes forever ; I'll never use wallpaper again in my house. Unless it stays up with magnetism. Yeah, that's the ticket! Thanks again all for your help.