Scratched my wall

[anarchy]

Hey guys,
I slipped on the stairs this morning while I was on my way out to my car and when I stuck out my arms to brace my fall, my keys made this huge scratch on the wall. It's pretty deep, and I am far from being a handy-man.

Anyone know someone I can call to help patch it up? It's a long scratch that is really deep.

[FiveFreshFish]

Use this stuff.

[barmanjay]

crap

never use poly fill!!!

it's sands like shit!

just ask the local rona, totem or home depot guy for drywall compound and a puddy knife!

[anarchy]

I really have no idea what I'm doing.
What about paint? How do I find the stuff to match my wall?

[Impreza]

^You want to fill in the scratch with the putty and once dry, sand it down so that it is on the same level as the rest of the wall. Once done sanding, you want to paint it.

As for matching paint, I have no clue...

[ashee]

If you have a chip sample or the old lid to the paint you used you can take it to the paint department at any hardware store and they can scan it and see what the color combo is...

[DeeK]

You bet, this is ridiculously easy to fix dude. Just ask someone at home depot or rona...

Just fill with drywall plaster (putty). It might need a patch if its a large hole. but by the sounds of it, you wont need to patch, just plaster.

once dry, sand it down to the surface of your wall.

Take an exacto knife and cut out and pry off a section of your previous wall paint. Just enough that they can use the scanner to match the paint.

Then paint it with the match and you are done.

[Thaco]

you would want to paint the wile wall, corner to corner, you will notice the different paint if you only paint a small section, but if you paint to a natural break (corners) it's not noticeable if there's a slight difference from wall to wall.

[barmanjay]

to get a paint chip and not damage your wall

unscrew the cover plate to your switch or plug and cut/peel the paint within the cover plate area.

bring it to rona, or home depot and get it colour matched

[codetrap]

Originally posted by Thaco
you would want to paint the wile wall, corner to corner, you will notice the different paint if you only paint a small section, but if you paint to a natural break (corners) it's not noticeable if there's a slight difference from wall to wall.

This is very very true.. even a color matched paint sample won't be perfect, and light causes fading. The job really is pretty easy. Get some polyfill and a 4 inch putty knife, fill the hole lightly.. let dry, then put another small coat over it blending in the edges.. sand with a sanding sponge so it's nice and level. You can check your job by shining a flashlight along the wall and looking for shadows and bumps.

Then, just get your paint, a decent roller, a brush, some tape (2 inch wide), and a drop cloth. Tape along your baseboards so that the tape sticks out from the wall, and then carefully paint along your roof. Break out the rollers and do the walls.

If you want a complete guide, pick up the Home Improvement 1-2-3 book. It's got detailed step by step with photos.

Don't worry if you've never done it before, it's pretty easy to do, and fairly intuitive once you're going on it. Plus there is a ton of satisfaction in doing it yourself.

[barmanjay]

Originally posted by codetrap

..... Get some polyfill ....

polyfill = bad

get the actual drywall compound

[codetrap]

Originally posted by barmanjay





polyfill = bad

get the actual drywall compound

Why is polyfix bad for filling in a scratch? I've used it for small patch jobs and it works just fine. The DAP plaster stuff works ok too I thought.

But hey, if you have a good reason, let me know. Always willing to learn.

[Hamann]

Go to Rona or Home Depot and pick up a patching compound, your best bet is a particular one that is pink but turns white when it dries (makes your life easier) cant recall the name off hand but if you ask anyone in the dept they should be able to point it out for you. Basically just put the compound on a taping knife (you can pick up those for cheap, you'll only need a 3 or 4 inch one) and fill the hole, then wipe it smooth with the knife, basically fill the hole so its flush and wipe the excess off. Sand it down so theres no rough edges etc then paint.

Like Codetrap said though, even a color match wont blend 100%, if you dont want to be able to notice it your gonna have to roll out the whole wall, but if you dont really care just roll it out and try your best to blend it in.

[mikestang]

if you use polyfill and only fill the hole you'll beable to see the fix in different lights due to flashing,because polyfill is very rigid and has a lot of glue to it, will never really sand flat and feather into the existing wall nicely.

properly fix the wall by using a mudding compound with a lower amount of glue (it will say on the bin) and cover the hole.... use a flashlight once your done to see if there are any shadows that are cast - if there are, it'll be 10x as noticeable after you paint it, don't just rely on "oh it feels good"..


light fading does occur, but depending on the type of paint that was originally used you can get away with a fix. some paints can't be touched up (even if its the day after you painted it) and require the entire wall to be re-rolled.


btw, did you check your basement for the paint? just incase it's a newer house hahah

[mikestang]

Originally posted by Hamann
Go to Rona or Home Depot and pick up a patching compound, your best bet is a particular one that is pink but turns white when it dries (makes your life easier) cant recall the name off hand but if you ask anyone in the dept they should be able to point it out for you. Basically just put the compound on a taping knife (you can pick up those for cheap, you'll only need a 3 or 4 inch one) and fill the hole, then wipe it smooth with the knife, basically fill the hole so its flush and wipe the excess off. Sand it down so theres no rough edges etc then paint.

Like Codetrap said though, even a color match wont blend 100%, if you dont want to be able to notice it your gonna have to roll out the whole wall, but if you dont really care just roll it out and try your best to blend it in.

that's a DAP product, comes in a white bin with a red top... is pretty good to work with on small fixes like that... good idea

[Supa Dexta]

Couple times I had to fix walls in apartments, I just got paint matched at walmart, then thru it on. Just brush it out and fade/ blend it away from the damage. It was different if you stared right at it and knew you were looking at it. But you'd never see it otherwise.

[barmanjay]

polyfill

is just like it says,.. poly - plastic based

completely opposite to what drywall is - gypsum based

polyfill will never sand off properly

I completely forgot about the dap products, lol,..

What you guys are talking about would be Drydex

goes on pink, dries white.

I use that on all my trim for the nail holes and etc.

doesn't shrink much either.

Excellent product