Purchased a new home, owner had tons of things on walls. Lots of anchor holes (some with plastic anchors still in there) and rips in drywall paper (not large but many).
Should I repair with wallboard compound or fast drying spackle?
Should I try and pull the anchors, force them into the wall, or just imbed them enough to compound spackle them?
Can I use a hair dryer to speed drying process when I need multiple coats?
Thanks for the advice!
Spackle is made for that. Depending on the anchor, pulling them out can do more damage. Pushing them in is easy enough.
If you have a lot of holes it will probably be dry enough by the second time around to not need the air dryer.
That would be my suggestion. Pulling anchors would make repair more difficult. I would just give spackle time to dry and maybe finish with a second coat. Matching paint may be biggest chore and whole walls might need to be painted.
I'd do whichever is easier. If the anchor is loose and partially sticking out, pull it out. If not, push or tap it in until it's below the surface. Spackle or mud is up to you. Mud works, it's cheap. Spackle costs more and is fancier. Some change color so you can tell when it's dry, produce less dust when sanded, are fast drying, etc.
Smaller holes can be spackled, larger holes may require cutting and fitting drywall pieces, tape and compound.
Much depends on the type of anchors that were used. Butterfly anchors are best pushed in and let fall into the wall, then spackle the hole. Trying to pull them out will result in bigger damage to wall. Straight plastic spread anchors can be pulled, using a screw partially inserted then yanked, which is my method, then spackled. Butterfly anchors with a flange can still be pushed in, but for me, I cut the flange, push in anchor than spackle. I don't like to have any protrusion and prefer a nice flush repair.
If you use fast drying spackle and have many holes, chances are the first holes will be dry and ready to sand by the time you get to the last one. Otherwise, a hair dryer will work but use medium setting at the most, if available. Otherwise, stay on cool.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.