Best Way To Fill In Nail Holes

Is Filling Holes Necessary

Carpenters who install trim are often called finish carpenters, suggesting that their work has a finished, polished look. When installing trim yourself, you should strive for the same level of refinement. One secret to a finished look is to hide the means of attachmentin this case, the nails that hold the trim in place. And the only way to do that is to fill the nail holes.

Relying on paint alone to hide nail holes is a common rookie mistake. Paint may seem to cover just fine when it goes on but, sure enough, the holes will be visiblein the form of tiny dimpleswhen the paint dries. If youre staining or clear-sealing the wood, filler is an obvious must. In this case, its also important to take the time to find or mix the filler with a good color match, since the stain or sealer wont hide it.

Quick Nail Hole Fixes In A Pinch

Everybody has a tube of toothpaste lying around. You can use toothpaste to fill small nail holes in your wall. Its the fastest way to get the job done.

Toothpaste is a great quick fix if youre in a pinch. For example, you may have your landlord coming by in less than an hour to take a look around. In that case, grab whatever you use to keep your teeth shiny and white.

Its important to note that toothpaste eventually cracks as it dries. Resultantly, its no good for filling larger holes, such as those accidentally made by a hammer. However, theres a trick that will eliminate this problem.

Hopefully, you also have a few aspirins lying around. If so, crushed one or two aspirin and mix them with a small amount of toothpaste.

The mixture will seal the hole and wont crack. All you need to do is apply the toothpaste to the hole, let it dry, and youre all set.

Again, without painting, this quick fix method only works with white walls. Also, it will only work with white toothpaste. If needed, a trip to the store for a small tube of white toothpaste is a lot easier than making your way to a hardware store.

Let’s Talk About ‘nail Pops’

These are areas where, over time, either a nail or screw starts to jut out of the drywall, but isn’t necessarily a hole. It’s more like a paint-colored bump in your wall.

First, you’ll want to determine if it’s a nail or a screw popping out.

You can use the putty knife to scratch off the surface area to expose the nail or screw. If it’s a nail, use a hammer to push the nail back into the drywall so that it’s flush with the wall. If it’s a screw, use the appropriate screwdriver to push the screw back into the drywall.

Now that the nail or screw is pushed back into the drywall, you can use the drywall spackle over the spot to fill in the gaps.

Again, wait a few hours for the spackle to dry, then use the sandpaper to even out any bumps. Go over the area with a couple of layers of paint — and that’s it.

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How Do You Fill Nail Holes Using Baking Soda

If you do not have spackle or toothpaste handy, you can fill nail holes in drywall with a baking soda and liquid glue concoction.

Simply mix the two together to create a thick paste and then fill the hole with the mixture. Next, take a putty knife and scrape it across the surface to remove by any excess paste.

If you do not want to paint the wall afterward, use this paste mixture on a white or off-white wall. It will be noticeable on a colored wall so apply sparingly.

If you use it on a dark-toned wall, you may need to go over the area with a marker in a similar shade.

Apply The Spackling Paste

Take a tiny amount of spackle with the corner of the putty knife and push it gently and slowly into the nail hole. When youre done, use the flat side of the knife to even out the paste. Do your best to smooth out the spackle over the nail hole but dont worry if theres some excess paste left over it.

Let the spackling paste dry out 2-3 hours should be enough.

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What Do You Use To Fill Nail Holes In Drywall

The best way to fill nail holes in drywall is by using spackle. All you need to do is put some spackling on a putty knife and apply it to the hole.

Then, take the straight edge of the knife and scrape away any excess putty from the wall. Or you can simply go over it with a damp cloth once the spackle has dried .

I recommend sanding the spackle with a fine-grit sandpaper. This will ensure the plaster is flush with the drywall, so it is less noticeable.

This is especially helpful if you plan not to paint afterward. Just make sure the spackle is completely dry before sanding and do not press too hard. Otherwise, you could over-sand the hole and leave a dent in the surface area.

To keep costs down, you can make your own homemade filler. Simply combine 4 tablespoons of flour with 1/3 tablespoon of salt.

Then, blend the two ingredients with a little primer to create a paste. Apply the paste to the nail hole and allow it to dry fully.

Finish by going over the area with fine-grit sandpaper or an orbital sander until the filler is flush with the drywall surface.

Smooth It Out And Let It Dry

You can now use any kind of flat utensil, such as a butter knife, to flatten the toothpaste. Here, you are aiming to make the toothpaste flush with the rest of the wall. Something like a spackle knife might work really well for this. Now, simply let the toothpaste dry, which can take several hours or even up to a day, depending on the conditions.

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How To Fill Nail Holes In Mdf Trim

Handyman’s World Editorial TeamHandyman’s World is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

If you are using MDF or medium-density fiberboard for the trim around doors and windows, then one of the things that you are going to have to deal with are those pesky nail holes. Of course, you do need to use nails to attach that trim to the rest of your home, but with that being said, you obviously dont want those nail holes showing.

Therefore, how to fill nail holes in MDF trim is what we are here to teach you to do today.

Can You Use Toothpaste To Fill Nail Holes

Filling nail holes in drywall using toothpaste is an easy and inexpensive alternative to spackle or paint.

If possible, find a tube as close to the color of the wall as possible. Then, squeeze a small amount directly into the hole and use a putty knife or a playing card to remove any excess product.

For better results, try mixing toothpaste with a crushed Aspirin tablet to create a paste and use that fill the nail hole.

This mixture helps prevent cracking, so nail holes appear less noticeable. This is especially helpful if you do not intend to paint over them afterward.

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How Do You Fill Nail Holes Using Soap

Using soap to fill nail holes in drywall is a last resort should you not have spackle, toothpaste, or glue on-hand. It is an easy, albeit temporary fix that is meant for quick touch-up jobs that you intend to redo in the future.

Simply take the bar of soap and rub it over the hole. Keep rubbing until the hole is filled and then wipe off any excess with a slightly damp cloth.

If you do not want to paint afterward, instead of using a white bar, choose one in a similar shade to your wall color.

Filling Exterior Nail Holes

Hey all,

So which method of filling nail holes in exterior trim finishes better and lasts longer latex caulking or spackling compound?

Thanks,

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Filling Large Nail Holes

The process for how to fill nail holes that are a bit larger in size is pretty much the same as filling small nail holes, with the added caveat that youre probably going to want to add some reinforcement by means of adhesive-backed fiberglass mesh tape. Heres how to do it:

Using Paper Joint Tape

Paper joint tape is another alternative you can use to fill small nail holes on your drywall.

The paper joint tape isnt self-adhesive, so youll need a small amount of drywall compound, commonly known in the construction and home improvement industry as mud.

Heres a simple step-by-step procedure:

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Can You Use Caulk To Fill Nail Holes

While caulking is great for filling gaps or cracks in exterior surfaces, it is not often recommended for filling nail holes in drywall or interior surfaces made of wood.

The reason being that over time, the product is flexible and will shrink, leaving a divot in the wall.

The only time you should use caulk instead of spackle to fill nail holes in drywall is on places where the ceiling meets the wall.

This is because the wall is already indented in that area so you will not notice any divots. As well, caulking is white so it will blend in well with ceilings, which are also typically white.

Hide The Holes With Toothpaste:

Another way to hide nail holes in a white wall is simply by squirting in a dab of white toothpaste. You can use a cotton swap or your finger to help push it in and wipe off the excess around the hole, and voila you wont even notice it anymore!

What your frugal friends are saying about filling holes with toothpaste

Vanessa writes: White toothpaste, blends right in

Suzanne writes: White toothpaste is my oldskool favorite.

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What You’ll Need To Learn How To Fix Nail Holes In Apartment Walls

If you want to fix nail holes in an apartment wall, you’re going to need a few things first. The tools mentioned in this post can be found at any hardware store. They’re useful for any reason you might need to patch up a hole in a wall.

First, you’re going to need sandpaper to smooth the wall. You’ll need some spackle and a trowel to fill in the hole. For larger holes in the wall, you may need a wall patch as well.

The good news is that many hardware stores might even have all of these items sold together as a wall repair kit, so be sure to ask for assistance at the store to save yourself time, and possibly money.

You will also need a paintbrush and paint that matches the rest of the apartment walls. Otherwise, you might end up with parts of a wall that don’t match the rest of the apartment. Most hardware and paint supply stores can easily color match so once all the repairs are done, you won’t notice where you did the handiwork.

Keep in mind that the idea is to make your apartment look the same way it did when you moved in. You should be trying to get as close to this goal as possible throughout the process.

What You Need To Fill Nail Holes

There are lots of ways to fill nails holes in your walls, but if youre looking to get the job done with the least amount of time, effort, and supplies, here is what you need:

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How To Make Homemade Spackle

If you only have a couple tiny nail holes to fill then it might not be worth buying an entire container of spackle. Fortunately, there are a few different ways to DIY it.

Use baking soda. Make a paste by mixing a half-tablespoon of baking soda with white glue until it turns into a pliable paste. Use a plastic knife to apply the paste to the hole and smooth it out, and allow to dry fully before sanding.

Make a play-dough inspired filler. This recipe has you following a traditional homemade play-dough formula, with a little twist. Mix together four tablespoons of white flour with one-third tablespoon of salt. Then turn the mixture into a paste by slowly adding in paint, primer, or varnish. As an added bonus, you can use the paint color of the wall as your mix-in so that the homemade spackle blends in right away.

Use toothpaste. Yep, you can use toothpaste to fill a small nail hole, just go for the white paste kind. It might not be quite as solid as other DIY methods, but it will work in a pinch, particularly if youre a renter trying to fill nail holes before your landlord comes by.

Use a bar of soap. Heres another do-it-yourself option that wont provide a permanent fix but will serve as a quick way to fill in tiny holes. Take a white bar of soap and rub it over the hole to fill it in. Use your finger or a dry rag to wipe away any excess in the area surrounding the hole.

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