I'm moving. There are holes in the wall (plaster?) from picture frames, etc. What is the best way to fix that

Question

Cover it up, repair the wall, etc.

The holes are small, from nails from picture frames, etc.

Answer 1

Been there, done that.
We used white toothpaste for a quick fix. One time, we had a bigger hole about the size of a dime, and I actually stuffed it with a cotton ball. Of course my walls were white.
This is all just for a quick fix. If you want it done right, Spackle it.

Answer 2

The problem, as I see it, is the wallpaper. Even if it's ugly (you said "ancient;" could that mean "antique"?), the entire room needs to be re-papered. The options are: find wall paper that coordinates with the rest of the house; or, repaper everything that used that same paper. It is not possible to match a pattern after years have passed and the elements (lighting, smoking, handprints, etc.) have affected what was already installed. In fact, it is usually recommended to do an entire papering job from one batch of paper, because buying more a few weeks later, from a different lot, could mean the paper won't match. Assuming a 15' long hallway, 4' wide with 8' ceilings (not excluding cutouts for doorways), you would need 14 rolls of wall paper. I randomly picked a design and priced it at an online wholesaler for you. Their price, before shipping and hanging, is $318. Paste and hanging would add a few hundred dollars. The sheetrock patches, if done by someone else who would come out (without knowing where you live) would probably run about $50 to clean, fill, dry, sand, refill, and re-sand. Then they would need primer. Filling holes more than an inch deep should take several coats and dry fully in between. More than one trip might be necessary. The repair service might have a minimum charge per trip. I'm a homeowner, not a contractor. I do a lot of my own repairs (sheet rock patching is easy, but takes time if you have to go somewhere else and wait between coats), and hire some out. I'm very sorry, because you don't need this additional expense when moving. But wallpaper is just that: paper. It's fragile. Next time wrap rugs or blankets over the corners of your furniture before squeezing it out of a room.

Answer 3

There's this can sold in Walmart, made by Elmer's called fast spackle and it dries pretty quickly, all you need to use is your finger, it comes off in water, that's an inexpensive way to cover up the holes, if you want, you can touch them up with paint or cover the holes and paint the wall afterward, seamless.

Answer 4

Toothpaste is a quick, cheap cosmetic fix. Spackling compound is the correct way to do it.

Answer 5

Go to Home Depot. The experts will tell you the right type to use and the best brand, plus how you need to follow up.

Answer 6

You can fill small holes with spackle or even with toothpaste.

Answer 7

Spakle is cheap --- smaer it on and smoth it out with a putty knife -- them once its dry wipe it again w/ a damp rag until smooth ---- But white toothpaste works fine in a pinch

Answer 8

spackling