How do I fix wall patches that stand out after painting? I recently used spackling to fix some holes as well as some tears on a wall. I sanded the areas, I patched until smooth. I wiped the fixed wall and painted. I didn't use primer first and ended up putting a second coat on the wall. I have noticed all the areas that I have fixed are really slick looking and do not blend in with the rest of the wall. How do I fix this?

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Answers

Answered by Karl Crowder, Crowder Painting from Colorado Springs, Colorado

All repairs, especially wall patches, on smooth non-textured walls will require a little more effort even after you think the wall patches are finished and ready for paint.

The problem with your wall patches is that you didn't prime and they are smoother than the surrounding wall surface. I'll assume you have slick walls, no applied texture. All walls have some texture even slick ones. The texture on slick walls is the past paint jobs and the use of rollers.

I suggest you apply one or more coats of primer to the patches with a weenie roller. Try one patch in order to see if this will help. The small roller will leave a fine roller stipple. Work the primer until an even stipple appears then let it dry for an hour. To test, a coat of your finish paint can be applied in the same way, no need to repaint the entire wall yet. Repeat until a matching texture is achieved, use your best judgment.

Use a quick drying acrylic primer, like Zinsser 123 or Kilz WaterBase. Also the sheen of your paint can highlight the wall patches. Satin and semi-gloss will highlight repairs the most while flat has a tendency to hide repairs.