Skip the Spackle: Fix Nail Holes in Seconds

If you’re moving pictures around your home or moving out of a rental, then you likely have more than a few nail holes to fill. Using spackle is overkill for this job. For starters, spackle requires application, dry time, sanding, and then touch up paint. That’s a lot of work for a few pin sized holes. Furthermore, spackle doesn't do a particularly good job at filling those small holes in drywall as it shrinks when it dries. Leave the spackle in the garage and instead raid your kid's crayons to make these repairs. 

Related: Stop Guessing—Hang Every Picture Perfectly

The Crayon fix

Filling a small hole in walls or baseboards with a crayon takes seconds:

• Step 1: Find a crayon that matches the color of the wall or the trim as closely as possible. 
• Step 2: Work the wax into the hole, moving it back and forth to fill it in. 
• Step 3: Use your fingers to buff the wax until it blends with the surrounding surface. 

Why it works better than spackle

Along with being a quicker repair than using spackle, a crayon also offers other benefits: 

• Wax doesn’t shrink: Crayons are made out of solid wax that doesn't evaporate and shrink like spackle. Once you rub it in the nail hole, it stays the same size, filling the hole. 
• No sanding required: Once spackle dries it leaves a crusty finish that you have to sand and then hit with touch-up paint. Wax doesn’t. Simply “buff” it with your finger and it blends perfectly with the surrounding paint finish. 
• Finish matching: Crayon has a slight sheen to it that mimics the same finish as eggshell and satin, two of the most popular wall finishes in homes. 
• Color matching: Assuming you have a large enough set of crayons to choose from, it’s easy to match the color of the crayon to the wall color. You can also blend colors by taking two different crayons, melting them with a hair dryer and mixing them together. 

When you Shouldn’t Use This Hack

The crayon filler is for pin holes from nails, tacks, and small drywall anchors. Larger than that and the wax won’t have enough surface area to cling to. If you have a hole that’s larger than a pea, you’ll need to make the repair with spackle.