Patches made with traditional patching materials must be primed with a sealing-type primer before painting. Otherwise, the patched areas could show foggy spots throughout the finished paint job. But ...

Finishing a new wall or room with plaster or joint compound takes practice. If you have no experience with plaster or its near relative, joint compound, don’t learn in your living room. Experiment ...

It’s fine to fill screw holes and other small wall dings with patching compound, but for larger drywall repairs, it’s best to use a joint compound that sets up by a chemical reaction. These are ...