Interior Plaster Repair

Place dropcloths over the floor in the work area. Overlap the cloths to keep plaster off the floor.

Lay the 6-inch blade of your drywall knife flat on the wall. Slide the knife forward over the area from each direction to remove loose plaster from the wall.

Wipe the dust off your drywall knife with a clean rag. Grab the pull tab on the side of the lid of your bucket of drywall compound. Pull the tab free and lift the lid off the bucket.

Scoop some drywall compound out of the bucket with your drywall knife. Use the knife to fill your drywall pan 1/2 full of compound. Fold the compound in the pan repeatedly to mix it into a smooth consistency.

Scrape the blade of your knife clean on the top edge of the pan. Pick up a 1/2-inch line of drywall compound along the width of the blade of your knife.

Hold your knife handle at a 30-degree angle to the wall. Press the compound against the wall until the tip of the blade is flat against it. Pull your knife across the damaged area to leave a streak of compound on the wall.

Scrape your blade clean on the side of the drywall pan. Hold the handle of the knife at a 70-degree angle to the wall. Hold the blade flat on the wall and parallel to the streak of compound you applied.

Pull the knife across the smear of compound to press it into the damaged area while removing excess compound from the wall. Repeatedly drag your knife into the side of the streak of compound until it has all been smoothed. Let the patch dry overnight.

Fold a sanding screen into thirds. Rub it briskly, back and forth across the patch to smooth the new compound with the existing surface of the wall. Wipe the dust off the wall and clean your tools with clean rags.

Remove the dust from the dropcloths with a shop vacuum to prevent contaminating your floor. Fold and store the dropcloths until your next project. Vacuum your floor thoroughly to remove dust.