Fixing Drywall Dents: From Minor Dings to Furniture Strikes

Published December 25, 2024 by Mike Sullivan

Key Takeaways

  • Shallow dents with intact paper can be filled directly with spackle or mud
  • Dents with broken paper need the loose material removed before filling
  • Setting compound is stronger than spackle for high-impact areas like behind doors
  • Deep dents may need multiple thin coats rather than one thick fill
  • Mesh patches help bridge dents that have gone through to the gypsum core

Moving day is dent day. Every time we've moved furniture, the walls have paid the price. The worst was getting a sectional sofa through an L-shaped hallway. The wall looked like it had been in a boxing match. Three distinct dents, one of which went almost to the paper on the back side.

I almost called a drywall guy to cut out and replace that section. Seemed like too much damage to patch. But my neighbor Carlos, who does drywall professionally, stopped by while I was staring at the damage. He looked at it for about ten seconds and said he'd have it done in an hour.

He was right. No cutting, no replacement panels. Just compound, patience, and technique. That was seven years ago and you cannot tell where those dents were.

Assessing the Dent

How you fix a dent depends on how deep it is and whether the paper facing is intact.

Shallow dents where the paper is fine: Just fill. The paper is your friend here. It's still doing its job of holding everything together. Put compound in the depression and smooth it out.

Dents with torn or broken paper: More prep needed. The loose paper has to go because compound won't bond to it properly. Trim back to solid material, then fill.

Deep dents that expose gypsum core: Still fixable, but might need a mesh patch to give the compound something to grab. The paper facing on both sides is compromised at this point.

I gauge depth by pressing gently on the center of the dent. If there's give and the drywall flexes inward, it's a surface dent. If it feels solid but recessed, the gypsum itself is crushed. If there's a soft spot or your finger goes through, you might be looking at a hole repair rather than a dent repair.

Fixing Shallow Dents

Most furniture dings fall into this category. The wall got pushed in a bit but nothing is broken or torn.

Wipe the area with a damp cloth to remove dust and oils. Let it dry. Apply lightweight spackle or all-purpose joint compound with a putty knife, pressing it firmly into the depression.

The compound will shrink as it dries, so slight overfilling is fine. Better to need light sanding than to need a second coat.

Let it dry completely. Sand smooth with 150-grit. Wipe off dust. Prime if you're going to paint. Done.

For very shallow dents, the kind where you can barely see it but you can feel it, sometimes paint alone will hide it. Especially with eggshell or satin finishes that reflect light differently. Worth testing on a small dent before spending time on a repair that might not be necessary.

Dents with Paper Damage

When the paper facing is torn, peeling, or bubbled, you have to deal with that before filling.

Use a utility knife to cut away all loose material. Cut back until you're at paper that's still firmly bonded to the gypsum. Don't be afraid to make the damaged area slightly larger. Solid edges make better repairs than ragged ones.

If there are paper flaps that want to curl up, either cut them off or press them flat with a thin coat of mud and let it dry before filling the dent. Trying to fill over loose paper always fails.

Once the damaged paper is gone, apply compound as usual. You might need an extra coat since there's no paper helping to bridge the depression. Build up in thin layers.

Deep Dents and Crushed Core

The sofa dents in my hallway were this type. Deep enough that the gypsum core was clearly damaged, compressed rather than just dented.

Carlos's technique: First, he pressed on the dent to stabilize it. If it was flexing, he drove a few short screws through the drywall into the stud behind to anchor it. Can't fill a moving target.

For the deepest dent, he applied a self-adhesive mesh patch over the damaged area. The mesh gives compound something to grab and bridges the void where the paper was compromised on both faces.

Then he filled with setting compound. Setting compound, not spackle. It's harder and stronger, better for areas that might see future impact. He applied three thin coats over about two hours, letting each cure before adding the next.

Final coat was feathered way out, maybe 8 inches in each direction from the dent. Wide feathering hides repairs. Narrow feathering makes humps.

Behind Doors and High Impact Areas

Some dents happen once. Others happen repeatedly in the same spot. Doorknob strikes are the classic example. Fix the dent but leave the conditions unchanged and you'll be fixing it again.

First, fix the dent using stronger materials. Setting compound rather than spackle. Maybe a mesh patch even for smaller dents. Build in some durability.

Then address the root cause. Install a door stop. They cost $3 and take five minutes to install. Hinge-mounted stops, baseboard stops, or wall-mounted bumpers all work. Pick one that fits your situation.

I have exactly one wall in my house with recurring doorknob damage. Bathroom door, spring-loaded closer, swings open hard. I fixed the dent three times before installing a $5 hinge-pin door stop. Haven't touched it since.

Matching Texture

A smooth repair on a textured wall is almost as bad as the original dent. You fix one problem and create another.

For light orange peel: Spray texture from a can after priming. Practice on cardboard first. Hold the can about 18 inches away and use short bursts. Let it dry and see how it looks before deciding if you need more.

For knockdown: Apply the spray texture heavier, wait until it starts to set but isn't fully dry, then lightly drag a wide knife across to flatten the peaks. This takes practice. Do a test piece first.

For heavy textures: You might need to texture a larger area to make it blend. A patched spot with slightly different texture is visible when surrounded by the original. Sometimes you have to redo a whole wall section to get it right.

My house has light orange peel throughout. I've gotten pretty good at matching it with spray cans. The trick is multiple light passes rather than one heavy one. Build up to the match rather than overshooting.

When It's Really a Hole

At some point a dent becomes a hole. There's no exact boundary, but my rule is: if you can see the back paper or the wall cavity, it's a hole repair, not a dent repair.

The difference matters because holes need backing. You can't just fill a void with compound and expect it to hold. The compound will fall through or crack out.

For borderline cases, try the dent repair approach first. Apply a mesh patch, fill with setting compound. If the compound wants to push through rather than bridge, you need backer board or a different patching method.

That worst sofa dent in my hallway was right on the border. Carlos used a large mesh patch and setting compound and it held. But he said if it had been another quarter inch deeper, he'd have cut it out and installed a proper patch.