How do I repair a hole in drywall with a mesh patch?

Question

I have attempted to repair a hole in a ceiling using a mesh dry wall patch and joint compound. Unfortunately, everytime I sand, I can still see the patch. I have tried both spackle and joint compound and repeated application and sanding multiple times, but still see the mesh. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Answer 1

Unless the mesh patch has a metal backing, it will have a tendency to bulge out. This way, you can't get it flat corresponding to the rest of the ceiling without showing the mesh.

You can start over with a metal-backed patch, or you can flare out the joint compound/spackling until the 'hill' you've created blends in with the rest of the ceiling.





Then re-apply texture. If your ceiling has an orange peel texture, you can get a small spray can to apply such texture.

If the texture is a skip-trowel, you can put a thind bead of mud along the outer edge of your broadknife and drag it across the area.



Also, I have found mesh patches to work better if you at first stuff some crumpled-up newspaper in the hole and smear some mud on it, THEN apply the mesh patch.

Answer 2

I have done this on a wall and not the ceiling but after you sand the Spackle to the best you can, you may see some mesh. What I did was buy a spray on texturizer over the spackled section. You can chose your texterize from really rough to a more smooth finish. The can is about 8.00 and you can get it at home depot. It dries fast and then you can paint over it. No sanding required. Good luck

Answer 3

You can see the patch because the mud isn't thick enough. You need to apply more mud and feather it out over a larger area. If the mesh wasn't applied very closely to the sheetrock, you may have to feather out to twice the radius of the mesh to get good coverage and hide the fact of the existence of the patch. Mesh isn't a particularly attractive method of patching a hole just because of the problem you're encountering. It's generally easier to apply something to the back side of the sheetrock and then fill the hole which needn't then be overfilled to cover the mesh..