What is the best way to cover drywall anchors (for screws) left in the walls?

Question

When I installed a new towel rack it wasn't as long as the previous one so two of the drywall anchors from the previous rack still show. What is the best way to cover them?

Do I try to remove them or do I tap them into the wall and putty over them? Or is there a better way to do it?

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Try to remove them and fill the hole with spackling compound.

Answer 2

You can tap them in or pull them out, but you have to be careful.

In the case of a molly s***w...If you put the s***w back in and tap it with the hammer it can straighten out the bend in the existing anchors and then you can pull the anchor out.

Answer 3

Definitely the best solution is to leave them in the wallboard and to sink them slightly below the surface and cover with spackling, joint compound or other choice of plaster product.

If you try to pull them out, you run a pretty good risk of lifting the paper around the hole and also pulling out with it small, fractured pieces of the gypsum, leaving you with a bigger repair job.

Tap - gently! - and try to sink the old anchors. If you have something that is rounded (like, say, the ball end of a ball peen hammer), you might like that better than just wailing on it with your 16 oz. claw hammer. But, do it rather gently so as not to damage the wallboard.

Run a 3", or similar, putty knife over the anchor's hole to quickly identify that it's below the surface of the wallboard and then fill.

There's no right or wrong way, except to do this cosmetic chore with as little damage to the existing wall.

Answer 4

If they are plastic grind them off with a  depression then fill with Spackle.