Painting - Repairing walls

Okay here's the problem...5 yrs ago we bought a 50 yrs old house at a repo auction and we are still trying to fix it up i am attempting to paint the hallway but before i do there are 4-5 2or4 foot cracks that the previous owners have tried to repair they never sanded after they put the compound on and the repairs they did are rough and stick out from the wall how do i go about fixing this my husband says we need to remove a section of the wall i'm thinking that i should be able to sand these crack and start over again who's right and how do i do it? Help please!!!!!!!!!:D

Sand it flush with 100 grits sand paper, then tape and mud to repair the cracks.

Here is a link to taping drywall and patching drywall to cover the steps involved.

http://www.doityourself.com/wall/index.htm

Hope this helps.

Why does your husband think the section needs to be replaced?

Any idea on what caused the cracks? What is on the other side of this wall?

If the existing patches are that rough, it may be easier to replace that section, especially if the cracks are close together. It could be the previous owners did a quiltwork of smaller pieces and it may be impossible to get smooth.

Replacing the section won't cost that much and will probably involve less labor. It will certainly look better.

If the patches are small bumps, it may be easier to sand.

Did the cracks return? If the patch is just showing then you can apply more mud on both side of repair until it's feathered out.