Patching and Plastering - Removing Togglers from a Wall

Hello all. New to the forum and, I've gotta say, what a great resources. I'm new to the DIY home improvement work, but I just moved into an apartment that needs a ton of work to make me content; so, rapid education of basic home repair is in order.

My first lesson is going to be in fixing nail holes and removing Togglers or "Wing" plastic anchors from the wall. The previous roommate left a bunch of these peppered in the wall and I want them out. I know with mollys, you can usually just push them back behind the wall; but these things have a collar on them.

How do I get them outta there?

Secondly, I've got my nail hole fix and putty knife. Besides for just smoothing over the holes, do I need to sand them to make it even? If so, what type of sandpaper do I need to prep for painting?

Thank you all very much for your help. At this point, I've got little to offer in way of knowledge in return to the board, but I hope to be able to help somewhere. Thanks, again.

IIRC I just use a big drill bit and cut through most/all of the collar, then push them into the wall.

Makes sense. Also, these are pretty big toggles (I'm guessing 1/2"); will just spackling over them do the trick, or am I going to have to use something else?

The actual hole may be less, and shouldn't get much bigger if you drill off the collar completely. Just use a sharp bit and don't push too hard, otherwise it will grab and spin, THEN you'd have a bigger hole.

If it doesn't spin, the small notches it leaves in the hole should work pretty well to lock the spackle in. You'll want to wet the interior of the hole a bit, with a sprayer or a wet sponge. The sheetrock will tend to pull moisture out of the spackle and it will shrink excessively if you don't dampen it. Plan on at least 2 fillings as it will still shrink somewhat.

If you have smooth walls, you'll need to feather it and lightly sand to get a good match. Textured isn't as hard to conceal.

No Pro here, thats just the way I do these type of holes.

Thanks for the info. That's a great tip on the moisture inside the hole. I'll have to go over a few other molly holes I already covered that I didn't do this trick.

What kind of sandpaper are you using? I'm guessing a fairly fine grit.

I will be priming and painting the walls, because they're an absolute mess.

Next stop: moldy bathroom ceilings and a kitchen that is brown with probably a decade of cooking and cigarette smoke.

Jeez, grit..I dunno..I guess it was about 120-150..thats normally adequate. Actually I normally use sanding sponges..medium or fine..not sure of the grit they actually are.

I usually take a hammer and knock them in slightly and then spackle or joint compound over them. It's quick, easy and works well 99.9% of the time.

Any sandpaper finer than 150 grit will be almost useless on the repairs, coarser than 100 grit will leave scratches that can still be seen after paint.

When you get to the kitchen, clean the best you can and then use a solvent based primer to seal what you couldn't clean off. Bleach water should work fine in the bath rm, providing the mold isn't bad enough to warrant replacing the drywall.

Hey Mark...even the plastic ones? I've done it with the metal ones, seems like the spackle sticks better to those, and they kind of sink in evenly, but I never did it with the plastic.

Not that I've done nearly as many as you have, I'm sure.

I've never noticed any real difference. I found out a long time ago it was quicker to knock them in and mud over them than trying to remove them. I don't spend much time on them [especially if they are numerous] 1-2 coats of mud, a little drying time and it's ready for paint. I rarely use spackling because I almost always have j/c or durabond handy - just can't talk myself into buying a small can of spackling:D:p::D

Ahhh you Pro's always buy big. I'd guess Durobond or real compound might work different.

Hope I never have to work with Durobond..I'm not that good or fast!

Anyway, hope it works out ok NYC.

Gentleman, your input has been invaluable. Thank you for taking the time to help a newbie out. Take care.

Your more than welcome, that's what we are here for.......
...umm....errrr... were do we send the bill:D:eek::D