In preparation for painting the powder room, I took down the towel bar and don’t plan on putting it up again. The toggle bolts left about 1/2 inch holes. Do I need to patch the holes with drywall tape or I can just spackle over the holes? Do I need to prime the spackle prior to painting?
Spackle should do it. Sand well and prime.
I agree with Finagle. Holes that size should be fine with spackle as long as they’re well sanded.
–Cliffy
Spackle should be fine. You may need to do this in 2 passes to allow for complete drying. Some types of spackle may shrink while drying if you put too much on at one time, causing cracks when it’s dry. Alternatively you could use drywall compound, but that is generally sold in larger quantities.
For small holes you can use a putty knife or just about anything with a straight edge. Get it as smooth as you can with the knife to avoid a lot of sanding.
I have never primed spackle or drywall compound before painting. (You want to prime bare drywall since it can be porous and absorb paint but that can mean just plan on two coats rather than using a special primer.) You probably will not have to worry about it for such a small repair.
Drywall tape is used for joints, when you have a seam between two pieces of drywall.