The corners of my walls have metal on them & the paint chips off. I know you can buy guards to cover the corners but I don’t want to do that on all of them. Is there some way to cover this metal so the paint will adhere? Spackling doesn’t seem to work, it doesn’t stick.
The metal to which you refer is called a corner bead and they are a blessing and a curse.
A blessing due to the fact that they form a corner stronger than drywall alone and must be used.
A curse due to the problem you are having. I will guess you are using the product known as "Lightwieght" or "Shrinkfree" spackling. Try the old style spackling as it always works for us. You could also purchase a quart of sheetrock mud and use that. Either should work, and try 2 coats instead of one.