Fillers

ask the client if they mind sanding down the filled area after its dry,explain to them why.

elsewhere, such as:

They're very good. They don't shrink at all, and hardly need sanding. They're made of a very fine fill material, probably polystyrene, in an acrylic medium. I always keep a pot handy for filling small screw holes etc.

Watch out for pricing - a 500ml tub seems to vary between £2 and £6 depending where/when you buy.

Thanks for that. I'd noticed how very light in weight some fillers were and wondered why. See what you mean about pricing, B&Q had the Polyfilla version at about £7:50!

That's what I have been doing, but most of the jobs are in vacant rented properties. I don't want to go back & they expect it perfect whenever they move in. We have a lot of up market rents around here, especially St Marys Island(old Chatham dockyard).

For fill and go, get yourself a big can of car body filler (Scotts of Sidcup if you come up the a20 that far). Only yesterday I was cursing my luck when the simple removal of a curtain rail bracket resulted in a large cavity with nothing to fix to. This stuff got me out of trouble yet again. For small filling of woodwork pre painting, I mix up a really thick polyfilla and rub it into the gaps. You can paint over that straight away with an acrylic primer/undercoat

Last time I bought that type of filler, I found Wickes own both much cheaper, and produced a significantly better result.

Lighter weight usually means microspheres, which aren't a cheap ingredient

Car.

Body.

Filler.

Dries quick, doesn't shrink, pongs a bit though.

Still, 2 out of 3 aint bad...

cheers, Pete.

This is similar also but in a tube:

I don't have that problem and love the stuff for the gaps around window/door frames or along the tops of skirtings. The good 'ole wet finger to smooth and I find it's paintable in a few hours or less.

I would not use Decorators Caulk for crack/small damage filling to plaster for the reason you state and the fact you can't sand the stuff. For that I mix up a fairly stiff ordinary polyfilla, branded or store marked. Fill slightly proud, leave to set for a while the polish alla plaster. A very quick sand an hour or so later is all that is required. Mind I'm DIY not in it for speed = money...

Found that today on my on kitchen walls. Damn near impossible to sand.

Sounds good to me.........

Have you tried *Dry wal adhesive*? this doesn't shrink and sets rock hard and comes in big bags like the multifinish plaster. This is about the same price as a good branded filler,but will last a lot you more than a box of polyfilla. ;-)