Filling screw holes and small gaps - white painted skirting

Plastic wood probably, if you are painting

joins, wall gaps, floor gaps.

Decorators caulk without a doubt.

Certainly caulk for gaps between wall and skirting. Over screws depends on what decor. If your painting almost any filler. If staining use coloured wood filler or better still wooden plugs.

Not silicone, you cant paint over that.

Mike

staining MDF skirting? Yuk!

NEVER silicone.

Filling gaps *under* the skirting, or do you mean behind?

I've found one thing better than caulk for gap filling, coving adhesive, it has a consistency somewhere between caulk and no-more-nails, I think it's acrylic, I've got several tubes of it because the coving packs I buy are rather generous with the amount supplied (I probably use 2 tubes fitting the pack, but they supply 4).

Sugru

Easy to use, like plasticine - you can hand work it into shape without creating an almighty mess.

Expensive, but for one-off, small, jobs maybe worth it.

Provided your repairs don't need to be physically strong, the ultra-light, non-slump fillers available from many sources work very well. Effectively no shrinkage. Easily overpaintable - even when still slightly damp (assuming water-based paint).

I used some several years ago for persistent gaps between skirting and wall - had tried several other options over many years but they always shrank a bit and often cracked again. This just filled the gaps and stayed there.

Bog.

Maybe Homebase/Bunnings will send us a crate over?

You would have the same stuff by a different name,it is basically a building version of polyester body filler used in auto panel repair.

Yes, the MSDS says it's styrene/polystyrene, our sheds sell generic "bodyfiller", I thought you chaps called that 'Bondo'?

Never seen the "onion paper" before

I usually run out of offcuts of plastic to mix it on (it recommends you don't mix it on wood to avoid it setting too quick).

Yes there is different sorts even epoxy but the builder one is usually a polyester based two part putty. In most cases the trades men both auto and building here in AU call all of them affectionately "bog"

Thank - and so much choice :-)

Cheers

Dave R