What is the best way to repair hair line cracks on a lath and plater ceiling?

The standard way, and what my decorator is doing at the moment, is raking out, filling in and sanding down.

The problem is that after this is done the appearance is not very good a couple of cracks have already been done at home. One can still see the uneven celing and the protruding filler along the crack.

Also, I wonder if the cracks will reappear in a short time.

A different decorator mentioned that they would treat those cracks with a thin painter's tape covering the crack and fine sanding the edges of the tape.

When I suggested that to my present decorator, who seems to be very experienced, he thought it was a bad idea, and mentioned that the tape is mainly used in plasterboard.

Another question, is there a filler that is more appropriate so that the cracks do not reappear?

Thanks,

Antonio