With deep holes to fill do people fill with several applications and
let the previous one dry out totally - or one "big" overfill and sand
down when thoroughly dry.

Also - I have a box I have had for at least three years - does it go
off (in the past its use by date sense) - I have noticed hairline
cracks in some of the filling I have done.

mikesmith wrote:
With deep holes to fill do people fill with several applications and
let the previous one dry out totally - or one "big" overfill and sand
down when thoroughly dry.

Yes, do it in layers (the instructions on the pack will advise this,
too). Otherwise if too much, the stuff will fall out of the hole before
it sets, and/or it will take an age for it to dry out properly anyway.

Also - I have a box I have had for at least three years - does it go
off (in the past its use by date sense) - I have noticed hairline
cracks in some of the filling I have done.

Certainly ordinary plaster goes off... it sets too quickly, which is
very likely to cause cracking. Polyfilla is chemically different but I
expect may behave similarly... personally I wouldn't use a 3-year-old pack.

David

mikesmith wrote:
With deep holes to fill do people fill with several applications and
let the previous one dry out totally - or one "big" overfill and sand
down when thoroughly dry.

Use one of the modern 'lightweight' fillers like

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...ler/index.html

or

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/607022&bklist=

Deep holes filled in one go, dries quickly, very little sanding.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

In article ,
mikesmith writes:

With deep holes to fill do people fill with several applications and
let the previous one dry out totally - or one "big" overfill and sand
down when thoroughly dry.

I tend to use one big underfill to within a 1-2mm of the surface
which may well crack as it sets but that doesn't matter, and then
a thin coat polished off with a wet trowel or scraper to match
the surrounding surface. No sanding required.

Also - I have a box I have had for at least three years - does it go
off (in the past its use by date sense) - I have noticed hairline
cracks in some of the filling I have done.

I tend to use plaster rather than polyfilla. I always use plaster
which has gone well past it's use-by date for filling, because it
sets quickly. I do recall using what must have been very old
polyfilla in the past, and don't recall any resulting issues.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
mikesmith writes:
With deep holes to fill do people fill with several applications and
let the previous one dry out totally - or one "big" overfill and sand
down when thoroughly dry.

I tend to use one big underfill to within a 1-2mm of the surface
which may well crack as it sets but that doesn't matter, and then
a thin coat polished off with a wet trowel or scraper to match
the surrounding surface. No sanding required.

That is what I do too... any shrinkage cracks are welcome as they help
to provide an extra key for the final finishing coat :-)

Also - I have a box I have had for at least three years - does it go
off (in the past its use by date sense) - I have noticed hairline
cracks in some of the filling I have done.

I have never had a problem with old polyfilla, even when it was stored
in open packages for a few years.

Steve

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 12:05:35 +0100, mikesmith wrote:

With deep holes to fill

I use one-coat plaster which fills up to 50mm, can be polished up quite
smoothly when it's gone semi-hard, and costs about as much for a huge bag
as a modest size pack of Polyfilla.

When I couldn't get any one-coat I tried a Polyfilla variant specifically
claiming to fill deep holes etc without cracking and, apart from being
vastly more expensive, it cracked like buggery.

Useless stuff.

--
John Stumbles

Xenophobia? Sounds a bit foreign to me.

On 2007-09-30 10:10:04 +0100, said:

On 30 Sep,
John Stumbles wrote:

I use one-coat plaster which fills up to 50mm, can be polished up quite
smoothly when it's gone semi-hard, and costs about as much for a huge bag
as a modest size pack of Polyfilla.

I used it once to do around the reveal of a patio door. Never again! I'd much
rather buy two bags, one of Browning and one of finish. Much easier to work
with!

With which product did you have the problem? Polyfilla or single
coat plaster?

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:40:17 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

With which product did you have the problem? Polyfilla or single
coat plaster?

A variety of Polyfilla whose name escapes me but was something about
filling big holes.

I've never had any problem with one-coat plaster.

--
John Stumbles


Question Authority

On 2007-09-30 12:53:53 +0100, John Stumbles said:

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:40:17 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

With which product did you have the problem? Polyfilla or single
coat plaster?

A variety of Polyfilla whose name escapes me but was something about
filling big holes.

I've never had any problem with one-coat plaster.

Certainly the flexible and fine surface ones are pretty bad. I
imagine that they have some kind of plastic content because they are
pretty much non sandable

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 12:53:53 +0100, John Stumbles
said:

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:40:17 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

With which product did you have the problem? Polyfilla or single
coat plaster?

A variety of Polyfilla whose name escapes me but was something about
filling big holes.

I've never had any problem with one-coat plaster.

Certainly the flexible and fine surface ones are pretty bad. I
imagine that they have some kind of plastic content because they are
pretty much non sandable




So you can't sand filler now. What's the world coming to?

On 2007-09-30 14:40:06 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 12:53:53 +0100, John Stumbles said:

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:40:17 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

With which product did you have the problem? Polyfilla or single
coat plaster?

A variety of Polyfilla whose name escapes me but was something about
filling big holes.

I've never had any problem with one-coat plaster.

Certainly the flexible and fine surface ones are pretty bad. I
imagine that they have some kind of plastic content because they are
pretty much non sandable




So you can't sand filler now. What's the world coming to?

Personally I do sand filler when needed. Don't you bother? Did you
want to own up to any other bodging?

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 14:40:06 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 12:53:53 +0100, John Stumbles
said:

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:40:17 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

With which product did you have the problem? Polyfilla or single
coat plaster?

A variety of Polyfilla whose name escapes me but was something about
filling big holes.

I've never had any problem with one-coat plaster.

Certainly the flexible and fine surface ones are pretty bad. I
imagine that they have some kind of plastic content because they are
pretty much non sandable




So you can't sand filler now. What's the world coming to?

Personally I do sand filler when needed.


But not fine surface filler?

On 2007-09-30 16:14:58 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

So you can't sand filler now. What's the world coming to?

Personally I do sand filler when needed.

But not fine surface filler?

Plaster or jointing filler are a better fine filler anyway.

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 16:14:58 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

So you can't sand filler now. What's the world coming to?

Personally I do sand filler when needed.

But not fine surface filler?

Plaster or jointing filler are a better fine filler anyway.


If you get the results you want using plaster, fine, but it doesn't mean
it's a better fine filler. It isn't a filler at all, having none of the
qualities of a filler.

On 2007-09-30 17:19:39 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 16:14:58 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

So you can't sand filler now. What's the world coming to?

Personally I do sand filler when needed.

But not fine surface filler?

Plaster or jointing filler are a better fine filler anyway.


If you get the results you want using plaster, fine, but it doesn't
mean it's a better fine filler. It isn't a filler at all, having none
of the qualities of a filler.

That depends on the job at hand.

On 2007-09-30 18:41:07 +0100, said:

On 30 Sep,
Andy Hall wrote:

Plaster or jointing filler are a better fine filler anyway.

Gyproc joint finish I found the best fine surface filler. Is it still
available, or is it superceded by 'Jointex' combined filler and finish?

I'm not sure. The last one that I used was made by Lafarge, IIRC, or
it might have been Knauf. At any rate, most manufacturers seem to
have at least two jointing products - setting and drying types and/or a
combination.

I prefer to use a slower product and to sand in between thin layers for
most applications. It takes longer but produces a better result than
loading in large amounts AFAICS.

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 17:19:39 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-09-30 16:14:58 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

So you can't sand filler now. What's the world coming to?

Personally I do sand filler when needed.

But not fine surface filler?

Plaster or jointing filler are a better fine filler anyway.


If you get the results you want using plaster, fine, but it doesn't
mean it's a better fine filler. It isn't a filler at all, having none
of the qualities of a filler.

That depends on the job at hand.


If the job in hand doesn't require a fine filler, then don't use one.
Doesn't change the fact that there is such a thing as "fine filler"
which performs a function that plaster, or jointing compound, doesn't

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:41:07 +0100, me9 wrote:

Gyproc joint finish I found the best fine surface filler. Is it still
available, or is it superceded by 'Jointex' combined filler and finish?

Was a few months ago last time I bought some at B&Q

--
John Stumbles

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous

On 29 Sep, 12:53, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
mikesmith wrote:
With deep holes to fill do people fill with several applications and
let the previous one dry out totally - or one "big" overfill and sand
down when thoroughly dry.

Use one of the modern 'lightweight' fillers like

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...x/Ready_Mixed_...

Until 1996 I was a professional decorator, but I only used Polyfilla
or similar. On woodwork I used the two-pack stuff that stinks to high
heaven.

This year I've been doing up our new house and have dusted off my
filling knives and scrapers. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon
the Red Devil "One Time". What a product! The only thing I don't
like about it is that it shows through emulsion rather readily, though
a coat of primer sealer sorts that out. But as a filler it's by some
way the best I've used.

Edward