"Recommendation for spackle which does not shrink or crack?" Topic

I tried an inexpensive brand of spackle last night on some terrain pieces I am making up. It went on pretty well, but when it dried it shrank and cracked. Is there a common brand in the U.S. someone can recommend that does not do this?
I am looking for some sort of mixture I can use to add texture to a base or terrain piece and fill in gaps/cracks.

Thank you
Chad

I have used DAP on large projects before with good results: link

I use Elmer's wood putty for most of my basing however since it comes in various colors link

Durham's Water Putty.

Elmers wood putty rocks.

Mix in some white glue and fine sand. That should help reduce the cracking as well as give the result some texture.

Jim

Yeah, I just got done fixing a hole in a wall here and I did the white glue and grit thing ColCampbell mentioned… only got one crack.

For readers in the UK, Tetrion is great.

What brand did you use? I am interested in creating cracking effects on terrain pieces so the name would be helpful! Thanks!

The cheap caulking (buy the stuff colored brown unless you want to paint it another color) works for most things.

That said, given enough abuse any of these products will crack.

mjc

Back when the Sci Fi channel came out, they had a "making of " documentary on how they made the big terrain piece they used as an intro. Anyway, the model builders said they mixed gelatain into their paint to get a crackle effect. Ive been meaning to give it a go all these years but havent come up with a suitable piece to try it out on.

Chuck

They make a crackle medium too. It's at the craft stores.

Most spackles shrink a bit.

Allen receommended Durhams,which works very well and actually expands very slightly when it dries. It is a bit costly for large terrain projects, but works great for basing miniatures or for smaller terrain peices. Also works great as a casting medium. I'm not sure Durhams water putty is a true "spackling".

The trick with spackling is to layer it on fairly thin, which seems to mitigate the shrinkage issue.

A quality premixed spackling compound like DAP or any other you'll find in a hardware store will probably work better than some B-brand from a dollar store, I would think.

Jim

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was going to pick up DAP when I was in the store, but opted for the less expensive WelCote joint compound. I got about 4 times the amount for a little less than the DAP, but it is not well suited for my purpose.

I am going to take another trip to the store today and try out the DAP and Elmers wood putty.

Chad

I would still recommend Durhams for filling gaps.

Allen

I didn't mean to knock durham's; I agree with Allen that it is great for filling gaps especially.

Jim

This is a very helpful thread. Anyone have long term results on these, 10 years out?

How about 5 years out? har har

I found Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler Max which comes in a handy squeeze bottle and a variety of colors. I chose Cherry which was the darkest color at Home Depot.

It promises that it's extra hard, dries fast, and is sandable. I'll let you know how it works!

Pre-Mixed Stucco works well.

durabond seems to be better than lightweight joint compound. It is not particularly sandable.