best compound to fill nail holes in plaster walls

[Homerboy]

I tore down a chair rail and have a bunch of holes/chips/flaking to fill in.
The walls are 70 year old plaster walls. There's a few cracks on the walls and 1 on the ceiling too that need to be covered up before repainting the room.

Whats the best compound to use to fill?

Thanks in advance.

 

[slag]

spackle.. The purple stuff that turns white. I use it everywhere and it works wonders. I'm not a fan of the lightweight spackle either, just the normal light purple stuff.

 

[Homerboy]

spackle.. The purple stuff that turns white. I use it everywhere and it works wonders. I'm not a fan of the lightweight spackle either, just the normal light purple stuff.

There's a bunch of different types though.
I've used drywall "spackle" in the past (pink that turns white made by Dap) but when looking there seemed to be a bunch of different options.

 

[slag]

There's a bunch of different types though.
I've used drywall "spackle" in the past (pink that turns white made by Dap) but when looking there seemed to be a bunch of different options.

Good point. Hm, I used just general DAP Spackle that my wife bought at Ace hardware when we sold our home and I was happy with it.

Maybe it is pink. Could have sworn it was purple but yeah, I think it might be pink.

 

[highland145]

Pink/purple??? Color blind peeps unite....

Ours is 1937. I just used regular spackle when needed (nail holes and what not).

I did tear all of the plaster out in 3 rooms, covered it with 1/4 sheet rock in a small one. That was easier than trying to fix them.

Is the ceiling crack stable. This is/was the problem with our ceilings....sag. Some of ours was worse but they all had some.

 

[Homerboy]

Pink/purple??? Color blind peeps unite....

Ours is 1937. I just used regular spackle when needed (nail holes and what not).

I did tear all of the plaster out in 3 rooms, covered it with 1/4 sheet rock in a small one. That was easier than trying to fix them.

Is the ceiling crack stable. This is/was the problem with our ceilings....sag. Some of ours was worse but they all had some.

The crack is stable and is just a single crack running lengthwise. hasn't gotten bigger in all the years its been there -- though there is some flaking of the plaster now

I'll just go with the generic "Dap spackle" that I have used in the past. It's work before without issues, just wanted to make sure there wasn't something better I may have been missing.

 

[highland145]

I wonder if painter's caulk would be better on the crack is it did have a little movement? I have a small one by the original tub that reappeared after the last spackling/painting. Just movement with the weather changes.

 

[Homerboy]

I wonder if painter's caulk would be better on the crack is it did have a little movement? I have a small one by the original tub that reappeared after the last spackling/painting. Just movement with the weather changes.

That's the sort of questions I have... there are epoxy "spackles" too which seem to be the choice for larger cracks and the like. I certainly get huge weather shifts here too (100+F in the summer, -20+F in the winter)

 

[highland145]

100+F in the summer, -20+F in the winter

I know we've ha a professional plasterer post before but I don't remember who.

 

[Homerboy]

I know we've ha a professional plasterer post before but I don't remember who.

Wisconsin weather dude. It varies quite a bit
http://www.aos.wisc.edu/~sco/clim-history/stations/mke/mke-tts-2015.gif

 

[highland145]

Wisconsin weather dude. It varies quite a bit
http://www.aos.wisc.edu/~sco/clim-history/stations/mke/mke-tts-2015.gif

We rarely see +20 or 100+....Must be heaven.

 

[Aikouka]

I use caulk to fill holes, and spackle to help even it out. Caulk has always just filled the hold a lot easier, but I don't think the resulting surface is as even as when using spackle. Maybe I just need to use better stuff?