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Filler for plasterboard joints

Updated: October 2026

A picture has come down and the screw heads show, a joint has cracked along the seam, or a hole has nothing behind it. Filler for plasterboard joints is not one paste for all three. A screw head can take a spot of lightweight paste. A cracked joint wants tape and joint filler. A hole you can see through wants a patch, not a skim of fine filler. Shallow plaster steps are on [how to fill holes in a wall](/hub/fillers-adhesives-and-sprays/surface-filler/sub/surface-filler-how-to-fill). The listings are on the [surface filler comparison](/hub/fillers-adhesives-and-sprays/surface-filler). Prices are amazon.co.uk shelf prices from 15 October 2026. The Products Compared editorial team did not run a lab test.

A picture has come down and the screw heads show, a joint has cracked along the seam, or a hole has nothing behind it. Filler for plasterboard joints is not one paste for all three.

Our top picks

FOME FLEX FOME FLEX Finish lightweight putty

Best overall

FOME FLEX FOME FLEX Finish lightweight putty
4.5/10about £9.99
View offer
Polycell Polycell Multi-Purpose Polyfilla 330 g

Rank 2

Polycell Polycell Multi-Purpose Polyfilla 330 g
8.9/10about £3.49
View offer
Palace Palace Fine Surface Filler 600 g

Best value

Palace Palace Fine Surface Filler 600 g
8.1/10about £1.25
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three different jobs on plasterboard
  2. 2.Screw heads take a small amount of lightweight paste
  3. 3.Joints need tape, not a smear of fine filler
  4. 4.A hole you can see through needs a patch
  5. 5.Dust, drying, and the review line

Three different jobs on plasterboard

A screw head is a shallow dimple with the board still there. A joint is the seam between two sheets, and it moves enough to crack a hard smear with no tape under it. A hole from a handle can open onto the cavity, so the paste has no back. Treating those as one job is why the repair falls out. If the knife meets solid board, you are on a screw head. If the crack runs straight where two sheets meet, you are on a joint. If you can see through, you are on a void. Fine filler over that void is the wrong repair.

Screw heads take a small amount of lightweight paste

The lightweight option in this set is FOME FLEX Finish, at about £9.99, aimed at plasterboard joints and screw holes. It says indoor use on plasterboard, plaster, concrete, and masonry, sandable after 30 minutes, No depth is stated, so that half hour is not a time for a deep ding. The volume field says 6 ml, which cannot describe 240 g. amazon.co.uk lists 4.7 from six reviews marked as reviewed in Germany. That is not a British track record. For a shallow indoor screw head, a small amount, left until it is no longer soft, matches the listing. Palace fine, at layers of no more than 3 mm, can touch a hairline on plaster. It is the wrong skim over a void.
FOME FLEX FOME FLEX Finish lightweight putty

Testsieger

FOME FLEX FOME FLEX Finish lightweight putty
4.5/10about £9.99
View offer

Joints need tape, not a smear of fine filler

Tape bridges the seam, and joint filler goes over it in thin coats so the seam does not print. Fine filler along the crack, with no tape, cracks again because the sheets still move. UK shop shelves pair the tape with the filler. British Gypsum sells Gyproc Joint Filler for this job. That page was behind a cookie wall on 15 October 2026, so coat counts and bag weights are not quoted. A 12.5 kg trade bag is not one of the eight listings here. A long ceiling seam wants that kind of kit and tape. FOME FLEX is the small indoor option in this set, not a tested joint system.

A hole you can see through needs a patch

Filler needs something behind it. Checkatrade separates a filler job from a patch. Wickes uses a repair patch on a medium hole and a new piece of plasterboard when the hole is large. Fine filler across the opening bridges a void, then shrinks, and the paint cracks in a ring. A screw dimple needs neither a patch nor tape. If the board is soft around a wide hole, cutting out and replacing a piece is the Wickes end of the scale. Do not keep adding Palace fine and hoping the middle holds. Once the patch is fixed, a thin fill over the edges is feathering.

Dust, drying, and the review line

A couple of screw heads make little dust. Sanding taped joints along a room is the job HSE writes about: 4.0 mg/m³ respirable gypsum dust over 8 hours, and on-tool extraction. One hook is not that task. Wipe the dust off before you paint. The 30-minute lines are on FOME FLEX only. Do not copy them onto a deep Palace or Polycell repair. Six reviews are not a method. Do not fill a live electrical opening. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Common questions

What filler should I use on plasterboard joints?
Use joint filler with tape on the seam, not a smear of fine surface filler. In this set, FOME FLEX at about £9.99 is the lightweight indoor listing for joints and screw holes, and it states no depth. Gyproc Joint Filler exists as a trade compound. Its coat times were not readable on 15 October 2026, so they are not quoted here.
Do I need tape as well as filler?
On a cracked joint, yes. Tape bridges the sheets and the filler goes over it. A screw head does not need tape. It needs a small spot of paste on solid board. Fine filler on a joint with no tape cracks again when the sheets move.
Can I use fine surface filler on plasterboard?
Palace fine can feather a hairline in layers of no more than 3 mm. It is the wrong first choice for a cracked joint, and the wrong skim over a hole with nothing behind it. A shallow scuff on solid board is closer to its job. A void needs a patch before any paste.
When do I need a patch instead of filler?
When you can see through the hole, or the knife meets no board. Checkatrade treats that as a patch. Wickes uses a repair patch for a medium hole and a new piece of board when the hole is large. Filler across the opening only bridges a void, then shrinks.
Is sanding joint filler dusty enough to matter?
A couple of screw heads is a small job. Sanding taped joints along a wall is the HSE example of 4.0 mg/m³ respirable gypsum dust over 8 hours, with on-tool extraction. That limit is for workers under COSHH, not a mask rating for one hook. Wipe the dust off before you paint either way.

Related pages

Wall filler buying guide

Best fine surface filler

Fine or multi-purpose filler

Surface filler

How to fill holes in a wall: clean, layer, then paint

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices are from amazon.co.uk on 15 October 2026.

  1. Polycell — Multi Purpose Polyfilla Ready Mixed (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Palace Chemicals — Ready Mixed Filler TDS (28 October 2024) (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. Toupret UK — powder versus ready-to-use (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. HSE — sanding taped plasterboard joints (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. NHBC — Cracking in your home (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. BBC — cracks in walls (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Checkatrade — how to fill holes in a wall (retrieved 15 October 2026)