{{Short description|Putty that fills small holes in walls and ceilings}} {{Distinguish|joint compound}} {{Redirect|Polyfilla|the New Zealand drag queen|Pollyfilla}} alt=White spackle is applied to a painted surface using a small putty knife.|thumb|Spackle applied to a rough surface using a putty knife
'''Spackling paste''' or '''spackle''' is a putty used to fill holes, small cracks, and other minor surface defects in wood, drywall, and plaster.<ref name="How to Stencil With Spackling Paste">{{cite web | url=http://homeguides.sfgate.com/stencil-spackling-paste-92597.html | title=How to Stencil With Spackling Paste | date=28 November 2013 | publisher=sfgate.com | accessdate=19 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="What is the difference between spackle and plaster?">{{cite web | url=https://www.reference.com/home-garden/difference-between-spackle-plaster-97e91c73a0b5d01 | title=What is the difference between spackle and plaster? | date=4 August 2015 | publisher=Reference.com | accessdate=19 June 2017}}</ref> Typically, spackling is composed of gypsum plaster from hydrated calcium sulfate and glue.
==Spackle trademark== ''Spackle'' is an abandoned trademark of the Muralo Company, located in Bayonne, New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web |title=SYNKOLOID'S - Trademark Details |url=https://trademarks.justia.com/720/17/synkoloid-72017131.html |publisher=Justia Trademarks |access-date=15 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Trademark Search: 'spackle' |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76148822&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch |access-date=15 May 2025 |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office}}</ref> Muralo's product is dry powder, to be mixed with water by the user to form putty or paste brought to market in 1927, then patented and trademarked in 1928.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office [microform] |url=http://archive.org/details/officialgazette648unit |date=1951 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Patent Office |via=the Internet Archive}}</ref> The term ''spackle'' has since become a genericized trademark applied in the United States to a variety of household hole-filling products.
The first written appearance of the generic use of the word ''spackle'' was around 1940.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |dictionary=Merriam-Webster Online |title=spackle |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spackle |accessdate=2015-11-21}}</ref> The product name was likely derived from the German word {{lang|de|Spachtel}}, meaning "putty knife" or "filler." Other possible origins include Russian {{lang|ru|шпаклевать}} (<small>tr.</small> {{Transliteration|ru|shpaklevat}}; to fill holes with putty or caulk), Polish {{lang|pl|szpachla}} (spatula or putty knife), and Yiddish {{lang|yi|spaklieven}} (to fill in small holes in plaster), all of which are likely derived from German.
==Polyfilla== In the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and Canada, the brand "Polyfilla", multipurpose filler, is used as a generic term for spackling paste,<ref name="Hitchcock13">{{cite book|last1=Hitchcock|first1=Karen|title=Little white slips|date=2013|publisher=Picador Australia|location=[Sydney]|isbn=9781742620299|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mu-ubtJholAC&pg=PA19|accessdate=24 January 2017|language=en|quote=A nice Polyfilla kind of lady}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Treasury Committee |title=Counting the population: written evidence|date=2008|publisher=TSO|location=London|isbn=9780215038036|page=184|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxqoeqmEhYMC&pg=PA184|language=en|quote=sources patched up with statistical Polyfilla}}</ref> even though it differs from spackle in being cellulose based. The manufacturers claim that it has an advantage over spackle in that it does not shrink or crack.<ref>[http://www.poly.com.au/ Poly Website Australia]</ref><ref>[http://www.polycell.co.uk/products/fillers.jsp Polycell UK]</ref>
==Comparison with joint compound== Spackling paste is comparable to joint compound. Both serve the similar purpose of filling in low spots in walls and ceilings. Spackling paste typically dries faster, shrinks less during drying, and is meant for smaller repairs. Unlike joint compound, spackle cannot be used as a skim coat or to finish drywall.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spackle vs. Joint Compound: What's the Difference? |url=https://www.hgtv.com/how-to/home-improvement/what-is-the-difference-between-spackle-and-joint-compound |access-date=2025-07-17 |website=HGTV |language=en}}</ref> It is not uncommon to call any of these products "spackle", but tradespersons will usually specify joint compound (drywall mud) when that is specifically meant.<ref name="Honest-Carpenter-2021-11-20">{{Cite web |author=Ethan Daniel James |date=2021-11-20 |title=Spackle vs. Drywall Mud/Joint Compound (What's the Difference? When Should You Use Them?) YouTube video on The Honest Carpenter channel. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAh2Re76e1A |access-date=2022-02-02}}</ref>
==See also== * Plastering
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==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Building materials Category:Home improvement Category:Plastering
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