What is Selleys No More Cracks Small Cracks & Dents, and where should you use it?

Selleys No More Cracks Small Cracks & Dents is a ready to use filler for fine cracks, chips and small shallow surface imperfections on interior surfaces. It is a cream coloured paste for plaster and plasterboard, it has excellent adhesion, and it is easy to apply and easy to sand.

The clue to using it well is in the name: small and shallow. This is a surface-finishing filler, not a rebuilding one. It is what you spread in a thin layer over the hundred minor imperfections in a wall before painting — hairline cracks, hook holes, chips at a light switch, dents from furniture — and it comes in tubs up to 1.6 kg precisely because that job covers a whole room rather than one spot.

Technical specification

Property	Typical result
Appearance	Cream coloured paste
Drying time at 25°C — 1 mm	1–2 hours
Drying time at 25°C — 2 mm	2–3 hours
Packaging	350 g, 750 g and 1.6 kg tubs
Use	Interior only — plaster and plasterboard
Clean up	Water, before the filler dries
Minimum temperature	5°C

These are indicative data from the product's technical data sheet only, and are not intended for the preparation of specifications.

What the drying times mean in practice

The published figures are 1–2 hours at 1 mm and 2–3 hours at 2 mm, both at 25°C. Doubling the depth roughly doubles the wait, which is the behaviour you would expect from a shallow-application filler drying by water loss through its surface.

Three conditions extend those times, and Selleys names all three: painting with oil based paints, humid conditions, and cold weather. The oil based paint note is the one that trips people up, because it is not about the filler drying at all — it is about how long the repair needs before an oil based system goes over it. If your top coat is oil based, do not treat the 2–3 hour figure as your painting schedule.

In a practical sense, these numbers mean a wall full of small repairs is a same-day job in normal conditions. Fill in the morning, sand in the early afternoon, undercoat and paint after that. In a cold or humid room, that timetable stretches, and sanding a filler that is not yet dry drags it out of the repair rather than levelling it.

Where to use it

It is for interior plaster and plasterboard, repairing:

• Fine cracks
• Chips
• Small shallow surface imperfections

Interior use only. If the damage is deep or the hole is large, this is not the right product in the range — No More Cracks Large Cracks & Holes is built for that and has the layering instructions to match. The full set of options is on the wall filler page, and there is a general walkthrough on how to fill cracks and dents in walls.

How to apply it

1. Make sure the surface is clean and dry, with no loose or powdery material. Around a chip in plasterboard this usually means picking off the loose paper edges and flaking paint first.
2. Use a filling blade to spread a thin layer over the area and scrape off the excess to minimise sanding. Note the wording — spread a thin layer over the area, rather than pack material into a hole. That is how a shallow filler is meant to be used.
3. Tool or spread the filler to a feather edge. Selleys gives this as the way to minimise sanding and obtain a perfect finish.
4. Allow 2–3 hours to dry, then sand back with fine sandpaper. Allow longer if you are painting with oil based paints, in humid conditions, or in cold weather.
5. Apply an undercoat before your top coat for best results.

Why the feathered edge matters

On a shallow repair, the edge is what gives the job away, not the middle. A patch of filler that stops abruptly leaves a visible step around its whole perimeter. Paint does not hide a step — it highlights it, because the light catches the ridge, and a gloss or low-sheen wall paint makes it worse.

Feathering means thinning the filler out to nothing at the edges as you spread it, so there is no boundary line for the light to find. Doing this with the blade while the filler is wet takes seconds. Achieving the same result afterwards means sanding the edge down, which on plasterboard risks cutting through the paper face and creating a bigger repair than the one you started with.

This is also why the instruction to scrape off the excess matters so much on this product. A thin, well-scraped application dries within the stated times and needs only light sanding. A thick, generous one dries slowly and then has to be sanded hard.

Choosing a pack size

Three sizes are published: 350 g, 750 g and 1.6 kg tubs. That range is unusually generous for a filler aimed at fine cracks and small dents, and it tells you how the product is expected to be used — not for one repair, but for going over an entire wall or room before repainting.

Match the tub to the scale of the preparation work rather than to the size of any single defect. A 350 g tub is plenty for touching up a few marks; if you are preparing a whole interior for paint, the larger tubs save you opening a fresh container halfway through, and a sealed tub stores well between jobs.

Limitations — where Small Cracks & Dents should not be used

• Do not use below 5°C.
• Interior use only.
• Where movement occurs, use Selleys No More Gaps.

The movement limitation matters more than it might seem on a product for fine cracks, because a fine crack is exactly what a moving joint produces. A hairline crack that runs along a cornice line, follows a plasterboard sheet join, or comes back in the same place after a previous repair is movement, not a surface defect. Filling it produces a wall that looks perfect until the next seasonal change.

Clean up and storage

Clean up: with water, before the filler dries.

Storage: make sure the container is closed tightly and store it in a cool, dry place. The larger tubs will outlast a single job by a long way, so a properly sealed lid is what determines whether the rest of the tub is usable next time.

Hazard classification

Classified as hazardous under Safe Work Australia GHS 7, with the signal word Warning.

• Sensitisation — Skin — Category 1. H317: may cause an allergic skin reaction.

It is not classified as Dangerous Goods under the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road & Rail or New Zealand NZS5433.

What is in it

Chemical entity	CAS number	Proportion (w/w)
1,2-Benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one (BIT)	2634-33-5	<0.05%
5-Chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (CMIT)	26172-55-4	<0.05%
2-Methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one (MIT)	2682-20-4	<0.05%
Ingredients determined to be non-hazardous or below reporting limits	—	Balance

Nothing in this filler is present above 0.05%, and the whole of the classified content is three preservatives — the isothiazolinone biocides that stop a water-based paste going off in the tub. That family is the one which carries skin-sensitisation classifications across water-based fillers, paints and adhesives; the SDS does not name a cause for the classification, so this page does not assert one either. The general point stands on its own: a hazard classification can rest on a few hundredths of a percent of a formulation, and the absence of anything alarming in the table does not remove it.

Sensitisation is not irritation. Irritation is local and reversible; it stops when you stop. Sensitisation is the immune system learning to react to the material, it is generally permanent once acquired, it is triggered afterwards by exposures much smaller than the one that caused it, and it is built up through repeated everyday contact rather than through one bad episode.

This product is used in exactly that pattern. It is made for fine cracks, chips and small dents — which means many small repairs rather than one large one, usually applied and feathered with a finger because that is the quickest way to do a nail hole. Going around a whole room before repainting, then doing it again at the next place, is the sort of repeated low-level contact that causes sensitisation rather than the sort that causes a visible reaction on the day. A filling knife for the fill and gloves for the feathering cost nothing.

Protection

• Gloves — nitrile rubber, suitable for intermittent contact per the SDS, with the user making the final assessment.
• Eye protection — safety glasses, particularly when sanding or working above head height.
• Dust mask — when sanding the dried filler; avoid breathing dust.
• Ventilation — keep air moving in the room; natural ventilation is adequate for normal use.
• Wash hands before eating, drinking or smoking. Wash contaminated clothing and protective equipment before storing or reusing.

First aid

Exposure	What to do
Eyes	Wash out immediately with water, holding the eyelids open, and keep rinsing. In all cases of eye contamination it is a sensible precaution to seek medical advice.
Skin	Effects may be delayed. Remove contaminated clothing and flush the skin and hair with running water, then wash with soap. If swelling, redness, blistering or a rash occurs — including hours later — seek medical assistance.
Inhalation	Move the person to fresh air, keep them warm and at rest until recovered. Seek medical advice if effects persist.
Swallowed	Rinse the mouth with water. Do not induce vomiting. Give a glass of water to drink and seek medical advice. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person.

If poisoning occurs, contact a doctor or the Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand — with the container to hand. Selleys emergency line: 1800 220 770 in Australia, 0800 220 770 in New Zealand.

Common questions about Selleys No More Cracks Small Cracks & Dents

How long does it take to dry?

At 25°C, 1–2 hours for a 1 mm application and 2–3 hours at 2 mm. Allow longer in humid or cold conditions, or if you are painting with oil based paints.

What sizes does it come in?

350 g, 750 g and 1.6 kg tubs.

What colour is it?

A cream coloured paste.

What surfaces is it for?

Plaster and plasterboard, interior only.

Can I use it outside?

No. It is for interior use only.

Can I use it to fill a large hole?

It is designed for fine cracks, chips and small shallow surface imperfections. For larger or deeper repairs, use a filler intended for that, such as No More Cracks Large Cracks & Holes.

How do I avoid a visible edge around the repair?

Tool or spread the filler to a feather edge as you apply it. That is Selleys' own advice for minimising sanding and getting a perfect finish.

How much should I apply?

A thin layer spread over the area, with the excess scraped off to minimise sanding.

What sandpaper should I use?

Fine sandpaper, once the filler is dry.

Do I need an undercoat?

For best results, yes — undercoat before your top coat.

Does oil based paint change anything?

Yes. Allow longer drying times before painting with oil based paints.

What if the crack keeps returning?

That is movement. Where movement occurs, use Selleys No More Gaps rather than a filler.

What is the minimum temperature?

Do not use it below 5°C.

How do I clean up?

With water, before the filler dries.