Spackling paste

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Spackling paste is typically used to fill holes, small cracks and other minor surface defacements in wood, drywall and plaster. Three versions of spackling paste are currently on today's market: 1. Regular paste (heavy); 2. Lightweight; 3. Lightbodied (somewhat a combination between heavy and light).

Spackle is a registered trademark of the Muralo Company, located in Bayonne, New Jersey. The original dry powder product (to be mixed with water by the user) was brought to market in 1927,^[1] then patented and trademarked in 1928. The word "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.^[2] Some observers think that the product name was itself derived from the German word spachtel, meaning "putty knife" or "filler". Other possible derivations include shpaklevat (Russian; to fill holes with putty or caulk), szpachla (Polish; spatula or putty knife) and spaklieven (Yiddish; to fill in small holes in plaster.)^[3]^[4]

A similar (but not identical) product is sold in Britain, Canada and Australia under the brand name Polyfilla, a term, like "spackle", that has become generic in colloquial speech.