Filler

Fill Material

Description

1) An inert powder added to a base material such as a paint, pigment, adhesive, plastic, paper, fabric, wax, or concrete. Fillers may serve multiple purposes such as: extend a matrix, dilute a color, decrease cost, provide bulk, increase strength, improve working properties or generally enhance performance. Examples of materials that are used as fillers are: acrylic, Calcium carbonate, Barium sulfate, Clay, Diatomaceous earth, glass fibers, glass spheres, Gypsum, Sand, Starch, Talc, Titanium dioxide.

2) A preparation made for filling gaps, cracks, pores, or holes. Examples are Dental plaster, Polyfilla, Mastic adhesive, Plastic wood, Gesso, steel stick, brummer stopper, Spackle, and Wax.

Microballon fills

Synonyms and Related Terms

fill; mastic (Fr.); charge (Fr.); relleno (Esp.); carga (Port.); diluent; extender; reinforcing agent; gap filling adhesive; cement; lute; filling compound; mastic

Additional Information

J.Thornton, "A brief History and Review of the early Practice and Materials of Gap-Filling in the West" JAIC 37, p. 3-32, 1998.

Additional Images

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  Paraloid B-72 and microballoon fills

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• ASTM, "Standard Terminology Relating to Paint, Varnish, Lacquer and Related Products", Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Section 6, Paints, Related Coatings and Aromatics, ASTM, D16, 7-Jan, Jul-96

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• Tom Rowland, Noel Riley, A-Z Guide to Cleaning, Conserving and Repairing Antiques, Constable and Co., Ltd., London, 1981

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000