Let’s Get Crackling ! Antique Effects – Shabby Chic – Home Decorating

How to Crackle Glaze in Baby Steps

Do you have an antique piece of furniture that you love but don’t know what to do with because it is scratched or damaged? And, you don’t want to spend a lot of money having it Re-finished?

Here is one solution: Crackle glaze.

Crackle glaze is a one-part product applied between two coats of water-based paint, cracking the top layer to reveal the base layer.

According to Bright Beige, a company set up for those hoping to decorate on a shoestring, “Crackle glazing is surprisingly easy to do,” and the results can be awesome. It is even easy to do for those of us who have artistic talent but very little time or patients for that matter. The process is best suited to smaller wood items, such as furniture. The water-based glaze makes the topcoat of paint crack; it gives the effect of having been left out in the sun too long.

The process can work on old and new items of furniture. If you have some old and some new furniture, this is one way of pulling it all together.

Once you have selected the piece you want to work on, you can begin. If you are very artistic, there are a few extra touches that you can add, for example, the first layer before glazing could be a painted picture, or if your artistic talents don’t exceed doing a collage, cut out an old Victorian post card and paste it on.

Put on the first coat, your base color. When the base coat is dry, paint over with the crackle glaze, (A good sized ready mix bottle can be purchased from any Wal-Mart for about 12 dollars) decide what size you want the cracks to be, the more glaze you use, the larger the crackle effect will be. Leave the glaze to dry a few hours.

Now paint on the topcoat, the paint must be water based. The secret is not to over work the paint. Almost immediately it will begin to crackle. If you did not allow the glaze to dry properly, you will find that when you apply the topcoat of water-based paint, it will drag the glaze creating what looks like gashes and wrinkled flesh instead of crackles. Try to apply the topcoat in one simple stroke! Some artists believe it is best to apply the third coat fairly thickly.

It is also good to remember when you find that nice piece of old furniture, that you still want your item to look old and not freshly painted. So, it may be an idea, not to cover the whole area of the item – perhaps do just the panels, or if it is a flat surface, just do parts of it; don’t make it regimented and even. It will look more natural if it is uneven.

To make the rest of the wood look weathered lightly rub a candle over the edges before painting the topcoat, and finish it off by randomly sanding it, this will give it that shabby look.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get crackling!