Crackling Paint

How often do you wander through antique shops and know you can't afford to take any home? For a fraction of those prices you can achieve your own antiqued effects with a great product called crackle medium.

We purchased a paper-mache rubbish bin (approx. $19.50) and craft wood place mat ($2.50 each) and some coasters ($1.50 each) and a small photo album ($15.00), all of which are available from good craft stores.

The basic steps for crackling are the same no matter what piece you're working on. We demonstrated the technique using the paper-mache rubbish bin.

1. Seal the bin by painting all over - inside and out - with a water-based sealer or varnish (approx. $10 a bottle). Leave to dry for about 20 minutes.

2. Paint it over with a base coat, preferably a dark acrylic paint such as dark green or teal ($4.95 small bottle). Leave for 20 minutes to dry.

3. Using an inch-wide paintbrush, apply the crackle medium (we used Duncan Crackle Medium, small bottle $4.25, large $14.25), thickly in some patches, thinly in others. The medium itself is quite viscous and will need to be worked in well with the brush. The crackle medium coat will take about two hours to dry. While drying check that the medium hasn't run. Brush out any dribbles.

4. Now, using a contrasting (light) acrylic paint (we used cream), paint over the crackling coat in a "crows feet" pattern, something like brushing several strokes diagonally to the left, then more strokes diagonally to the right, which gives a rough, random type of crackling. Like magic it will crack before your eyes.

Different effects More dramatic cracks can be achieved using a larger brush and applying a thicker top coat.
A dried-mud effect can be achieved by using a sponge to apply the top coat.

Finishing with Decals

You may finish off your newly-crackled bin with decals or transfers. These vary in price from 50 cents each up to $10 each. Make sure the bin has completely dried, usually 30 minutes.

Simply soak the transfer in water, carefully lift it off the backing paper and apply it to the crackled surface. Wipe with a clean cloth.

Gently wipe out any air bubbles to the edge. As the transfer dries it too will develop a crackled effect.

Apply three coats of varnish (as above) to protect the surface, allowing a few hours drying time between coats.

NB: All prices are approximate.

Copyright CTC Productions 2006