Crackle Finish 3, the Crackle Finish with Glue

There are many “crackle finishes” in the furniture finishing. The finishing material technology has provided many special paints to make the crackle finish effects, and many techniques can be used to make the crackle finish. Most crackle finishes are made by using the special material that will crack when it is applied (see our previous article: crackle lacquer). Crackle finish can also be made with manipulation (using heat) to the finish layer (see our previous article: latex paint for crackle finish). 

Now in this article, I will share the other crackle finish. The crackle effect is made by annealing the crackle chips with glue. It will give a crackle finish with a different look. The crackle will appear as some chips at the wood finish surface with more random and life-looking. 

crackle finish

Here is the finishing process, step by step

1. Stain application

Stain application is required if we want to make the color of the wood. If we want the natural wood color, then we don’t need the stain application. In this application, we used a light brown stain to color the wood to a light brown wood color. The wood stain was applied by wet spray to the overall surface.

2. Sealer application.

The sealer layer is needed to give protection to the stain layer. The sealer is also needed to provide a smooth surface for the glue layer; then the sealer layer must be thick enough. Spray two coats of NC sealer and let it dry. Do good sanding to the sealer layer. Make sure we get the smooth surface; if we haven’t, then we need to apply another coat of sealer followed by another sanding process. 

3. The formation of crackle effects.

The crackle is made by gluing the chips to the surface. In this finish, we made the chips from the dry wall paint. The chips can be made this way: brush the white wall paint on the plastic. Then let the paint layer dry, then fold and bend the plastic. The paint will be broken into pieces, crumbled, and chipped off. Collect the paint chips since we use them to make a crackle effect at the wood finish. 

The paint chips are attached to the wood surface by using a gold leaf sizing; it is the glue that is used to attach the gold leaf or silver leaf at the gilt finish. Brush the glue to the surface evenly; let the glue dry for about 15 minutes. Then sprinkle the paint chips on the glue, push, and attach the chips to the glue by brush as we do for the gold leaf. Make sure the chips are well attached to the wood surface. 

The crackle effect is the main thing in the finish; it will form and determine how the finishing looks. Check the crackle effect we get; make sure we get the effect we want.

 

paint to make the crackle

glue application

 

crackle formation

4. Sealer application.

The sealer layer is needed to coat and protect the crackle effect from the previous step. 2 coats of sealer are needed to cover and protect the crackle. Spray the first sealer with the medium spray technique, let it dry for some minutes, and then apply a wet coat to the second sealer. Let it dry and scuff sand the sealer to prepare for the glaze application.

5. Glaze application.

The glaze application is used to make antique-looking and to enhance the crackle effect. In this finish, we used glaze with a dark brown color.  Brush the glaze evenly to the surface and highlight the glaze to enliven the crackle effect. Let the glaze for about 1 hour to dry.

glaze application

6. Top coat application.

The top coat layer is used to protect the finish color and effect from the previous step. Make sure we already got the finish color and looked before applying the top coat. The medium gloss or low sheen top coat is the proper top coat for this finish. Apply the top coat with a spray-wet technique to the finish. Let it dry for about 30 minutes, then check the finished result.  Make sure we got the smooth surfaces with even gloss; if we still got the rough surface, then we need to sand the top coat layer and spray the second top coat.

Crackle finish