| Crackle Painting Technique |
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By Matt Fox
Home & Garden Television Isn't it amazing how people like to take things that are new and make them look old? Well that's exactly what painting with crackle finish will do. You probably have seen small pieces of furniture painted with crackle. It has that aged look of weathered paint. It's a very popular painting technique, but have you ever seen a whole room painted with the crackle look? My partner Shari Hiller and I did just that, and believe it or not, we had so much fun, we cracked each other up! Follow these simple steps to make a new wall that will look old, on purpose. Materials: Latex satin wall paint
Crackle medium
Paint brush (latex paint)
Roller/roller cover
Drop cloths
Masking tape Step 1: What base coat do I use? Apply a base coat of latex paint to your walls, allowing the paint to dry at least overnight. You want to select a color that will show through the crackle effect in the topcoat. Use a satin finish for the basecoat. Step 2: What's next? To do this technique you need to apply a crackle finish medium. It looks like a clear paste with the consistency of paint. Craft stores sell crackle finish in small pint containers, and paint stores sell it in larger quart or gallon containers. For small projects like flower pots or picture frames, you can apply the crackle all at once. For larger projects, like furniture or walls, work one section at a time. Begin by masking off any part of the project that you do not wish to crackle with masking tape. Using a brush or roller, depending on the size of your project to apply the crackle. For painting walls, cut in the edges and roll on the crackle finish. Allow the crackle finish to dry. Read the manufacturers directions, but it generally takes 30 minutes to an hour to dry. One word of caution, you need to apply the topcoat of paint as soon as the crackle finish is dried. If you wait too long you may need to reapply the finish. Step 3. That was easy, is that it? Not quite, now the fun begins. The topcoat of latex satin paint can be applied over the crackle finish two ways. One by using a natural sea sponge, which give you smaller random hairline cracks, or by using a paint brush which will give much bigger cracks that generally flow in the direction you brush. For large surfaces such as walls a brush works best. Let me warn you, any way that you are going to apply it, you're going to get a workout. Start in one corner of the room and begin applying the topcoat with the brush. You need to work quickly and once you've applied paint to a section you need to move on. The crackling will begin immediately, so once you've applied paint, if you go back and apply more, or run the brush through it again, you will be erasing the cracks and making a big mess. Just a little tip, as we were brushing the paint onto the wall, we brushed as far out as we could reach and worked our way from the ceiling to the floor. Then we moved over to a fresh section blending the brush strokes into the previous painted section. All that's left to do is remove the masking tape and clean out your paintbrush. One more thing, just like you folks, Shari and I learn as we go, but one of the best ways to learn is to read the manufacturer's recommendations on the label. They really do help. I'd certainly be lost if I didn't read the labels. (Matt Fox writes this column with Shari Hiller. They also co-host the Home & Garden Television show "room by room." For more information, visit . Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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