I hope I can remember correctly. You paint the base coat.Let dry. Paint the glue .Let dry. Paint the top coat and it should crackle.

I don't let the glue finish drying... just let it tack up a bit ...say 5 mins or so.... then paint on the top coat of paint without overbrushing any areas. Get lots of paint on the brush and cover with one brush stroke. If you overlap strokes the cracking process won't work.

The thicker the glue application the bigger the cracks.... experiment on a test board before doing your project to get the feel of.

I use plain ol elmers glue, some prefer Hyde. Tacky glue does not work.

Make sure you seal your project with a spray or brush on water based sealer. That's it!

Paint Drop Hugs!
MaryRose

Using glue replaces the 'expensive' crackle medium?! Oh man, I wish I would've known about this little trick! :-(

Liz I once calculated the price of "commercial crackle mediums in small bottles" to a gallon of elmers. The glue is less than $10.00 and the little bottles would be $80+ !! Quite a savings!

Paint Drop Hugs!
MaryRose

I don't do a lot of crackling & have only bought one small bottle. That was maybe in 2000 for a small project & I haven't touched it since. I'm sure it would add up tremendously if a person uses a lot it.

Thanks for the tip though because I printed it out & gave it to my arts & crafts teacher who's very interested in trying out this money-saving way of getting a crackle finish.

I just finished a project using the above Elmer's Glue trick. It turned out wonderful. I am very impressed with the results. I painted my door jamb and door with a flat linen paint, then applied a heavy coat of the glue to get the desired large cracks.(I actually applied it a little too heavy which caused dripping and slowed the whole process down) Once everything was back on track and the drips were dealt with I applied a flat sand paint in a tan color. I am very happy and it has the cracks and texture I desired.

Hi Billijo, welcome to the painting forum. Boy, you sure found an old post. Isn't it great to have these in the archives so newcomers can find them? Yeah.

I'm glad the technique worked well for you. I've not tried Elmer's yet, but I've used the Hyde glue many times with great success.

Do you do any decorative painting? We love pics here, so hope you will share with us. We have lots of pictures in our gallery section too, so be sure to check there for ideas too.

Luvs

Billijo~ welcome and thanks for pulling this post up! I have a few projects I can use this on! Hope you'll stick around and post with us! ~Anj

I've never heard of this - so many thanks for the info.

I just used this technique on my bathroom cabinet and accessories for the bathroom that is in a beach theme and it looks fantastic. I highly recommend it.

That's great Jules, glad your project turned out good. I love the crackeled look. Luvs

I am now working on a new project which is an armoire/dresser- I am painting the base in bold colors, applying the glue and then painting the top coat black - it is turning out wonderful and I love the bold colors in the background. This technique is so amazing and fun to play with. One tip I can suggest is you can water down the glue a little if it is spreading too thickly for you and the process still works just fine. It is awesome to watch the cracking taking place while the item is drying. Kind of like Christmas cause it is surprising how it turns out- but not to worry it always comes out great!

I'm here because DH has worked very hard on all the prep steps of turning our
old pine dining table into a crackle painted piece of art. Dark espresso bean brown on legs, apron and top edges. Deep Williamsburg blue as top coat, just
on the table top surface. All went well until the "glue" stage. We were NOT using glue, but alas, one of the Home Depot products designed for crackling.
The directions said, "Let dry 60 minutes". No other details. He did that. Then
began applying the blue paint and everything smeared and he was ready to throw the table away. However, we managed to be able to plastic scraper the
Home Depot product and blue paint totally off, leaving us back to the step of
applying the "glue".
The ancient post by MaryRose at the start of this thread (2001) says she doesn't let the glue dry completely. After only 60 minutes, the glue product we used was still tacky and I figured that was the problem. Jules, your project sounds size wise like ours - and deep colors, too. Did you let the glue layer
dry completely? Does anyone think we should give the Home Depot product
a second shot or just go out and buy some Elmer's? Don't know what Hyde glue is. But the key questions are.....Dry or Tacky? Brush on or Roller on?
If this turns out like the way my mind sees it, I'll send a picture (if I can figure out how to do that!)
HomeBird

I've never done the crackle yet Homebird so I hope someone will be able to answer your question. Your table sounds beautiful so of course we'll help you post pics when you are done. :) We have some pretty good instructions we'll pull up when you are ready. Just let us know! Welcome to the forum. ~Anj

Homebird I would try to get my money back on the Home Depot stuff and use the glue procedure indicated here. I went to an arts supply store and bought a gallon of Elmer's glue for my large project and it was only $10.99! I am sure you would pay much more for the crackle application from Home Depot and it didn't even work.I applied my base color (this is the color that will show through the cracks) and let it dry completely. Then I added a bit of water to my glue in a small container and began applying it in no careful manner whatsoever- I added enough water just to make it more easy to spread over the piece. I let it set (of course depending on your humidity level) for about 30 minutes - not dry but tacky- if it gets too dry you have to start over with the glue again. Then began applying my top coat paint color again in no careful manner whatsoever- I basically just slapped it on there anyway I could. I got amazing results and have gotten alot of compliments. I plan to do my kitchen cabinets with this technique.I applied a polyurethane to my bathroom project and it has yellowed. In my search online to find out why this happened I have learned that it is due to UV rays. There is nothing I can do about it except start over which I may do in the future. Keep this in mind for your table that if you put a polyurethane on top of the crackle finish it may yellow. If I am able to get the pics loaded correctly I will show you my work. Best of luck to you and if I can be of any further help let me know- Jules

Here is a link that might be useful: Crackle finish pics

Thanks, Jules. Your photos look good. The crackle looks entirely different than
what is shown on the Home Depot brochure. That shows the cracks more like
netting - irregular linked openwork. You said you applied the top coat paint color in no careful manner, others have said not to go over the brushstrokes
previously applied.
I know about polyurethane turning yellow - it happened on a piece of furniture
I refinished years and years ago and we also saw it on our last home which had
white-washed pine walls with poly overlaid. Nasty. Is there a product out there
that protects like polyurethane but doesn't turn yellow. I mean, it's not like we
can block the UV light from coming through the windows! A UV filter should
be in the coating......or am I way off base?

Thanks again for your help.

I did not have any trouble going over the item several times with the brush- I was not careful at all with it. If you are concerned you could try a small area first and see how it comes out for you. I do know that the thicker you apply the glue the wider the cracks you will get. I got alot wider cracks on the bathroom cabinet than I did on the dresser. It is really a guessing game and quite the surprise as to how many cracks you will get- as I said previously - it is fun to watch.
As for the polyurethane I am just learning about that - and the way I understand it - it is a big problem. It stated to use Polyurethane for indoor use only and that is what I used but it yellowed anyway AND it is in a bathroom with no window that is dark most of the time- it annoys me but I guess at some point I will just re-do the whole process.
Hope to hear how your table comes out- please let us know! Jules

Just for future readers about the polyeurethane finish turning yellow, I found what is called a brushing laquer it has a strong smell so use in well ventilated room but it does the same job as poly... but does not turn yellow. Leaves a gorgeous shine & very durable finish. I purchased it at Lowe's Home Improvement.

i'm doing the happy dance over this method. i've been a lurker and finally joined-up because of this post! i wanted to make prim looking Easter eggs and was going to decoupage foam eggs with used coffee filters. i had already glued a base of paper towling and decided to paint them choc brown and use this crackle method. i used the glue, let it get tacky and then covered them with a coat of eggshell color. it worked out GREAT!!! now i'm going to speckle them with a couple shades of tan. i am soooooooooo happy with them. thank you, thank you!!!

Hi Maggiejoe, so glad you were able to find some helpful information here. Your eggs sound really neat, hope you will take pictures of them and post them for us to see. Luvs

Boy, using glue to crackle brings back memories of watching Aleene Jackson on TV. And as for polyurethane.....

Polyurethane turning yellow has nothing to do with UV rays. There are 2 kinds of polyurethane - solvent based, and water based.

The solvent based WILL turn yellow, and will continue to do so over time. Most people like this for refinishing furniture because over time it gives the wood a warm look.

The water based poly will dry clear and remain clear. I have used water based poly for years on both indoor and outdoor wood pieces and have never had one of them turn yellow. I have some outdoor garden pieces that are years old and they have never yellowed.

I have always used Flecto Varathane Diamond Finishes which are now known as Rustoleum Varathane Diamond Finishes. I highly recommend them if you want a clear and durable finish that will remain clear.
You can take a look at the product here:

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=70

oh my, it took me 1 1/2 yrs to learn to post pics on another site so please be patient. i copied the "posting pics" tutorial but it seems so involved. wish hubby & i had a little (lot!) more computer savvy!!!

Maggiejoe, just go step by step following the instructions. It seems intimidating, but it's really not that bad. Believe me, if I managed to do it, anyone can! LOL Luvs

Could someone please email the instructions for using elmer's clue as crackle?

Check our Mackenzie-childs.com and their fish chairs, dresser tops, etc. I used to worl there and ALL THEY USE is Elmer's ;) for crackle finishing! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Mackenzie Childs Ltd.

Can the crackle finish with glue be used on items that will be outdoors? Is there an additional protective coating that should /can be used?

anyone had any experience using elmers process on an outdoor piece?