5 Easy Steps to Crackle Furniture

How to Crackle FurnitureHow to Crackle Furniture?   The winter months are the best time to finish old chores and start new projects. On the top of my bucket list of things to do this winter was to crackle a cherry finished buffet. My husband certainly didn't share my enthusiasm, for like most men they like the look of wood. That's all fine and dandy but I have 4 types of wood and finishes in my living room and the cherry just did not fit in my French Country Cottage theme. He was good enough to take the hardware off and help reassemble the piece.

  I love the finished distressed crackle. The whole project took about 2-3 hours. (not including drying time)








1. Pictured below is the "before" cherry finish.  The first step in this process is to pick the piece you want to refinish and lightly sand it. This will give the base coat paint some teeth to hold on to.




2.  Step two is to paint the piece with the underlying base coat. This is the color that will show through after you crackle the top coat. Let the piece dry thoroughly.








































3. The next step is to apply the sticky crackling medium. You can buy this at any big box store or you can use Elmer's glue or wallpaper paste.  I chose to use some leftover liquid wallpaper paste. It worked fine and did not cost me a dime.

Brush on the medium in one direction, apply it thickly if you want larger crackle. Apply a thin coat for small fine cracks.


4. The next step is to apply the top coat of paint.  You should apply this coat while the crackling medium is still sticky and wet.  You will see the crackling veins appear almost immediately.  Let this dry overnight.

5. The last step in the process is to apply a clear finish lacquer top coat. Lacquer will dry in about 15 to 20 minutes. Your piece is finished once the lacquer dries.

The finished crackled distressed finish.




Finished Product.