I have tried for years to find the perfect product for crackle in wood crafts. No lie, I bet I have tried over half a dozen products that never worked until now. I give you Martha Stewart Weather Crackle. Let me start off by saying that this technique does require some practice and a little patience. I’ve added a video tutorial at the end but I also took photos of my process so you can see each step I did.

Join the Ranger Mailing List. Search In: Everything Products. Don’t treat the paint like a “regular” acrylic paint-Distress Crackle Paint is self.

For this project you’ll need: Paint (I always use Delta paint and I used the colors Timberline, Light Ivory and Metallic 14K Gold) Upholstery Tacks (I found mine at Hobby Lobby) Always sand the sides of your letters, any project from The Wood Connection is going to have the back and front sanded but you will need to give the edges a light sanding. It just helps to finish them off and give them a completed look when you’re done.

Next I painted the edges and sides of the green letters. Once dry I painted one coat of ivory on top of the letters. This will be the color of the crackle once you’re done. Making sure the bottom coat is dry I then applied a very thick coat of crackle. **IMPORTANT** It really helps to pour your crackle into a small container and then apply to the wood. Don’t pour the crackle directly onto the wood. Make sure you apply the coat of crackle in one or two strokes.

If you stroke over and over again the crackle effect doesn’t work. This step can be a little messy because you have to have a really thick coat and only cover the surface in a couple strokes. It is helpful to practice on a scrap piece of wood. The crackle sets up very quickly. Here is what mine looked like after a minute or two. Windows 8.1 Pro 64 Bit Pre Activated Iso.

The brush stokes are gone as it starts to separate and it almost looks bubbly. Once the crackle is dry (mine took just over 2 hours) I poured my paint into a small container and applied a heavy coat over the crackle. I did this because the more strokes you do with the paint the more broken up the crackle will be. Also, less paint will make the crackle lines smaller and closer together.

The direction your stroke your crackle coat and your top coat will determine the direction that crackle lines go. I found it best to have enough paint to be able to do one stroke from top to bottom. That way you don’t have to stop mid letter to add more paint and ruin the crackle with lots of strokes.

The crackle can take 24 hours to dry and go into full effect. Once it’s dry I sealed with a matte acrylic sealer to help protect it and seal the paint. And now I have a little green in my home to tease me for spring. Hopefully it comes sooner rather than later. Good luck with this new technique.