How to Make Crackle Paint With Glue: 6 Easy Steps

Crackle paint is a really cool way to create some unique designs. It is made with glue and water, and it gives you the ability to make patterns and pictures. You can even add glitter to your crackle paint, making it look amazing! This guide will teach you how to make crackle paint with glue.

How To Make Crackle Paint With Glue

Can you make crackle paint with glue?

Crackle painting is meant to bring you a worn and broken appearance. You can create such designs over wood, canvas, ceramic and other surfaces for decoration. Professional designers use crackle mediums and all professional tools to make this type of design. Crackle mediums are quite expensive and not easily accessible as well.

Yes, you can certainly use crackle paint with glue. It provides adequate coverage on a very limited budget. If you’re an expert and know all the crackling paint tricks, you can try out various medium combinations. Consider the thickness of the glue to get the perfect crackles over your wall. 

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You’ll be surprised to know that glue can get you that aged and worn look with a few painting techniques. It requires minimum effort and expenses. “Can you make crackle paint with glue” is a pretty commonly asked question. 

Get a bit learning about crackle paint, the painting procedure, additional tools, colors and glue type to create perfect finishing. 

What does crackle paint look like?

The crackle paint looks broken, damaged and worn out. It has a clear paste with thick paint consistency. It makes small cracks over the painting and highlights the base coat.

This distressed look has become super popular in recent days. With that painting technique, you can expect a natural touch over the surface. The cracked line will seem long, short, minuscule depending on your painting method. 

It will make the surface look broken yet vintage. You can create this over furniture, canvas, crafts projects and almost over every surface. 

What kind of glue do you use for crackle paint?

Every type of glue won’t be suitable for cracked paint. You’ve to pick the right type and texture to get the perfect design. Generally, such designs are made of professional crackle mediums. If you don’t want to spend so much, go for white school gloves.

There have many reputed brands manufacturing good quality white school glues. You can use any type of white glue here. Such glue works slowly over certain substances and gives the exact natural cracks.

Even a very thin layer of white glue is enough to bring a dramatic effect. As white glues are clear, they will highlight any design and color beneath the crackles.

What to add to paint to make it crackle?

You can’t expect the crackled look just with the paint and paintbrush. You have to mix water to make the paint thinner. Thinner paint will take a longer time to dry and bring a distressed appearance easily. Thinner layers of paints will do a pretty effective job over a glue primed surface. 

About crackle paint color combinations: 

What color and shade you’re choosing for crackle paint matters a lot. The first coat you’ll create will be the base color. And that color will be ultimately highlighted after finishing.

Consider choosing the next shades according to the first coat of color. The more shades you’ll use, the better-cracked lines will be highlighted.

For base coats, people commonly use dark red, green, black and dark brown colors. Consider an attractive color contrast here. You can use white color as the undercoat of black, gray, green, navy blue too.

If you’re painting any surface or special occasion, consider the theme color. As: red and green for Christmas, deep color combination for wedding or paste color for easter.

How to Make crackle paint with glue: Step By Step Guide

With a few basic tools, materials and effort, you can easily crackle paint with glue. Apart from getting a good quality white glue, you’ve to pick a few pieces of stuff too.

Tools & material you need to gather:

  • Sandpaper
  • Sheet
  • latex/ acrylic paint
  • White glue
  • Paintbrush
  • Sandpaper
  • Damp cloth
  • Paint primer
  • Flat latex/acrylic paint
  • Hairdryer

Steps to follow:

Step 1: Prepare the surface: 

You must prepare whichever surface you’ll try to crackle paint. Any surfaces are more likely to be suitable for crackle paint. Still, wooden surfaces bring the most effective and natural appearance with crackles. The very first thing to prepare any wooden surface is sanding. Grab 150-grit sandpaper and start sanding it lightly. Once you’ve got that expected smoother surface, garb a damp cotton cloth and begin wiping the surface. It will remove all the extra specks of dirt. Any tint of debris can ruin your painting’s appearance. 

Step 2: Prime it:

Now, it’s the time of priming your surface for painting. Grab any good-quality paint primer and paint brush from your nearest shop and apply a single light coat over the surface. Make sure you’re allowing this to dry thoroughly before jumping over the next step. 

Step 3: Fix & protect:

Before you start painting, fix the position of your decoration piece horizontally. Else, paint/ glue will drip off and ruin your flooring. You should place a sheet/ newspaper down the surface where you’ll be painting. It is needed to protect the mess/ damage of the work surface. 

Step 4: Apply the base:

Finally, it’s time to grab the paint. Get latex/ acrylic paint to create the first base. You can go with semi-glossy ones for effective and shiny outcomes. This paint is not the final outcome. So, don’t worry if it is not looking that attractive.

Step 5: Apply the glue:

It’s time to crackle up the paint. Get any white school glue from some reputation brand. Don’t take any risk by getting some cheap quality glue. Take a clean paintbrush and apply the white glue all over the surface. Consider covering the entire area with a big thick layer. The thicker the glue will be, the bigger your crackle will show up. And for better appearance, people seem to go with bug crackles. You can also apply the coats with thinner and thicker coats in different areas. Once you’re done with applying glue, give it enough time to dry thoroughly. You can also use a hairdryer to get the job done quickly.

Step 6: The topcoat: 

Now, pick a good color that suits well with the base coat. Ideally, you should choose the topcoat darker than the base coat. Grab a paintbrush and apply your favorite color over the crackled glues. Similar to the previous step, you’ve to apply light coats for thinner cracks and thicker coats for more significant cracks. Consider it entirely drying before you touch any painted area. It might take around 2 hours to dry.

Tips crackle paint finish on wood:

Several quick tips and suggestions can bring you expected crackles by painting. It is quick and easy. Give a quick check over these tips and make sure you’re following them:

  • You better pick a well-ventilated area for painting and drying the surface easily.
  • Use three separate paint brushes for primer, glue and paint. Else, you must clean the paintbrush after each step.
  • You might not find the full coverage from the base coat. Still, you have to paint the entire area of the surface. The base will pop up when you apply the topcoat.
  • You can use both acrylic/ latex/ chalk paint for crackle paint.
  • Check if your glue is water-resistant or not. 

Avoid crackle paint mistakes:

  • Don’t use several coats of primer
  • Don’t give excess coats to the base for full coverage. 
  • Don’t sand harshly. You just need a smooth area through a light sanding
  • Don’t pick the base color of some darker shade.

How to use Elmer’s glue to crackle paint?

Elmer’s glue is one of the top-rated, and effective glues recommended for crackle paint. It takes little time to dry and gives the expected appearance instantly. The glue thickness is pretty perfect for bringing cracks over the surface. You just need to apply Elmer’s white glue with the usual paintbrush all over the base coat. Make sure the paintbrush is clean and dry. Elmer’s glue dries out quickly by shrinking. This makes the glue create cracks evenly. Give it enough time, then jump onto the painting process. 

How to crackle paint on glass with glue?

Crackle painting over glass is a pretty common but stunning decoration idea. Firstly, clean the glass thoroughly and get rid of all extra stains. Apply the white glue over the glass with a paintbrush and let it dry thoroughly. Give the school glue more time to dry. It might seem dry, but still, you can find it sticky. Now, go for the top coating of paint following the similar process of applying glue. Once the paint is dried, get an acrylic spray paint to get a glossy finishing.

How to make a crackle paint effect with Elmer’s glue?

Getting a crackle effect with Elmer’s glue is super quick and easy. Elmer’s glue dries and shrinks easily. And this shrinking will make crackles over any surface easier. You have to apply the glue with a paintbrush in thick layers. The thick layer you’ll apply, the bigger and better cracks you’ll notice. Elmer’s glue is not water-resistant. Don’t use water/ touch the surface until it is completely dry. 

How do you crackle paint with hiding glue?

The topcoat of your paint will automatically hide your glue over the surface. It will just keep the crackle effect. You can expect natural crackle effects from this glue. Make sure you’re covering up the glued area with the top paint coat properly. Sometimes, you might have to apply several coats of paint depending on shade and thickness.

What is the best way to apply crackle paint?

The best way of applying crack paint depends on your preferred design/ decorating idea. If you want it to keep minimal, go with more minor crackles. If you want to give your decoration piece a very distressed look, go with more prominent crackles. You can use a sponge to create a more pointed crack. Use a good-quality brush/ roller to get more natural crackles. 

What is homemade crackle paint made of?

Homemade crackle paint is pretty famous for its versatility. These are suitable over almost every surface/. From wood, paper, ceramic to fabric and cardboard, such crackle paint appears natural over every object. Whereas there is a commercial crackle medium, you can expect natural crackles by glues only. This is a DIY homely crackle painting trick that saves a lot of your bucks. 

Can you use acrylic paint to crackle?

Yes, acrylic colors seem effective in bringing expected cracks. But make sure you’re choosing fluid/ high flow acrylic here. Such type of acrylic seems ideal to pop up the cracks easily. Acrylic paint is also an expensive option here. Most people seem to use acrylic to get bigger crackles. 

How to remove crackle paint?

If you’ve done any mess up with your crackle painting or want to get rid of the previous design, consider it removed.

You have to grab a putty knife and scrape off all the glues and paints. Scrap each and every area thoroughly and make sure of cleaning it before applying another coat of paint/ design.

Another ideal way of removing crackle paint would be using a heat gun. Apply the heat all over the crackled area, and the paint will come off automatically. A heat gun is more of a professional tool here.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Can you use mod podge to crackle paint?

Yes, you can use mod podge to crackle paint. Just take a paintbrush and apply mod podge over the surface in thick layers. Give it a minute to dry and get started with the painting process. 

2. Can you use PVA glue to crackle paint?

Well, PVA glues are able to create crackle paint. But they are not the ideal choice here as PVA glue will dissolve in water instantly. Try to seal OVA glue with a very thick layer of paint or skip using this.

3. Can you polyurethane over crackle paint?

polyurethane over crackle paint is possible but only with all professional procedures. Prepare the surface well and take all technical tips to make the process safer.

4. can you wax over crackle paint?

Yes, you can use wax over crackle paint. But here, you must use poly before using wax. Seal the paint with poly, then go for the wax to hold up the natural cracks. 

5. Can you clear coat over crackle paint?

If you want to pop the base color and want to seal the glue only, go with clear paint. But that won’t cover all the glue appearance thoroughly. It might not be the best idea for decoration purposes. 

6. Can you use crackle paint on canvas?

Yes, crackle painting over the canvas is a common trick used by artists. But make sure you’re getting strong support while working on the canvas. Try to use a wooden panel and sheetrock to avoid any mess.

7. Why is my crackle paint not working?

The widespread reason for crackle paint not working would be following the wrong procedure at the wrong time. Maybe you’re applying the base coat too soon or jumping on the top coat too soon here.

8. Can I paint over crackle paint?

Yes, you can always paint over crackle paint. If you want to get rid of the cracks, consider scrapping them thoroughly.

Final Words:

Crackle painting is much affordable and easier with glue. You can turn any boring surface interesting with this painting method.

“how to make crackle paint with glue” has been a very commonly asked question for the past few days?

You can use any white school glue and skip crackle medium here. Get a bit of learning and try putting that painting over your furniture, glass or any ceramic showpiece. Consider the tips and tricks as well for avoiding any mess.

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