How to Paint Crackle Walls With Red & Black Paint

Use red as a top coat to brighten the look of the room.

A black and red crackle effect offers a dark and dramatic look for a room. While black and red together can create a strong impression, the crackle effect can prevent it from seeming over-the-top. Decide whether you want a flat black wall with red cracks showing through or a red wall with strong black cracks. This style is perfect for a room where you want something a little different.

Things You'll Need

• Painter’s tape
• Drop cloth
• Paint tray
• Latex paint
• Paint rollers
• Crackle glaze

Instructions

1. Apply painter’s tape to any woodwork that butts up against the wall that you're painting. This protects the area from paint splatters.

2. Put down a drop cloth to protect your floors.

3. Fill your paint tray with the latex paint that you want as the base coat. If you want red cracks, red is your base coat. If you want black cracks, black is the base coat.

4. Paint the walls with the base coat using a paint roller.

5. Allow the paint to dry for between two to four hours. The paint should be completely dry before you proceed.

6. Cover the base coat with a crackle glaze. Paint the crackle glaze on just as you would standard paint. The more thickly you paint the glaze on, the thicker your cracks will be.

7. Allow the glaze to dry for one hour.

8. Paint the top coat on top of the crackle glaze. If you used red for the bottom coat, use black for the top coat, and vice-versa. Paint quickly but thoroughly, as the crackle glaze starts to pull the paint back immediately. For the best results, use strokes that are opposite to the strokes that you used for the glaze.

9. Allow the top coat to dry completely.

References

• How to Faux Finish: Crackle Painting
• Michaels: Crackling Techniques