The way to Paint a Bath Vanity Using a Crackle Finish
Moisture in the atmosphere causes wood to swell, and as the timber dries, it returns to its initial size. This swelling and shrinking causes aged, fragile petroleum based paints to decipher and expose the surface beneath it. It takes years for this crackle finish to appear naturally, but thankfully it’s possible to achieve this look in a few days as opposed to a few decades. It is possible to apply this finish to some wood bathroom vanity and turn an ordinary bathroom into a shabby-chic one.
Implement painter’s tape into the walls surrounding the bathroom vanity to protect them. Spread a plastic drop cloth over the bathroom floor to protect it from dripping paint.
Remove the screws holding the vanity door hinges to the bathroom vanity cabinet. This discharges the doors in the cabinet.
Remove the hinge screws to discharge the hinges in the vanity. Set the hinges and screws aside. Remove the screws from any door hardware and place the hardware aside.
Sand the surface of the vanity and vanity doors with 120-grit sandpaper. Wipe the surfaces with tack cloth to remove any sanding residue.
Apply wood putty to any tiny holes or dings in the wood. You can use your finger to smooth the putty and take out the excess. Permit the putty to dry for some time indicated by the producer. Use 220-grit sandpaper to smooth the dry putty. Wipe the area with tack cloth.
Paint the surface of the vanity and doors with white-pigmented shellac primer with a 2-inch nylon paint brush. Use long, even strokes when applying the primer. Enable the primer to dry for the time recorded on the primer’s label.
Paint the vanity doors and cabinet with a flat acrylic latex base coat in the color of your own choice. Utilize a 2-inch foam brush to apply the base coat. The base coat is exposed beneath the top coat after the crackle medium is put on, so select a base and top coat that match each other.
Examine the base coat product label to the recommended drying time. Sand the surface of the vanity and doors with 220-grit sandpaper when the base coat dries.
Wipe the doors and vanity with tack cloth. Apply another coat of the base color and let it dry.
Cover the base coat with a crackle medium for use with latex paints. Utilize a 2-inch foam paint brush to apply the crackle evenly over the door and vanity surfaces; the thicker the crackle the larger the cracks. Permit the crackle to dry to the time indicated on the item’s label.
Employ an eggshell acrylic latex top coat with a clean 2-inch foam brush. Only move the brush in 1 direction. Do not use up and down strokes or side-to-side strokes since the paint will lift in the vanity. Enable the paint to dry immediately.
Reattach the hinges and door hardware into the vanity. Hang the vanity doors on the bathroom vanity.
Paint the cracked vanity with clear, water-based polyurethane after the paint and crackle cures for 30 days to protect your crackle surface. This requires removing the doors and hardware in the vanity once more and replacing them after the polyurethane dissolves immediately.