Crackle glaze as wall paint

Apr 18, 2008 4 Replies

Hello,



I know this isn't a pottery issue but I thought someone here might know how/if crackle glaze -- in its application as a way to paint walls -- can be painted over with regular latex house paint. I don't want the latter to crack, i.e., I'd like the walls henceforth to just look like normal flat painted walls.



I'm thinking this won't be possible, that to get what I want I'll have to sand all the crackle glaze off, which is not my dream come true.



Thanks for any thoughts.


-ml


Internal or external walls?

Here in the UK you can get stuff called Polycell SmoothOver, which is a fine sticky sandable filler intended for use on cracked or uneven wall surfaces. It covers up to 2mm and is designed to be easy for DIY application (according to various reports on the web it's something between brilliant and absolute rubbish, so I suspect that while good it's not altogether idiot-proof). I expect there's something similar available where you are. Depending on your skill and the area/depth to be covered it might be more economical to get a plasterer in to skim the walls for you - you'll be paying for his time but the materials cost may be considerably less.

My first thought is WHAT were they thinking! If you like a hand plastered look you can now get dry wall compound that doesn't shrink (the shrinking kind might show shadows of the cracks if the cracks are very large and deep), and with a wide blade spread a skim coat over the wall. You can get a pretty smooth surface by going over this with a sheetrocking sanders blade. Just go to Home Depot, Lowes or the like and they can explain it all. Sanding down the painted surface IMO would be much more work than this and would not be as attractive. You will be getting a lot of dust however so you should hang plastic. WEAR a mask! If you don't want a very smooth surface you can forego the sanding or you can wet sand with a large sponge. The wet sanding takes some getting use to however. The hand plaster look is very pretty and you can make it as smooth or as textured as you want. It just takes a little practice.

Donna

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required