Crackle finish paint - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Refugee · 20th Dec 2012, 1:33 am

I have a cabinet that needs a new coat of crackle finish paint or a substitute.
It is an AVO Electronic Testmeter MK2.
The crackle is much finer than the one that can be seen on things like high quality output transformers on big amplifiers and so on.
I an putting up some photos including a substitute finish.
I have a 2.5L NOS tin of the mat grey.
Should I go for it?

Andrew Sinclair · 20th Dec 2012, 1:39 pm

If your matt grey paint is wrinkle finish then I would like to know where you bought it! I can only find black or red for sale. I am battling with wrinkle paint at the moment but have only limited sucess. (See post in AVO multimeter survey.) I am trying to paint a piece of scrap metal as a test in preparation for doing an Eddystone 358 receiver cabinet which was originally in a lightly wrinkled grey.
I cannot get good results from following the instructions on the tin.
They recommend : Two light coats with a ten minute cure between them. A four hour gap, followed by a heavy final coat. There is an instruction to keep the temperature between 20C and 25C, presumably this applies to the whole process.
I am spraying the paint in my garage and then bringing the work in doors for the curing stages. My garage is unheated, so I warm the piece of metal to about 25C with a heat gun. I spray 2 coats with a ten minute gap. I then leave it to partially cure for a period. This is done indoors at a temperature of about 18C. I have tried curing times of 1 hour to 2 days but only get a nice gloss finish!
After the final heavy coat I put the test piece in the oven for an hour at 25C if my wife is out at the time! Otherwise I keep it warm with a heat gun.
I found that when I washed the test piece clean with thinners (after a particularly unsuccessful painting attempt), that the paint wrinkled quite nicely. I applied a very light coat of thinners with a paint brush. The paint needs to have been cured for about a day after the second coat before the thinners is applied. I can achieve the same effect if I replace the thinners with a coat of conventional acrylic car spray paint. This enables me to obtain colours other than black.
I hope this helps.

Refugee · 20th Dec 2012, 2:11 pm

The grey is an ordinary white spirit based and produces a hard wearing finish.
Old 1960s paint used to produce something like crackle finish if it was applied in a thick coat.
It needs to form a skin and then be allowed to dry slowly below this.

Mike Phelan · 20th Dec 2012, 6:17 pm

Beware of confusing crackle paint with wrinkle paint.

Refugee · 20th Dec 2012, 7:13 pm

I have Googled both crackle and wrinkle and it looks more like wrinkle now.
It looks like it is NLA.
It can be obtained in red or black.
Restorers of telescopes and classic cars are all having problems getting it in grey.
I am getting tempted to use the mat grey that I have used on my central heating radiators.

Mike Phelan · 21st Dec 2012, 12:18 pm

As it's wrinkle paint you need, spray some black wrinkle, make sure it's completely dry then cover it with normal spray paint from Halfords, using whatever colour you want.

Best to warm the can and the cabinet so it dries before diluting the wrinkly bits.

MrElectronicman · 21st Dec 2012, 4:51 pm

Don't know if you have "Rust-Oleum" in the UK but they do a product called Hammered Paint. I have just got some to refinish a HeathKit Oscilloscope case. The instructions say it should be used when the temperature is above 10C and drying time is best at around 20C. This means I will be doing this next spring

20th Dec 2012, 1:33 am	#1
Refugee Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK. Posts: 5,554	Crackle finish paint I have a cabinet that needs a new coat of crackle finish paint or a substitute. It is an AVO Electronic Testmeter MK2. The crackle is much finer than the one that can be seen on things like high quality output transformers on big amplifiers and so on. I an putting up some photos including a substitute finish. I have a 2.5L NOS tin of the mat grey. Should I go for it? Attached Thumbnails

20th Dec 2012, 1:39 pm	#2
Andrew Sinclair Pentode Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Fareham, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 104	Re: Crackle finish paint If your matt grey paint is wrinkle finish then I would like to know where you bought it! I can only find black or red for sale. I am battling with wrinkle paint at the moment but have only limited sucess. (See post in AVO multimeter survey.) I am trying to paint a piece of scrap metal as a test in preparation for doing an Eddystone 358 receiver cabinet which was originally in a lightly wrinkled grey. I cannot get good results from following the instructions on the tin. They recommend : Two light coats with a ten minute cure between them. A four hour gap, followed by a heavy final coat. There is an instruction to keep the temperature between 20C and 25C, presumably this applies to the whole process. I am spraying the paint in my garage and then bringing the work in doors for the curing stages. My garage is unheated, so I warm the piece of metal to about 25C with a heat gun. I spray 2 coats with a ten minute gap. I then leave it to partially cure for a period. This is done indoors at a temperature of about 18C. I have tried curing times of 1 hour to 2 days but only get a nice gloss finish! After the final heavy coat I put the test piece in the oven for an hour at 25C if my wife is out at the time! Otherwise I keep it warm with a heat gun. I found that when I washed the test piece clean with thinners (after a particularly unsuccessful painting attempt), that the paint wrinkled quite nicely. I applied a very light coat of thinners with a paint brush. The paint needs to have been cured for about a day after the second coat before the thinners is applied. I can achieve the same effect if I replace the thinners with a coat of conventional acrylic car spray paint. This enables me to obtain colours other than black. I hope this helps.

20th Dec 2012, 2:11 pm	#3
Refugee Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK. Posts: 5,554	Re: Crackle finish paint The grey is an ordinary white spirit based and produces a hard wearing finish. Old 1960s paint used to produce something like crackle finish if it was applied in a thick coat. It needs to form a skin and then be allowed to dry slowly below this.

20th Dec 2012, 6:17 pm	#4
Mike Phelan Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 4,609	Re: Crackle finish paint Beware of confusing crackle paint with wrinkle paint. __________________ Mike.

20th Dec 2012, 7:13 pm	#5
Refugee Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK. Posts: 5,554	Re: Crackle finish paint I have Googled both crackle and wrinkle and it looks more like wrinkle now. It looks like it is NLA. It can be obtained in red or black. Restorers of telescopes and classic cars are all having problems getting it in grey. I am getting tempted to use the mat grey that I have used on my central heating radiators.

21st Dec 2012, 12:18 pm	#6
Mike Phelan Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 4,609	Re: Crackle finish paint As it's wrinkle paint you need, spray some black wrinkle, make sure it's completely dry then cover it with normal spray paint from Halfords, using whatever colour you want. Best to warm the can and the cabinet so it dries before diluting the wrinkly bits. __________________ Mike.

21st Dec 2012, 4:51 pm	#7
MrElectronicman Heptode Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Washington DC, USA Posts: 619	Re: Crackle finish paint Don't know if you have "Rust-Oleum" in the UK but they do a product called Hammered Paint. I have just got some to refinish a HeathKit Oscilloscope case. The instructions say it should be used when the temperature is above 10C and drying time is best at around 20C. This means I will be doing this next spring __________________ David