Tray with black & gold crackle finish
Make a tea tray from scratch and give it a beautiful black and gold crackle finish with Spraymate Crackle.
02/01/2018
I made a tea tray from scratch using leftover pieces of SupaWood and sprayed it with a black and gold crackle finish. The images don't do justice to the finished project, which looks absolutely gorgeous.
The tray I made measures 290 x 460mm and is made using scraps of 16mm SupaWood. You can make with 12mm SupaWood for a lighter tray.
I haven't used Spraymate Crackle before and was amazed at how easy it was to use this product.
You will notice that the handles are fixed inside and not on top, and I explain how to do this below.
YOU WILL NEED:
2 of 50 x 460mm SupaWood - front and back
2 of 50 x 258mm SupaWood - sides
1 of 260 x 460mm SupaWood - base
2 handles
Wood glue
Alcolin QuikWood
Spraymate grey primer, metallic gold, black crackle & clear lacquer gloss
TOOLS:
Pneumatic brad nailer OR hammer and panel pins
Drill / Driver plus 6mm drill bit
Orbital sander plus 120- and 240-grit sanding pads
Tape measure and pencil
Buy everything you need for this project at your local Builders.
HERE'S HOW:
1. To mount the handles without seeing any visible fixings, I drilled out slots on both sides using a drill / driver and 6mm drill bit.
2. The handles were covered with masking tape to protect them during the spraying process.
3. The front, back and sides were then glued together on top of the base. Leave the glue to dry for an hour or two.
4. For added stability and strength, and to avoid using screws, I used my Aircraft brad nailer to drive nails through the front and back into the sides, and through the base.
5. The tray was sanded with 120- and then 240-grit sanding pads to even out the edges and provide a smooth finish. This is particularly important along the edges if you plan on using spray paint. Sanding helps to reduce the amount of absorption when applying spray paint.
6. Spraymate grey primer was sprayed over the entire tray and left to dry.
7. With the primer dry, apply two coats of Spraymate metallic gold spray paint. Allow drying time between coats and then let the paint dry thoroughly.
8. Before applying the crackle coat, the handles were placed inside the drilled-out slots and Alcolin QuikWood - an epoxy putty - was used to cover the handle ends and fill in any gaps. This epoxy putty takes about an hour to set rock hard.
9. A liberal coat of Spraymate (black) crackle was applied over the tray. Read the instructions on the can for proper application.
10. After leaving the paint to crack overnight, the entire tray was given 2 coats of Spraymate clear lacquer gloss.
