My mum then picked up the set of these from our local Tip for $5...knowing that I wasn't afraid of a restoration project!
I gave them a good hand sanding, and then painted them with my favourite undercoat & primer: Taubmans 3 in 1.
I decided that I wanted to achieve a crackle-effect, and that I wanted the main colour to be antique white, and the colour that shows through should be a dark colour. I decided on a mocha colour, and painted the tables with a good two coats.
You will need to get your hands on a good crackle medium. Porters sell one (although this could be quite pricey), but I used one that I purchased in Bunnings in the Craft Paint section - but you may also be able to get this at Spotlight or Lincraft.
This one is called "Jo Sonja's Decor Crackle", and was about $15. The bottle is 250ml, and I used about half a bottle for these two bedside tables.
Tip:
Paint another piece of timber, and test out the crackle before you apply it to your furniture!You paint a layer of this over your base coat paint, and wait until it is touch dry. Once it is touch-dry (or within 6 hours of applying) you can paint your top coat. The trick with the top coat is not to let the brush drag over the same place twice! The crackle medium makes the paint go a bit rubbery, so trying to paint over the same area twice (or even dragging the edge of the brush) will produce an undesirable effect.
As the top coat dries, it separates to create a crackle effect. The crackle will follow the direction of the brushstrokes. To get a more grid-like crackle effect, you will need to paint the crackle-medium on on one direction, and paint the topcoat in a (90degree) different direction.
And Voila!
