Preventing Glaze Cracking Problems
Troubleshooting a situation where glaze coats crack in the corners of doors. April 9, 2007
Question
I noticed that some of my glaze was cracking in corners of doors, mainly. I think that it is because I left a little too much there (not wiped enough out), or because I waited too long to spray the final coat of finish?
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor M:
You’re probably right - next time either wipe or brush out the glaze where there is no buildup. On your next glaze job, try applying a couple of mist coats of sealer or clear coat to set the glaze before you apply flow coats.
From contributor B:
I would agree on maybe leaving too much, but I think you're off on the other idea. I'm thinking that you sprayed too soon and the glaze wasn't finished drying. I know I topcoated some doors before the glaze was dry recently, and it caused some cracking. I hit it with another quick coat of clear and all was well.
From contributor M:
That's why misting is the safest way for preventing cracking in case the glaze is not ready for flow coats.
From contributor R:
You could possibly save yourself time and prevent adhesion problems down the road by just allowing the glaze coats to dry prior to coating. Fact is, most finishing problems would be eliminated if the user just allowed for proper drying times for each finishing step.
From the original questioner:
Thanks for all the responses. I had to do a couple add-ons to this job and I figured out the problem. These last two pieces I sprayed the glaze, wiped it straight back off, and sprayed it immediately, and it turned out the best so far. This is the way that I will do it from now on. Before, I left the glaze too heavy and waited too long to topcoat and too much moisture left the glaze, causing it to crack.
