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Craquelure

Craquelure. As the name implies this is a technique for giving a surface a fine cracked appearance which often comes with age.
• Crackle varnish comes in a two container pack. A  flexible slow drying oil-based varnish and  followed by a brittle quick drying water-based one. Apply the second varnish before the first is completely dry; when it feels slightly tacky.
• First coat the surface evenly and thinly with the slow-drying varnish.
• When the first coat starts to get tacky, give a generous coat of the quick-drying water varnish.
• Leave to dry for about an hour or two. At this stage the cracks are still invisible.
• Mix up a dark coloured oil glaze and rub over the surface with your fingers.
• With a soft clean cloth remove most of the glaze from the surface taking care not to rub it out of the cracks.
• Leave to dry for at least 72 hours then protect with a coat oil based varnish.

Crackle varnish should not be used on heavily ornate and deeply carved surfaces.
Trade secret If you can't find a pack of crackle varnish anywhere use a normal varnish mixed with a few drops of boiled linseed oil for the first varnish and a strong mixture of glue size, instead of the second varnish.

Imitating fly spots
On your finished craquelure, using a small short-haired brush spatter black ink sparingly onto the finished surface. After two or three minutes blot carefully, taking care not to smudge.