Replies

1. 
   john_c2 | Jul 28, 2019 05:42pm | #1

   It's really hard to say much from that picture. More would be helpful.

   Are you sure about the age of the clock? If I had to guess from the picture, without your context, it looks like oak, a reproduction, with a "distressed" finish to make it appear older. But again, that image is not a lot to go on.

2. 
   JWileyR | Jul 28, 2019 08:50pm | #2

   John, thanks for looking. While you are asking a good question about the provenance of the clock that's really secondary to my primary interest, the finish. If one was to assume this is authentic and from about the mid-19th century how might this be duplicated? I recognize the picture is small. If you click to open it you see about as much detail as there is. It's the "sprinkles" I'm interested in. Is this a flicked brush or something else? And what was used for the black speckles? Just paint? Ink?

3. 
   BobbyOneStick | Jul 28, 2019 09:52pm | #3

   It's called "Flyspeck". You can use thinned paint, dark stain...anything really. An old tooth brush, beat up stain brush with bristles that are stiff from it not being cleaned. Just dip it in the thinned paint or stain, drag your finger over the bristles to broadcast the specks. Do it after getting the base wood stained to your liking that's been sealed, but before top finish coats. Make sure your paint/stain is compatible with what you are using. I suppose if you had a lot to do, you could use a hvlp gun with too small a cap/needle set and/or the air flow turned down so it would not properly atomize...just get the gun to spit. Good luck, just cover up stuff nearby...or you'll find out later how much further you were flicking than you thought.