Spatter Effects for Antique Finishing.

Spatter effect is the small drops of liquid on the finishing surface. The spatter finishing effect is used to make an antique effect or to make a special-looking finish. The spatter effect in the antique finishing is used to mimic the dirt splattered from the insect, stain, or other small impurities. It is usually made with a dark brown or black color stain to add an antique look to the finishing. The spatter can also be used to produce a special effect finish. The spatter on the paint finish, with many different color stains, can make a special finish look that brings to the dynamic and life look. 

spatter on antique finishing

How to make the spatter effect.

 
Spatter is made with stain application. The stain is applied in a special way to make splash color on the surface. Spatter is usually applied over the sealer or top coat when a thick finish layer is already built. Spatter can be applied either at the transparent color or solid color finish. Spatter must be quite a contrast with the finishing color to get visible effects.
The spatter can be made in some different way; the principle is that the stain must be splashed or sprinkled on the surface. It can be made with the brush or spray gun. 

 brush to make spatter

1. Spatter with the brush.

A brush is a simple tool and can be used to make the spatter effect quite well. Dip the brush tip into a stain, and then move (shake) the brush to make the stain splash on the desired surface. It is very simple and easy to do. But you cannot fully control the spatter effect that resulted. The spatter effect obtained is usually random and not uniform in the form and size. However, it is a good technique to make an antique effect in the antique finishing.

2. Spatter with gravity cup gun.

The gravity cup gun can produce spatter with better control. To make the splash effect, you need to adjust the spray gun setting to splash the stain. The air pressure valve and volume of material release valve should be set at the minimum open to let, so the stain is not well atomized. The material will outperform the gun in the splash but with more uniform size. You can take off the air cap of the spray gun to help splash the stain.
With the cup gun, you will be able to produce a more controlled spatter effect. By setting the cup gun, then you can produce a more uniform spatter effect. The use of a spray also helps to direct the splash stain to the desired area. The spray gun is more flexible and controlled to produce the spatter effect in the special finish. You can make the spatter effects with many different sizes and many color stains consistently.

 gravity cup gun to make spatter

3. Spatter with texture spray gun or pressure port spray gun.

The use of a brush or gravity gun to produce the spatter effect is limited to applying the stain with low viscosity. To produce a spatter effect with a viscous material, you need a tool that could spark a viscous material, i.e., pressure gun ports. The pressure port has the air pressure inside the tank that facilitates catapulting material with high viscosity. The pressure port can be used to make effects spatter with viscous material. It can be used to spatter the base coat, paint, or texture paint. Various texture effects with base coat or paint can be made. The pressure port can make splashed with the texture as well as the stain effect.

Spatter with many clor to make special finish

The stain to make spatter effects
 
Almost all kinds of stains can be used to make the spatter effect. The pad stain is my favorite since it can be applied easily either by brush or spray gun. Pad stain on the sealer or top coat can be wiped off easily if it is considered too much. The glaze is also quite good to make a spatter effect. It is easy to apply by brush or spray gun. It also can be cleaned or wiped off if necessary, but it takes rather a long time to dry.  Avoid too-wet or too-thick application because the glaze is risky to sag.

The paint and base coat can be used to make a thicker spatter effect and even to make some texture on the surface. But they are thick materials that cannot be applied by brush or conventional cup gun, then you need the pressure port or texture spray gun.

Spatter is usually applied on the sealer or top coat layer before the last top coat as a final layer. If you use the pad stain or the glaze stain to make spatter, then you absolutely need to layer it with the top coat. The spatter with paint, the base coat, or the thinner stain is also highly recommended to be layered with the top coat. The base coat or paint may be able to attach to the finish surface quite well, but the top coat is still needed to make the even gloss and to give more protection.