Stippling in the wood furniture finishing.

Stipple finish for antique white finish

Stippling or sponging is one of the decorative finishing techniques that could produce a finishing with special appearance. Stippling technique is more done for finishing the walls. The stippling technique to the wall which is a large and flat surface will create more attractive appearance instead of a flat color. But since the growth of the finishing style, this technique is also often found in the furniture finishing. Stippling of course is not suitable for the furniture products are made from the nice looked solid wood or veneer. Stippling technique is more suitable to be applied to products made from wood which is flat, and cheap. Furniture products made from wood product such as M.D.F. or particle board is the best choice substrate for this finish.  With the right application and color selection, the stippling technique will create nice and attractive appearance. The appearance and color of the final finishing will be entirely determined by the  stain and the base coat colors and the application techniques.

Stippling with glaze.

There are some finishing materials can be applied with this technique such as: latex paint, powder pigment or oil stain, but the most suitable material used for furniture finishing is glaze. Glaze which is designed to be applied over the clear coating is very flexible and easy to be handled with this technique. Glaze which is made from oil solvent will not dissolve each other with the clear coating and can be added and subtracted easily to form the pattern and color 
desired.

Here is the stippling technique with glaze on wood finishing.

• Application base coat.

Base coat is used to form the base color. The base color from the base coat will be mixed with the colors of glaze. An appropriate color combination of the glaze and base coat is needed to produce an attractive finishing appearance. The base coat color is of course should be different with the color of the glaze to make a contrast looked. But the difference of the both color should not be too contrast.  Too contrasting colors will make more difficult in controlling the color and appearance resulted.

Apply 2 or 3 layer base coat to cover the basic color of the substrate. Wait until the base coat is completely dry and then sand the base coat to get a smooth surface. 

• Application of sealer

A sealer or wash coat application is needed to protect the base coat. Apply 1 layer wet coat of sealer and wait it until dry to prepare the surface for the stippling.  

• Application of glaze.

There is some method of stippling and several tools such as cloth, sponge, foam, brush can be used to do the glaze application. Each of them will produce the different effects that each has its own uniqueness. You may need to try every method of stippling and compare each other.

The pattern of the shape of the resulting stipple is the main factor in determining the finishing appearance. If the finishing effect and the technique are already decided then the stippling process must be done consistently. A good control and check is needed to ensure the colors, patterns and shapes can be consistently created. The advantage of the glaze is its flexibility; it can easily be added and reduced easily if necessary. Too much glaze can easily wipe off with rag or steel wool without damage the underneath coat.
But however the glaze application should not be too thick. Too thick glaze is highly risk of cracking.

•  Application sealer.

After get the color and effect of finishing is obtained then the next process is sealer application. The sealer is to protect the patterns and colors that have been formed. Make sure that the glaze is completely dry before do sealer application. Wait the sealer to dry and do sanding to the sealer.

• Application 2^nd glaze.

To produce the desired color and appearance is sometime we need to do the stippling 2 times or even more. The second stippling can be done with the same or different color glaze and technique. The two times stippling with the same technique and glaze color is better option to make easier in controlling the process. While the stippling with different technique or color will create more life finishing appearance with more color combination, but it will make the finishing process become more complicated. It needs a fairly clear step panel to control the finishing process.

• Applications of top coat.

After the color and appearance is accordance with the desired results, then the next process is the application of top coat. Choose the top coat with the desired sheen to coat and protect the finish. Top coat with low or semi gloss finish is mostly used for this finish. Two times application top coat usually is needed to produce a smooth surface finish with uniform gloss. 

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