Speckling is applied after the base coat. This WAS how it was done in the factory. But restoration is a personal thing - so don't let the speckling (or lack of) detract from such an AWESOME resto repaint.

Keep in mind the "reason" behind the application of the speckles ! They were painted on the cabinet to distract from the stenciled artwork. "Back in the day" they had brass or copper stencils pressed against the cabinet and the paint was sprayed on in a couple of minutes. The distance between the stencil plate and the cabinet would determine the amount of under-spray and over-spray. The NEXT stencil plate for the next color would be placed over the first and the registration would never be perfect.  Combine the over-spray, under-spray and registration issues, and you have a painted cabinet. They were never perfect. So the idea was to have the speckles to distract the imperfections in the cabinet.

So a "true" restoration (is there such a thing?) would incorporate all the flaws of the original methods - over-spray, under-spray and speckles. I tried this a couple of times and it is labor intensive. You need acetate sheets with the images to be painted cut out. This will give you the over-spray and under-spray. Speckles are easy. Registration "flaws" can be done easily.

The low tack adhesive stencils available on the market are perfect - no flaws. You really cannot make a mistake. No over-spray etc. So why bother with speckles ?

I will be using Gav's stencils on quite a few machines, and I've nothing but great feedback !