A friend of mine, who was a sign painter, told me of such effect that it was generally due to uneven drying of the paint, it crackles or alligators. Sign painters use a canned substance (mostly alcohol) to make it dry slower and avoid that. Don't know how that would work with spray paint, though.

Nice work, Michael. I ONLY suggested the tape method because I didn't know that you mostly do detail. I meant it to be used in a general way for large areas, etc. Having spent my formative years as a professional special effects artist, I found it a valuable tip to have, especially if on location and materials are short. I do hope you didn't take it as any form of underestimation on my behalf of your (as displayed) superb craftsmanship. It's just a means to an end if it can be used, not an end in itself.
Kind regards,
From Tony Webs
PS - Thanks for sharing that with us. It looks great.

Tony Webs,

I appreciate your willingness to share, and I didn't mean to if I came across as rude. Good tips are always welcome. Thanks!

~michael

You're welcome... No, you didn't come across as rude. I just realised how my "tip" may have looked to you in the context of your fine work, as displayed in the picture.
Here is an example of some of my work. It's a "tip-over trunk". I designed it, and made it myself out of four beech table legs that I found in a skip. I hope my work has done more justice to the tree where the wood originally came from. I made corners from tin and spayed them gold (metal undercoat primer, then gold car spray) to give it a brass effect, as I had none in stock. The brown edgings are leather (from an old leather jacket that I loved but became to old to wear). My logo, I designed and made. It's a little damaged now, due to it being made from plastic and, again, sprayed gold. The latch and handles were purchased from local hardware stores. The wood is treated with french polish, which I make.
It's seen better days, and I don't use it that often now, as I have created new acts over the last several years. Visit my website if you like.
Best wishes,
from Tony

Click here to view attached image.

Sorry for the poor photo. I just realised how it look once I uploaded it. I can send you another at a later date...
Tony