Stumping

I know it as a drawing/shading term.

You roll up a piece of paper into at a slight angle, creating a semi-pointy "stick" and rub it over pencil or chalk/coal drawing to "shade" an area. You can get pretty much the same effect by rubbing your finger over the area.

Haven't heard the term used in modeling at all, but could be an offshoot of that...???

I suspect Fermis is right. An artist's blending stump is a common tool used to blend colors and smooth transitions. It's particularly good when it comes to shading or soft light effects.

FSM has published a few articles where builders have used stumps to apply pigments to panel lines for pre-shading and weathering effects. A sharp point on the stump gives great control.

I like them for applying metallic sheens to things like the barrel and receiver of an M-16. I pick up a little pencil lead on the stump and use it to slowly build up the look of metal. It's the same as running a pencil along the edge of tank tracks for a worn look, but much softer. Faster than dry brushing and no need to wait for paint to dry.

Thanks for the input guys, when I get home from work I'll post how the phrase is used in a book I'm reading.

In doing streaking,I believe it is laying the oil where you want the streaks and drawing down a thinner dampened brush,blending,toning down,and removing some of the oils so that your left with a faint streak to your liking.