Varnish?

marklord

Member
I was wondering what the best varnish to use was - and also how best to apply it? Any tips?

I have also heard that varnishing for plastic figures is less important - is that true?


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Fimm McCool

Member
I think plastic figures resist chipping better than metal figures, but that can be as much down to your choice of primer as your choice of varnish.
Personally I spray finished models (once they've had at least 24 hours to thoroughly dry out) with Halfords' lacquer and then give them a quick burst with Army Painter matt varnish to take the shine off.
 

MagpieJono

Member
I tend to use Vallejo matte varnish through the airbrush. If you've got one I'd recommend it. If not Army Painter spray is widely available and works fine. Just be careful not to spray it when its cold as it can fog a bit.
 

Hammerbob

Member
I use cheapo B&Q gloss varnish to give it a hard coat and then finish with Windsor & Newton Galeria Matt Varnish. The trick with the Galeria is to let it settle into matt medium (the white stuff at the bottom) and the more satin carrier fluid (clear stuff at the top). When thoroughly settled, pour off about half the clear liquid and it will be as matt as a suede shoe in heavy fog.
 

Anonymous

Guest
I've had a couple of aerosol disasters in the past. Foggy finish that gets worse as time goes by, which in my experience is impossible to fix.
Now I give them a couple of coats of thinned down cheap acrylic gloss varnish and then a couple of coats of thinned down Army painter anti shine or whatever it's called.
 

marklord

Member
Seems like it's best to do gloss and then matt? Is matt too weak to do on its own?


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marklord":31ta5bq6 said:
Seems like it's best to do gloss and then matt? Is matt too weak to do on its own?

Depends if you're just a painter or a gamer too.

My figures these days only get a thin matte varnish, but they don't get much use and live on a shelf, rather than being packed into and out of foam cases repeatedly and pushed around random tables. For heavy use, a good gloss coat with a matte overcoat is the way to go.
 

Fimm McCool

Member
marklord":ifwjat9k said:
Seems like it's best to do gloss and then matt? Is matt too weak to do on its own?

It's not that. The gloss varnishes/lacquers are generally cheaper so you can do a hefty coat of that and apply a thin (expensive, especially Testors) coat of matt to give the same effect.
 
the only varnish i've ever used is a tiny bit of citadel 'ardcoat, to give a shiny effect to something that was supposed to be glass.

mostly i keep my minis in KR multicases, which has generally worked well, but as i get better i'm starting to think that perhaps, at least the larger metal minis should be better protected as they don't fit in the foam trays and are always getting knocked off the shelf. i will give some of these techniques a try.
 

smiler

Member
I've painted some minis using Windsor and Newton ink glazes and it didn't occur to me that the ink wouldn't be waterproof (doh!) until after I brushed on some gloss varnish and it started to run.

Does anyone know if spray varnish will make it run? Or should I just do a test? Want to use them for Frostgrave so they'll get some handling.



Here's an example
 

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Hammerbob

Member
Windsor & Newton Ink can run if sprayed heavily. Give the model a couple of very light sprays from a good 12" away before piling on the serious protection. It isn't the same stuff as ink designed for painting miniatures.
 

jprp

Member
Acrylic compatible car spray is cheap and gives a nice resilient surface however photo`s will be problematic (which was the reason Citadel gave for switching to less protective matt varnishes for studio mini`s) best to varnish the day after painting is finished (or longer). The clouding is not caused by spraying in cold temperatures it`s caused by the paint being cold, if you store the can at room temp you can spray in the shed/garage in the dead of winter.
 
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