Protecting finished minis with gloss and matt varnish together

[dnanoodle]

I heard from someone that using gloss varnish first and then matt varnish is a great way to preserve a paint job. I can't remember who told me and google didn't turn up anything good, so I thought I'd bring a few questions here. First, is this actually a useful method? Is there anything to look out for? Does it matter whether the varnishes are sprayed or brushed on? Specifically, do you have any warnings or advice for the Vallejo gloss and matt varnishes? I am a little worried about my colors changing a bit. Is that actually a problem?

 

[RuneBrush]

Firstly the answer is "yes", using a combination of gloss and matte varnishes provides the best protection against "wear & tear". Out of the two, the gloss varnish provides a shiny and hard covering, the matte removes the shine from the gloss varnish returning the paint job back to a non-reflective covering.

Varnishes *will* change your colours on two levels. Firstly some colours (I'm thinking of you Mr Red!) can darken when they have another liquid applied, sometimes this is only temporary until the varnish dries but other times this can be permanent. Secondly, the change in reflectivity of the surface will make a colour appear different. Basically you won't know until you try.

It's also worth noting that if your piece is intended to be used for a display cabinet you might be better off actually doing no varnishing at all as some varnishes are much more susceptible to discolouring due to age/light than the paint underneath. If it's going to be used multiple times a week in games then you're going to want a really good varnish applied to prevent the paint from wearing.

I personally only brush varnish on if I want a particular effect on a limited area (such as glossy drool or glass), however I do have the advantage of having spray cans of varnish and an airbrush and vanishes for it. Other people on here use brush on varnish to great effect.

 

[uglybug]

Beware of spray can varnish during high humidity. It will give a cloudy covering.

 

[dnanoodle]

Are the Vallejo varnishes good for this purpose? Do you feel they would be better brushed on or sprayed through my airbrush?

 

[Dexterity Jones]

I personally only use brush on varnishes, as the humidity here is often very high and as mentioned it will sometimes go cloudy.

Both Vallejo and GW make good varnishes.

<edit>

I have no experience with airbrush, so someone else will have to field that question

 

[dnanoodle]

Hm maybe I'll suck it up and brush it on then. I guess these Walkers don't have That much surface area. Umm...silly question, but do you thin your varnish at all when you brush it on?

 

[Ordo Septenarius]

Hm maybe I'll suck it up and brush it on then. I guess these Walkers don't have That much surface area. Umm...silly question, but do you thin your varnish at all when you brush it on?

Hit it with the Krylon Gloss Sealant and when that's dry, hit it with Testor's Dull-cote. Once that's dry, hit it again with the dull-cote. It can't be beat.

 

[vbt]

Glad I found this thread, was about to varnish and it's steaming hot outside. Cheers for the good advice.

 

[moetle]

Was going to start a new post but this is along the lines of the info i'm wanting. Lahmian medium is the GW brush on dull coat and the 'ardcoat the gloss right?

Moe

 

[Elric2k]

in regards to the airbrushing specifically, i do this exclusively using the vallejo varnishes and they have always come out wonderful. But as above has warned, high humidity areas do not do well with spraying.

 

[RuneBrush]

Was going to start a new post but this is along the lines of the info i'm wanting. Lahmian medium is the GW brush on dull coat and the 'ardcoat the gloss right?

Moe

Nope. Lahmian medium is an acrylic medium that does have some matt properties but isn't a varnish. GW may cite it can be used to "matt down" paint but it really isn't a replacement for a true varnish. Ardcoat is their gloss varnish though Brush on wise I've heard a lot of positive comments on Vallejo matt varnish.

 

[dnanoodle]

I ended up varnishing my figs by brush and used diluted Vallejo Matt. I don't feel I lost any quality of color and feel much more comfortable transporting them now. I did try doing gloss with matt on top. I did a test on the underside of a 40k Guardian Anti-grav Weapons Platform. Even with matt varnish on top it came out too shiny. I may have used top heavy a coat of gloss, so I will try this again later, but didn't have time before my game day to do any other tests.

I'm glad this thread helped others as well. I know it helped me. Its something I worry about too, because when I finish a fig, the last thing I want is to see it ruined at the very last step. Did that once to a Plaguebearer >.<

 

[Einion]

Brush on wise I've heard a lot of positive comments on Vallejo matt varnish.

Unfortunately you hear the opposite too - there was a thread just the other day on pF complaining that it didn't seem to work right, which was my experience also.

Excluding going the whole way to a hardware-store matt varnish an artists' matt varnish is probably the cheapest option and there are a number of posts here on CMON recommending one or two of them. For people elsewhere in the world there are other brands that should work similarly, with both water-borne and spirit-soluble types available depending on preference.

I did try doing gloss with matt on top. I did a test on the underside of a 40k Guardian Anti-grav Weapons Platform. Even with matt varnish on top it came out too shiny. I may have used top heavy a coat of gloss...

That shouldn't matter really - a good matt varnish will take the shine down from high gloss to very matt in one or two thin coats.

Einion

 

[Kara Jane]

I've airbrushed Jo Sonja craft varnish over some of my miniatures. I've used the matt and the satin varnish. I start with the gloss and then after a few coats switch to the matt. You can't dilute these ones easy, but an airbrush with a medium sized tip and 30psi should handle it. Just wash it out carefully, or soak it after. Clogs it up bad otherwise.

 

[Oh_La_La]

The Vallejo Matt Varnish doesnt have to be thinned when u want to go for airbrush, the gloss varnish however should be thinned a little bit.
Thats just what i experienced with my Revell airbrush, maybe its totally different with other brands.

 

[Lycane]

3 coats clear varnish, 1 coat matte - krylon/rustoleum. Stuff never fails.

 

[Pygmalion]

Can someone recommend a good brand of matte varnish?

I'd prefer one that was archivally sound, so that it won't yellow and crack after a few years.

What I've been using (Golden matte medium, I know, I know, it isn't really a varnish) dries too satiny, not matte enough.

 

[AndyG]

Testors matt varnish accept no substitutes best there is by a country mile. Also kinda a itsy bitsy bit toxic ..spray outside

 

[Linz1]

Has anyone used the army painter anti shine? Is it purely just a matte coat or does it have any protective qualities as well? Does it work?

Cheers LinZ

 

[Einion]

Can someone recommend a good brand of matte varnish?

I'd prefer one that was archivally sound, so that it won't yellow and crack after a few years.

What I've been using (Golden matte medium, I know, I know, it isn't really a varnish) dries too satiny, not matte enough.

Golden's MSA varnish would be worth a shot. Not certain how matt it is by our standards but you could check in advance with them via email, they're really good at answering customer queries.

Einion