Varnish - Am I just expecting too much?

[Splurch]

Just a general inquiry about gloss varnish and how well it should protect. I've always wanted to find a gloss that can make my mini's more or less impervious to scratches/drops (as far as paint job damage.) I'm currently using liquitex high gloss (with a matte coat on after) and while it does a good job, I can usually take take my fingernail to a mini after it has cured (months later etc) and scratch down to the primer. Metal for example always seems exceedingly easy to scratch off on edges. Hard plastic seems the most robust after varnish, but I can varnish 2 minis at the same time and in the same way and one will seem very durable while the other will scratch right off. That inconsistency is probably one of the bigger issues in my mind as well as I seem to be doing the same thing to two figures and getting different results. I think the root of my expectations are from some space marines I painted something like 10 years ago as test pieces, used the games workshop sealer on them at the time and today my fingernail just doesn't touch them. While what I've tried for the last few years seem to do a good job protecting my mini's in general it still isn't as good as those test marines.

In the case of the marines, is it more that the varnish has just had years to cure? Will the mini's I've varnished a year ago have even better protection a year from now?

I haven't really had an issue with my current stuff as I am careful and the varnish seems to protect enough that them occasionally hitting each other or getting the odd rough handling doesn't really do any damage, but I'm always looking for a way to get to the point where I don't have to worry about them at all.

 

[Webmonkey]

Well,.. nothing is ever going to be 100% damage proof. That being said, most varnishes are actually quite soft. The glossy ones do tend to be a bit harder. GW used to make something called "hard coat". (not sure if they still do or not). But you can find other clear hard-coats with a simple google search. American Paint Company makes one, for example.

 

[airhead]

Krylon Krystal Kleer is a good varnish for gaming minis, but I think you are needing to encase the minis in casting resin for the protection you're asking.

1 or 2 mils of varnish is not going to protect much of anything except a bit of handling. If you built up the varnish to 5 mils of urethane you might have something solid enough to protect the mini from some travel (soft case) damage. Nothing is going to protect the mini from a fall, the metal or plastic bends and the paints and varnishes don't.

 

[Josh The Stampede]

Any varnish heavy enough to really seriously protect a model from harm will be thick enough to be a visible candycoated layer and will look pretty bad, probably. Not sure what is different about those marines, but as you said, plastic is more durable painted than metal, and you can only do so much. You're protecting them from casual contact and the occasional tip-over, but if you drop a model off the table or throw them all loose in a bag together it's probably going to get messed up.

Varnish fully cures after a few days at most, so them being years old shouldn't matter.

 

[Splurch]

So it sounds like those marines just made me expect too much out of varnish (still wish I knew why they turned out with such a strong coat.) Thanks for the input, it has eased my mind a bit

 

[airhead]

10 years ago, they were able to put much better solvents in rattle cans (VOC's) as well as more durable varnishes.
Today, hobby stuff tends to be water based (not as hard) and a lot softer varnish (similar with wood working).

You might have had some of the old GW Hardcoat (ardcoat?) that varied from can to can as to if it would seal the mini or encase them in white frosting.

Foam cases with individual compartments are the way to keep your gaming minis looking decent. (Army Transport, Reaper and probably others).

 

[Splurch]

10 years ago, they were able to put much better solvents in rattle cans (VOC's) as well as more durable varnishes.
Today, hobby stuff tends to be water based (not as hard) and a lot softer varnish (similar with wood working).

You might have had some of the old GW Hardcoat (ardcoat?) that varied from can to can as to if it would seal the mini or encase them in white frosting.

Foam cases with individual compartments are the way to keep your gaming minis looking decent. (Army Transport, Reaper and probably others).

Ah, that might explain it then. Part of the reason I stopped using cans to varnish when I came back to the hobby a few years ago was because of losing some mini's to frosting.

I've got several brands of foam cases and my mini's don't get used all that often so they tend not to take damage, this is more of a case of me trying to make them just as durable as possible

 

[Trevor]

The variability in response is possibly due to your undercoat. If this is not well adhered, then the varnish will be less effective.