Hi,
I wasn't sure where to post this, so apologies if it should have gone somewhere else!
Can I ask what varnishes people use on their 10mm figures.
Do you spray or brush on? What brands work best etc?
Thanks in advance.
Barry
I use a mix of both, ive got humbrol and army painter brush on and sprays, and so long as the humidity is right (cheers to Andy for that info) the sprays are great!
Thanks! So that's Army Painter brand? I'll give it a go.
Yeah, the army painter brand (it's matt varnish)
I've been spraying Army Painter, but I'm now brushing on Vallejo, as I got some 'dusty' looking finishes with the spray. It's slower going though - right now I'm painting individual minis, if I go back to unit bases I may well go back to sprays...
Winsor and Newton Galeria Matt varnish, it's a brush on but never had any problems with it. WH Smith sell it, but be careful it's sometimes in exactly the same bottle with very similar labeling as the gloss!
I have used the AP and had nothing but trouble no matter what weather conditions have been
Have gone back to Humbrol Acrylic varnish spray now
Thanks so much for all the replies.
I can see how brushing on varnish could be labour-intensive; I do find spray cans to be a bit messy though (and there's the embarrassment factor - 'Look, he's doing it again. Is he really spraying paint on coffee stirrers?').
I'm tempted to give a few different brands a try now.
I think the biggest problem is something that wulf said above, in that if your unlucky you can get a dusty finish on your figures..There is a way to remove it though which is to paint on gloss varnish, then matt and it goes away. If you only have a few to do at a time then I'd go with brush on stuff to minimise the risk of a cock up!
Thanks.
I didn't use varnish at all in the past.
The thought of ruining paint work is a bit chilling.
I suppose another upside of spray varnish is that you're sealing the ground cover as well
I've actually found that brushing on the Matt varnish clears up the 'dusty' spray coat. At least, I tested it on 3 of my dusty BEF and they look fine, so there's another 60-odd to do...
FWIW,
I use a two step process over a gloss varnish which I find tends to protect the paint work. Either using Army Painter quick shade (yes okay) or a spray on varnish such as http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/.-Acrylic-Spray-UK-SALES-ONLY_SPRAY-ACRYLIC.htm
I then use the Windsor & Newton Galeria Matt varnish which is brushed on once the gloss varnish has had a good chance to harden
Si
Quote from: Si Tyler on 06 June 2014, 02:59:00 PM
FWIW,
I use a two step process over a gloss varnish which I find tends to protect the paint work. Either using Army Painter quick shade (yes okay) or a spray on varnish such as http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/.-Acrylic-Spray-UK-SALES-ONLY_SPRAY-ACRYLIC.htm
I then use the Windsor & Newton Galeria Matt varnish which is brushed on once the gloss varnish has had a good chance to harden
Si
Yowsers! You must have the safest figures in the kingdom!
Well I'm going to try out the Army Painter spray and the Windsor and Newton Galeria (maybe on the same figures!). If I come to any conclusions on what works best for me, and if I'm not hallucinating too much from all the fumes, I'll post them here.
Thanks again for all the replies. Very much appreciated.
I brush on Vallejo gloss and after drying I then brush on Windsor and Newton's Acrylic matt varnish. Never had a whitening effect using this combo. Also, don't matt medieval/renaissance armour.
Winsor and Newton Galeria Matt varnish, its about £4-5 a 75ml bottle.
As Freddy says check ite the style you want as it comes in Matt and Satin in the same bottle.
I have only ever had the whitening issue from old varnishes, so I dump mine after a year, which for me is nornally the last 10% of the bottle, so not too much waste.
I stick to Rimmel Sweetie Crush.
Candyfloss Cutie is my favouite, but sometimes I do each nail in a different colour.
X_X X_X
I so wanted to find a picture of a pink Centurion, but all I could find were various Soviet types and an Abbot... :(
An Abbot in a pink cassock? :o
I feel like I'm on channel 5...
And anyway, there's no way I'm painting fingernails on 10mm figures. Unless... A challenge, eh?
Hi all I use humbrol either gloss or matt and have never had any problems
Take care
Andy
I have gone to hand brushing to avoid sprays - I don't really have a safe space to use a spray in.
I am using Winsor & Newton Galeria Matt.
I was putting two coast on for extra strength, but felt it gave a bit of clouding, so I dropped to 1 coat. Everything seems OK. It's not a lot of work.
Once everything is based, I just do another light stroke of varnish on the outside figures 'flanks' as this will be the part of the base that is handled the most.
The Vallejo matt varnish is the flattest matt I've come across so far. Matt over gloss is a well-tried recipe if you don't mind the wait between coats. Matt varnish on its own sometimes reacts with the underlying paint. Having said that, I've not had any problems with the Vallejo.
Liked Vallejo spray, but it is becoming difficult to find...
Trying AP at the mo. Not sure why their Matt is occasionally shiny?
I brush mine on, Will. With 10mm it doesn't take much longer than spraying and I always manage to get a better coverage. For some makes the amount of shine seems to vary from batch to batch.
I concur; brushing on avoids the vagaries of the spray varnishes, and if you've put all that effort into painting in the first place it seems a shame to then take a chance on a spray that you don't fully trust.
Only tip I've got regarding checking spray varnishes, is that I used to spray a tiny section of a piece of newspaper before using the varnish on a figure (or figures).....
It partially soaks into, and therefore dries on the paper really, really quickly....and gives you a chance to see whether it's going to be a bit 'iffy'.
Might be of some use ?
Cheers - Phil
Over the years I've tried everything...including hairspray! Acrylic varnishes are okay in their way but I found the gloss to be more eggshell even after a couple of coats.My last combination was a Poundland Gloss followed by a Daler-Rowney Soluble Matt -both oil based. The D-R Matt is the dogs nads for flatness as far as I am concerned. Nowadays, as my chaps don't really get as much as they used to I use the D-R Matt straight onto the painted figures. Can't say I've ever tried spray but if it's anything like the undercoat I'd have to go over it with a brush anyway.
At the moment, all my 10mm are getting two brushed-on coats of Vallejo matte varnish. Nice finish and no need to use gloss first. And easy to use.
www.michaelscott.name/1809/1809blogpost131.htm (http://www.michaelscott.name/1809/1809blogpost131.htm)
Cheers, Michael
As ever, thanks so much for all the replies - really useful!
Winsor and Newton Galeria Matt varnish for me. Two coats brushed on 24 hours apart does the job.
I also use and recommend Daler-Rowney Soluble Varnish Matt.
Having in the past tried numerous varnishes with mixed results, I found D_R soluble Matt to be the most reliable and I have used it for years without ever having any problem. In the winter I would recommend gently warming the bottle by popping the bottle into your pocket for about an hour (with the top screwed on tight). The good stuff settles at the bottom of the bottle and it takes an age to shake it into suspension when it is cold. The only down side is that you need to wash your brush out in white spirit, but that just reminds you of the old Humbrol days.
I have never tried Windsor & Newton Galeria which I am sure is very good judging by the recommendations, but do not use the W&N OIL Colour Artists' Matt Varnish, because it isn't.
Chris
Barry, I've tried sprays and paint-on varnishes over the past 50 years or so, though not all the products mentioned here. On sprays, follow the instructions and spray from about 30 cm, or 12" in old money. Wait until the first coat is dry before applying the second. I spray gloss first then matt, GW 'Purity Seal' or AP, boith of which give a slightly satin finsih, which I like. inches. I've been using Vallejo gloss and matt for small jobs, 20-30 figures. The matt is as flat as you could want. Avoid cheap brushes and synthetic ones - they are too stiff and tend to make the varnish 'froth' a bit if you aren't careful, which can result in bubbles dried into the finished coat. Go for Kolinsky sable which are much softer and reduce frothing to almost nothing. On the subject of brushes, buy the best you can afford. I have found that synthetic brushes, while comparatively cheap, do not last as long and tend to curl and split in a short time, however well you look after them. Sable, on the other hand, last for months of hard painting. Cheap brushes are a false economy in my experience
Couldn't agree more.
Any spray matt varnish which costs under a tenner and W&N Series 7, a cracking combination :D
I spray GW Purity Seal. Part of why I spray is it fixes the flock on the base.
Quote from: Last Hussar on 19 June 2014, 11:00:38 PM
I spray GW Purity Seal. Part of why I spray is it fixes the flock on the base.
Right. That makes sense. Thanks!
OK - you're now thoroughly confused by all this advice, aren't you? That's what usually happens on this forum. ;)
Amazing; the many and varied ways to achieve the same result. Like most wargamers I arrived at my preferred option through trial and error.
I use gloss ARMY PAINTER, mid brown and here's why. The varnish, if applied lightly with a brush, seeps into the folds and corners of clothing obviating the need to highlight without pooling (although I do put a lighter colour over bright colours like carmine to give it a bit of lift). The 'gloss' finish on 10mm doesn't look at all bad, I think it looks better than matt in terms of brightening the table, also the very flat look of matt figures I don't think is particularly accurate. If you look from a distance at - say the Guards or the Household Cavalry or indeed The Kings Troop, you will notice that the formations seem to scintillate. Cap badges, buttons, weapons, gun barrels, even the flanks of the horses are highly reflective. When I look at masses of matt painted figures I don't see that, just a dull uniformity. On any scale bigger than 10mm I think it looks poor but on the smaller scales I think it goes very well. Very thin PVA to consolidate the flock/ballast bases works well.
Just my three ha'pence worth.
But a very interesting three'appence. Must try some of that out.
Thorough application with good quality sable brush, don't overload the brush and don't flock the bases first as if you do overload your brush it will 'pool' on the base and ruin the flock.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55665103@N03/5158035132/in/photostream/
Just noticed you commented on these years ago!
Windsor and Newton matt artist's fixative for me every time, two light coats for preference. Why do I think I say this here about every eight months?
Because you're getting old and doddery.
Getting? That's a charitable way to put it.
Quote from: cameronian on 21 June 2014, 11:43:00 AM
Thorough application with good quality sable brush, don't overload the brush and don't flock the bases first as if you do overload your brush it will 'pool' on the base and ruin the flock.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55665103@N03/5158035132/in/photostream/
Just noticed you commented on these years ago!
Interestingly I have just rebased my AH 1866 figures, for a variant of Altar of Freedom, on 60x60mm bases. Photos when the bases are finished.
Quote from: Dour Puritan on 21 June 2014, 04:13:50 PM
Interestingly I have just rebased my AH 1866 figures, for a variant of Altar of Freedom, on 60x60mm bases. Photos when the bases are finished.
Look forward to seeing them.
Hear, hear. :)
Quote from: Wulf on 06 June 2014, 11:02:25 AM
I've been spraying Army Painter, but I'm now brushing on Vallejo, as I got some 'dusty' looking finishes with the spray. It's slower going though - right now I'm painting individual minis, if I go back to unit bases I may well go back to sprays...
This is a trick for anyone who uses any spray and gets the above affect. Simply repaint the vehicle with varnish with a brush. Voila, the dust look should disappear and the shiny vehicle come through.
The science/techy bit. Its to do with moisture trapped by the varnish and then affecting the refractive index so that you get "internal reflection" from the microscopic water droplets. This is what causes the dustiness look, even to the point where it looks white.
The extra coat of varnish changes the refractive index back, the "internal reflection" stops and so the vehicle looks great again. :)
Quote from: gerryjelliott on 26 August 2014, 09:10:12 AM
This is a trick for anyone who uses any spray and gets the above affect. Simply repaint the vehicle with varnish with a brush. Voila, the dust look should disappear and the shiny vehicle come through.
The science/techy bit. Its to do with moisture trapped by the varnish and then affecting the refractive index so that you get "internal reflection" from the microscopic water droplets. This is what causes the dustiness look, even to the point where it looks white.
The extra coat of varnish changes the refractive index back, the "internal reflection" stops and so the vehicle looks great again. :)
Thanks for that...interesting techie stuff
Wish I'd known that twenty years ago! It would have saved an awful lot of grief.
I just found a second light coat of spray does the same trick :)