I was at my local pound shop and spied Astonish non slip floor polish at £1 for 500ml. I noticed on another site someone else was using it and I tried it out last night on some of my 10mm figures with a black ink/paint mix. It seems to do the job and the polish leaves a glossy look to the figures. I haven't put a matt varnish on them yet and hopefully this will tone done the gloss
Should be fine - this is the same kind of product as Klear which is the basis of many a 'magic' wash :)
You might want to try a test matt figure though...just in case!
I could do with a cheap wash since my annual bath is due soon
I'll look for the low cost floor polish. I have been using Klear with a tiny bit of sepia ink in it as my magic wash.
But am I right to think you fellows are using such a magic wash and then on top of it spraying something like Dull Coat to make the whole thing less glossy?
Is that right? I can see that my figures are looking pretty shiny and glossy. A flattening would be nice.
Is there a particular product that's good for this?
Thanks,
David
That's right David - I use spray Matt varnish: either Testor's Dullcote (which would knock the gleam off of polished chrome) or The Army Painter matt...
Super! Thanks for that. Do you spray over flags, static grass, and all?
David
Yep :)
The most important advice with spray varnish though is this lot:
- avoid humid / damp days
- shake the can. And then shake it more. And again. Until your arm hurts :)
- make sure your figures & spray are at the same temperature [ie keep them together for a while]
- if [& hopefully you don't] you get some white misting: DON'T PANIC!!! This can happen as the spray will capture moisture in the air...let it dry [24 hrs] and then try to respray...if that fails - then paint on undiluted Klear [or Astonish] & it'll bring your figures back...and they won't be as glossy as they were. At this point, it'll be up to you [& a test of your resilience & sanity] whether you spray them matt again ;)
Thanks for the info on spraying the varnish - it seems good advice especially as tomorrow I'll be putting on the varnish. However, I've bought Humbrol matt varnish spray - I don't know if it cuts the mustard as I see that Testor get the thumbs up?
I was also wondering if there's a favourite method of varnishing? I was going to put my figures in rows within a box then spray away? Also how much does each figure need? I'm guessing a thin mist over each?
Gosh - I'm such a newbie
Thanks for the clarification, Nik.
Because of the generosity of you and some others here, my technique is improving.
The down side is that I would like to re-do so many of the paint and basing jobs from a couple of years ago. The old figures look pretty shabby next to the newer one.
But I can live with it!
Quote from: Dickie255 on 22 October 2010, 09:41:40 PM
I was also wondering if there's a favourite method of varnishing? I was going to put my figures in rows within a box then spray away? Also how much does each figure need? I'm guessing a thin mist over each?
Gosh - I'm such a newbie
8)
I've got a load of cardboard box-tops from photocopier paper - those boxes which come to the office with 5 reams of A4 in = the lid. Those are used for the majority of my spraying [undercoating & varnishing] - but I turn them over & put figures on the top [bottom] - ie not
in the box,
on the box...
...that way I can get better coverage & a good grip on the box by holding the inverted edge.
If I'm doing a boatload of figures all at once, I've got a nice 3ft x 3ft offcut of 4mm MDF which I use [again for undercoating & varnishing] - figures onto it & then it gets placed on top of a stand [bin] & I move around it to get the coverage... :)
If you have a look at the early stages of my SYW Painting Diary here: http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=709.0 you can see the boxes & my board...
Hope that makes sense...
Quote from: Inkerman on 22 October 2010, 10:06:45 PM
Thanks for the clarification, Nik.
Because of the generosity of you and some others here, my technique is improving.
The down side is that I would like to re-do so many of the paint and basing jobs from a couple of years ago. The old figures look pretty shabby next to the newer one.
But I can live with it!
I know what you mean - I look at my Napoleonics now & go, "hmm...I could paint those so much better now...I wonder..."
But then I bung them on the table - and en masse, at arm's length, they look great :) 8)
Cheers mate for the quick guide and I'll let you know how I go on. I really like the painting on you ACW figures and I'm trying to recreate that look of realism.
Have a good weekend