To varnish or not to varnish?

[The Captain]

I have recently started painting resin figures again after a long time away from the hobby. I am currently painting a 200mm bust with enamel base coat and oils - Rowney Georgian (they keep the cost down!).

I have almost completed my first attempt and it is looking good. I need some advice on whether to varnish the figure once the oils have dried and have a couple of questions:

How long should I leave the figure before varnishing? Or indeed, should I varnish at all?

Second question is, if varnishing is needed (to reduce the slightly gloss finish of the oil paint) what should I use and is brushing preferable to spraying? I don't have an airbrush and don't plan to buy one.

All advice gratefully received!

 

[kagemusha]

I can only offer this for your consideration Chris, I have worked with oils for over thirty years and have learned that the primary reason for the shine with oils is too thick an application.
Yes you can soak off the excess oil on paper/card but this affects the flow which in turn convinces people to apply more.
My personal view on varnishing is to use it purely for protective purposes, and then with trepidation, as I have seen my work ruined on too many occasions when using various varnishes due to clouding etc. I know many here use them regularly without problems so please accept that I am only speaking from my own experience and preference.

Regards

Ron

 

[jcichon]

I have used Testors Dullcote before on oils and never had a problem with them. Its worth a shot!!

 

[The Captain]

I can only offer this for your consideration Chris, I have worked with oils for over thirty years and have learned that the primary reason for the shine with oils is too thick an application.
Yes you can soak off the excess oil on paper/card but this affects the flow which in turn convinces people to apply more.
My personal view on varnishing is to use it purely for protective purposes, and then with trepidation, as I have seen my work ruined on too many occasions when using various varnishes due to clouding etc. I know many here use them regularly without problems so please accept that I am only speaking from my own experience and preference.

Regards

Ron

Thanks for the advice - I have seen a number of posts on here warning about clouding with varnish. I guess the best option is to display the figure under glass. The oils are starting to dry with more of a matt finish - I am going to have to learn to be more patient.

Chris

 

[Einion]

Unless you need to varnish Chris it's best to avoid it because there's always the potential for the application to go wrong, and at worst you can literally ruin all your hard work. Dullcote is an excellent matt overcoat though and once dried it's fairly easy to remove it from oils or enamels if you had to.

In terms of getting your oils to dry more matt, extracting excess oils by soaking out on a bit of card is one of the key tips (particularly if you're using cheaper brands) and you might want to do a search for previous threads on making a hot box or using a slow cooker, not only does this speed drying considerably in some cases it can virtually guarantee a matt finish.

If the piece ends up uniformly matt you can always add a slight sheen over the top of this with a little gloss or satin medium.

Einion

 

[housecarl]

Use acrylics.
Carl.

 

[The Captain]

Use acrylics.
Carl.

Thanks Carl - I know that acrylics can look stunning but I prefer the wet on wet oil technique and the more subtle result.

I might try acrylics in the future.

Chris

 

[housecarl]

I was trying to be facetious Chris.
Carl.

 

[FortunesOfWarModels]

ive only ever used mattcote on acrylics, but applied VERY sparingly, it does dry matt, reduces shine and protects the figure.

whether ir would work on oils, is another matter, as i have never used oils.

my best advice would be to paint some leftovers from any kits you have loafing that you wont use, and try the varnish on it before applying it to your figure, that way if it doesnt work, the figure is still as you want it and not ruined

 

[Dr Force]

Might be a bit controversial but I simply mix some enamel varnish in with the oil pallet!

First off I try and match the colour I want to portray in a 2 shades darker acrylic as a base. I then mix my oils with a small amount of enamel matt varnish and apply in one thin coat. I allow the oils to go off slightly ( which is quicker due to the varnish mix) and then start to blend highs and lows using wet on wet.

I tend to get a decent flat finish with this so hope it helps!