Which Varnish and when?

[Nathan -355727]

Hi All I am new to the hobby, after reading a number guides on painting/varnishing I am still a little confused.

I plan to hand paint with Arcrylic,apply a gloss varnish, apply decals, weather with enamel and varnish again with Matt/Satin.

I believe I need to use the opposite varnish to the paint, my confusion is which type of varnish to use (Arcrylic /Enamel) and when? Maybe I’m missing a step or over thinking it all.

[Ratch]

I believe I need to use the opposite varnish to the paint, my confusion is which type of varnish to use (Arcrylic /Enamel) and when? Maybe I’m missing a step or over thinking it all.

 

 

Probably over thinking.

I use acrylic paints. I spray on an acrylic varnish to seal, then weather with powders using white spirit (same as enamels) and then seal with acrylic matt. No problem.

[Nathan -355727]

Hi Ratch, thank you for your replay.

[Ratch]

Let us know how you get on, Nathan.

[Nathan -355727]

So I finally got around to building a Tiger 1, I took my time and was very pleased with my build and hand painting however I decided to seal the paint with Humbrol acrylic Matt varnish spray, on my return a day later I noticed lovely desert tank had almost turned white and had an almost bleached look! What did I do wrong?

[Ratch]

Unfortunately, aerosol varnishes sometimes have this effect. The whitening is caused by too much matting agent. You might try applying a gloss varnish over it and it may have the desired effect. I had a similar problem with this one.

[Nathan -355727]

Thanks Ratch, I panicked and tried to paint over it but may if made the paint job worse, I may need a few coats, I could also try to weather it,

[Nathan -355727]

I have some Mig lucky Matt varnish, but it’s for an air brush, I assume I could lightly paint it on? My model is tarnished anyway now, some I’m using it for testing weathering etc.