Varnishing figures help and advice please (1 Viewer)

[Sgtminiman]

Hi,

I’ve been painting metal 54mm castings for a few years now and generally have made good progress learning new techniques like dry brushing, highlighting and shading etc. As such I have progressed from gloss painting to Matt and my work is reasonable for an amateur.

However, the area I constantly muck up is the varnishing. Either I end up with the white frosting look or lighter colours changing to a yellow look. Even them sticking to the surface they are on when varnished then taking the paint off the stand or on a few occasions busting the figure off the base. The last lot I actually lost a load of paint (possibly by picking them up and moving them quite soon after).

This is obviously really frustrating last night I spend three hours just correcting figures after I varnished them which inevitable don’t look as good as they did. I have tried all sorts of methods from gloss and Matt spray inside with a portable spray booth to hand brushing.

Just really love any advice possible over better methods you guys might use.

Many thanks

Gary

 

[Imperial Miniatures]

What varnish are you using? The white frosting look can be caused by spraying too close as the propellent reaches the figure or by spraying in humid conditions. If the varnish does frost then coating it in another layer by brushing on will dissolve the frosted layer and dry clear.

I am not sure what you mean by busting the figure off the base?

I generally brush acrylic gloss varnish onto my figures and use Humbrol Clear Gloss varnish at the moment which gives a good, non-yellowing covering.

 

[theBaron]

I agree that it would help to answer your question if you told use what you use for your sealing coat.

On my gloss figures, I use Johnson's Future, which is a clear acrylic liquid. It's made to coat floors, but it has found a lot of use in the hobby world, too, from dipping clear parts to make them look clearer, to laying down a gloss coat as preparation for applying decals, to gloss-coating. It's cheap, it can be applied by hand, by dipping the piece, or with an airbrush. It doesn't change color over time.

Future has gone through several name changes, and here in the States, it's now called Pledge Floor Gloss:

https://www.pledge.com/en-us/products/pledge-floor-gloss

For a matte finish, I use Testor's DullCote in the rattlecans.

I have never had any problems with either product, and certainly not the kinds of issues you describe.

Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad

 

[Sgtminiman]

I agree that it would help to answer your question if you told use what you use for your sealing coat.

On my gloss figures, I use Johnson's Future, which is a clear acrylic liquid. It's made to coat floors, but it has found a lot of use in the hobby world, too, from dipping clear parts to make them look clearer, to laying down a gloss coat as preparation for applying decals, to gloss-coating. It's cheap, it can be applied by hand, by dipping the piece, or with an airbrush. It doesn't change color over time.

Future has gone through several name changes, and here in the States, it's now called Pledge Floor Gloss:

https://www.pledge.com/en-us/products/pledge-floor-gloss

For a matte finish, I use Testor's DullCote in the rattlecans.

I have never had any problems with either product, and certainly not the kinds of issues you describe.

Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad

Hi,
Thanks for the reply I've used a variety of different products local UK brands mainly for a gloss coat. I last used Testors dull cote it was this which seemed to lift some
Paint off the figure. I think I'll go back to
Brushing it on.

I think the issue might be my use of the products because I had so many figures to varnish I removed them from the turntable before they were dried which might have taken the paint off.

Cheers

Gary

 

[Sgtminiman]

What varnish are you using? The white frosting look can be caused by spraying too close as the propellent reaches the figure or by spraying in humid conditions. If the varnish does frost then coating it in another layer by brushing on will dissolve the frosted layer and dry clear.

I am not sure what you mean by busting the figure off the base?

I generally brush acrylic gloss varnish onto my figures and use Humbrol Clear Gloss varnish at the moment which gives a good, non-yellowing covering.

Hi thanks for the tips might be coating it too thick as well.

Cheers

Gary

 

[theBaron]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply I've used a variety of different products local UK brands mainly for a gloss coat. I last used Testors dull cote it was this which seemed to lift some
Paint off the figure. I think I'll go back to
Brushing it on.

I think the issue might be my use of the products because I had so many figures to varnish I removed them from the turntable before they were dried which might have taken the paint off.

Cheers

Gary

Yeah, I have never had any issue with DullCote; I have never seen it lift off coats of paint. It does need time to cure. I usually let a piece go overnight, though I have worked with pieces I've DullCoted within four hours or so after applying the matte lacquer.

Same goes for Future, and probably for other clear acrylic coats-they need time to cure. Overnight is best, but again, four hours or so can work.

Since you had paint lift off, I should ask-do you clean and prime your figures? Paint lifting off suggests poor adhesion between the paint and the surface. Priming will increase the odds that you'll get good adhesion, and especially if you use acrylics, which do not adhere as well on their own as enamels and lacquers do. I clean all of my figures, to remove old paint, oils, grease, etc, then prime them, then paint them. Same goes for my resin figures and my styrene models.

Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad

 

[blaster]

Hi All,

FYI, I had used Testors dullcote many years ago applied liberally. These figures darkened over the years (20+).

I continue to use Testors if necessary but what I do now is to thin it with Turpentine and apply in very thin washes.


Rgds Victor

 

[Imperial Miniatures]

I agree that if the paint is lifting off with the varnish coat then it is a problem with the primer, not the varnishing...

You need to leave varnish to dry for at least 4 hours before touching it and it takes 24 hours to harden and dry completely...

You'll just have to learn some patience

 

[Sgtminiman]

Yeah, I have never had any issue with DullCote; I have never seen it lift off coats of paint. It does need time to cure. I usually let a piece go overnight, though I have worked with pieces I've DullCoted within four hours or so after applying the matte lacquer.

Same goes for Future, and probably for other clear acrylic coats-they need time to cure. Overnight is best, but again, four hours or so can work.

Since you had paint lift off, I should ask-do you clean and prime your figures? Paint lifting off suggests poor adhesion between the paint and the surface. Priming will increase the odds that you'll get good adhesion, and especially if you use acrylics, which do not adhere as well on their own as enamels and lacquers do. I clean all of my figures, to remove old paint, oils, grease, etc, then prime them, then paint them. Same goes for my resin figures and my styrene models.

Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad

Hi
I think the issue with the paint lifting was my fault and down to lifting the figure before it had cured (I do suffer from a lack of patience when I've got a lot to varnish) I have adopted a new strategy of gluing the figure to a piece of wood to hold for the entire process just levering it off at the end.

I do wash my figures in hot water with fairy liquid and then rinse them in cold. I also prime them so I don't think that's the issue. I've brushed the last few with vallejo and they have come out great.

Cheers

Gary

 

[Jedburgh]

I saw on another forum that people had a lot of good things to say about Winsor and Newton Matte Varnish Spray - In the UK it is quite expensive at nearly £17 a can. But if you want to protect your hours of work might be worth looking in to.