Matt varnish for enamals ?

[100SQN]

Hi,

Could somebody recommend a matt varnish I could brush over my Humbrol enamals please ?

 

Also any advice to brushing on a matt varnish would be much appreciated

 

Thanks,

Simon

[russ c]

Hi Simon,

 I use Windsor and Newton Galeria Acrylic Matt Varnish on my models which are all brush painted with Humbrol Enamels. It brushes in easily, dries fairly quickly ( but I wait 24hrs between coats ), no need to thin and hardly leaves any brushmarks.

Hope this helps

Russ

[Beardie]

Hi Simon,

 

I second Russ although I would go for Winsor and Newtons matt varnish for oils(Enamels are really only oil paints with things added to make them dry much quicker). Note that these are 'artist' varnishes and are primarily designed to protect a finished work while being removeable with white spirit at a later date if the work is needing cleaned. This means that they never become fully 'dry' to the touch and handling of the finished work should be kept to a minimum and use gloves where possible as the oils in your skin can cause the varnish to become tacky and mark although this is not nearly such a problem with the matt varnish. The varnish is very thin and will brush on in the same manner as Klear The main trick in application is not to apply it too heavily and only one even coat.If you try to go back and add another coat with a brush the white spirit in the varnish will soften the first coat and can lead to unsightly result.

[Graham Boak]

I've recently used Humbrol Matt Cote and found it gave a good result, but it does get thick.  I've just bought some Humbrol Matt Acrylic which I have hopes for, but I'm some way from having a finished model to try it on.  I find that using a broad brush works best for adding varnish, of any kind.

[sapperastro]

Humbrol matt Cote, thoroughly mixed, and then decant some to a container, thin down until it is to the consistency you want, and then brush it on, controlling how much you want on the brush. Works every time for me.

 

 

[Graham T]

I've ruined TWO models (one of them a Tamiya 1/32 Spifire VIII!) with Humbrol Matt coat so I'd no longer touch it with a 40' barge pole.  It leaves an awful grainy surface.  Graham & sapperasto above claim good results with a brush whereas I spray so perhaps that's a factor.  My usual choice is Xtracolour flat varnish & I've recently discovered Microscale Micro flat - great because it's airbrush & brush ready, requires no thinning & cleans up with water! 

[spitfire]

I use Xtracolor matt and satin varnish on mine, works well but I've only used a brush on small pieces.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis