Satin varnish

[steelpillow]

Wanting a finish for a British aircraft built ca. 1942 (not long after the introduction of Ocean Grey), and I believe that a kind of "off-matt" or not-quite-satin would be about right.

I tried out a tinlet of Humbrol Satin Enamel varnish and it seems surprisingly matt, just about right. But when I mix in a little Humbrol Thinners (cos it's a bit gloopy) and brush it on, it dries with fine brushmarks of matt vs. satin sheen. If I spray it on, I may need to mix in a dash of matt to get the slight sheen I want, so a rattle can is not really an option. So, two questions:

First, is there a way to brush on to give a smooth sheen, or do I need to dig out the (t)rusty old Badger and get spraying?

Second, will decals stick properly or do I really need to apply gloss coat/s, decal, sheen coat/s? I tried a small spare decal and it stuck down fine.

[steelpillow]

Wanting a finish for a British aircraft built ca. 1942 (not long after the introduction of Ocean Grey), and I believe that a kind of "off-matt" or not-quite-satin would be about right.

I tried out a tinlet of Humbrol Satin Enamel varnish and it seems surprisingly matt, just about right. But when I mix in a little Humbrol Thinners (cos it's a bit gloopy) and brush it on, it dries with fine brushmarks of matt vs. satin sheen. If I spray it on, I may need to mix in a dash of matt to get the slight sheen I want, so a rattle can is not really an option. So, two questions:

First, is there a way to brush on to give a smooth sheen, or do I need to dig out the (t)rusty old Badger and get spraying?

Second, will decals stick properly or do I really need to apply gloss coat/s, decal, sheen coat/s? I tried a small spare decal and it stuck down fine, but am way out of date on current practice.

[noeyedears]

i would try one of the alclad clearcoats, maybe the light sheen one. its airbrush only for the though.

[Tomjw]

I second what Noeyedears said. Alclad is what I use.

Cheers,

Tom.

[Andrew Jones]

I use Games Workshop " Purity Seal " spray, gives a lovely satin/matt finish and covers up brushstrokes too .

Andrew

[Giorgio N]

Decals stick fine to any painted surface however they are best applied on a proper gloss finish. It's not only a matter of adhesion but of making the carrier film as invisible as possible and this works better on a gloss surface. For this reason better add a gloss coat, apply decals and then add your final coat of choice.

In general any clear coat is better sprayed if this is possible, be it with an airbrush or using a good quality spray can. If you're brushing, then I'd use one of the Vallejo range of acrylic clear coats. They are very good and it's easy to apply them without brush marks. The "problem" with their satin clear is that it's a bit more on the matt side.. now it can be a problem or not, some don't like this however I love the finish given by this paint ! It's matt but not too matt, IMHO it's a good scale reproduction of most military aircrafts matt finish

[Cookenbacher]

A tip I've learned from here on Britmodeller is to use Winsor & Newton acrylic varnishes. On my latest build, I mixed W&N gloss and matt to make a 'semi-satin', and then thinned with some distilled water and W&N flow improver. I brushed it on and it left no brush marks, and I was happy with it.

HTH

[bentwaters81tfw]

I use Games Workshop " Purity Seal " spray, gives a lovely satin/matt finish and covers up brushstrokes too .

Andrew

Seconded.

W&N Galleria needs to be airbrushed. It's a right mess if you try to brush it.

[steelpillow]

A tip I've learned from here on Britmodeller is to use Winsor & Newton acrylic varnishes. On my latest build, I mixed W&N gloss and matt to make a 'semi-satin', and then thinned with some distilled water and W&N flow improver. I brushed it on and it left no brush marks, and I was happy with it.

On my shopping list. many thanks!

[Cookenbacher]

If you don't thin it, Bentwaters is right - the varnish is a bit goopy. But if you thin with distilled water and flow improver, it brushes just fine.

[steelpillow]

I have been trying Winsor & Newton's "Galeria" on a test piece, it's available in matt. gloss and satin. Looks like a mix of satin and matt will get the right sheen for me, though it seems to need a good half-dozen coats to fully overlay the texture/glossiness of whatever's underneath. At least it brushes on really nicely, straight from the bottle, one coat a day.

Oh, and it doesn't half show up how that small spare decal didn't stick down so fine after all. Off now for a bottle of gloss varnish to build up under the decals, before applying satin/matt on top of it all afterwards.

[Alpha Delta 210]

Seconded.

W&N Galleria needs to be airbrushed. It's a right mess if you try to brush it.

I've never air brushed Galeria, but I have successfully applied the Matt and Satin flavours by paint brush on numerous occasions.