Humbrol 'Clear' Acrylic Varnish

[fishplanebeer]

I am planning to use an acrylic gloss varnish prior to weathering with a spirit & oil paint wash so bought 'Humbrol Clear' gloss varnish for this purpose but having done a test spray with it I'm now very unsure. For some reason it seems to leave very small air bubbles after application and doesn't leave a very smooth or shiny finish either so wondered if anyone else has tried this stuff?

 

I diluted using water with a ratio of approximately 60% varnish/40% water and with a psi of around 12-15 psi so this should be about right I think as this set up works fine with enamel varnishes, unless acrylic varnishes require a different mix/pressure as I've never used them before?

 

Any help/advice very much appreciated.

 

Regards

Colin.

[bentwaters81tfw]

It's rubbish. Avoid.

[fishplanebeer]

Thanks for the warning, I was about to ruin several weeks work so really glad I asked the question.

 

Regards

Colin.

[fishplanebeer]

What is a reliable brand of Acrylic varnish that will do what it says on the tin please? I do have some Xtracrylix varnish but not in Gloss so if this stuff is OK I'll put an order in with Hannants.

 

Regards

Colin.

[fishplanebeer]

Sorry, just discovered that Hannants also sell Microscale Micro Gloss acrylic varnish so is this a reliable alternative as well perhaps?

 

Regards

Colin. 

[Dunderklumpen]

8 hours ago, fishplanebeer said:

Sorry, just discovered that Hannants also sell Microscale Micro Gloss acrylic varnish so is this a reliable alternative as well perhaps?

 

Regards

Colin. 

I sometimes use Micro Gloss with paintbrush if it's just smaller areas. For glosscoating a entire model i use Alclad Aqua Gloss with airbrush. Just put down in thin layers and you'll get a good, gloss finish.

[fishplanebeer]

Just bought some of the Alclad varnish along with some acrylic gloss 'Galeria' varnish from Windsor & Newton as this seems to have pretty good reviews as well so hopefully I now have a varnish I can trust.

 

Just a pity about the Humbrol stuff as it wasn't cheap at almost £7!

 

Regards

Colin.

[Dunderklumpen]

17 hours ago, fishplanebeer said:

some acrylic gloss 'Galeria' varnish from Windsor & Newton

I have this one in "matt", and I think it's really good!

[bentwaters81tfw]

Don't forget to thin Galleria as it can leave white deposits neat.

[fishplanebeer]

I plan to airbrush the Galeria varnish so will dilute to around 60% varnish/40% thinner (water) to start off with and then do a test spray to get the correct consistency and air pressure.

 

Many thanks for every ones input and guidance, a real life saver.

 

Regards

Colin.

[rayprit]

2 hours ago, fishplanebeer said:

I plan to airbrush the Galeria varnish

I have never diluted Galeria, never had white spots yet....................and I have been using it for years

[colin]

4 hours ago, rayprit said:

I have never diluted Galeria, never had white spots yet....................and I have been using it for years

Do you brush it on or spray, as I don't know how you get it to spray without thinning

[bentwaters81tfw]

6 hours ago, rayprit said:

I have never diluted Galeria, never had white spots yet....................and I have been using it for years

I used the matt with a brush, and it streaked, hence I now use rattle cans of Games Workshop matt varnish, and Klear for gloss.

[fishplanebeer]

I'll update once I've tried to spray on as I never use a brush for this type of work preferring to build up the layers of varnish gradually.

 

If it doesn't work very well then I'll resort to trying the Xtracrylix gloss acrylic varnish from Hannants.

 

Regards

Colin.

[rayprit]

6 hours ago, colin said:

o you brush it on or spray, as I don't know how you get it to spray without thinning

I spray it on..............I suppose it depends on the size of the needle in your airbrush.........I use a .4 I think.............but seems to work with other needles as well(for me)  I expect my bottle of galeria to last my life time.  After use, I wash the airbrush under a hot water tap........the stuff I have is like water and the reservoir/cup goes down quiet quickly so not unusual to top up 2-3 times during a spraying session

[fishplanebeer]

Just finished applying the first coat of Galeria gloss and I can report that it works really well.

 

By fiddling and adjusting I discovered that for me the best way to airbrush it is to dilute to a ratio of around 2:1 varnish to thinner (water) and use an indicated 20 psi to obtain a fine mist/spray pattern from about 8 inches (20cm) distance. I slightly overdid the spraying initially by getting too close with a lower psi of around 14 as I normally spray with this set up when applying the paint job but a higher psi and greater distance proved to be the correct approach. A fine rub down with very fine micromesh sanding sheets removed any excess varnish from my initial attempts and I then just resprayed these affected areas.

 

Hope this helps and gives others some confidence in using what appears to be a very good acrylic varnish.

 

Regards

Colin.