Windsor Newton Matte Varnish?

[morganm]

Is Windsor & Newton Matte Varnish a viable product for a brush on matte sealer/varnish on minis? Comes in a good size bottle; it's not a spray on product.

 

Right now I use RMS Brush On Sealer but it's going fast! I use it for a finishing sealer on models as well as some wash recipes. Wondering if I can use this W&N Matte Varnish the same way.

[vutpakdi]

I've never used the Winsor & Newton varnish, but I have used Liquitex and Lascaux varnishes. Both work just fine, so I don't see why the Winsor & Newton wouldn't work. I have seen the Winsor & Newton varnish recommended on the Steve Dean site.

 

Ron

[Kang]

Morganm, it sounds like you use the RMS Brush-On Sealer the same way - ways, rather - that I do.

 

I can tell you for sure that you can conserve RMS Brush-On Sealer by using Liquitex Matte Medium in its place for your wash recipes, and it seems very likely (especially in light of vutpakdi's post) that you could also conserve RMS Brush-On Sealer by using W&N Matte Varnish in its place for sealing.

 

But it does not necessarily follow that W&N Matte Varnish makes a good wash additive, or that Liquitex Matte Medium works well for sealing. Maybe they do (if anyone knows, do please speak up!), but I have never heard of anyone trying to use any one product for both of these uses other than RMS Brush-On Sealer, which works great for both applications, which is the reason it's been one of my favourite droppers ever since the FLGS finally got some back in stock.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Kang

[morganm]

Hmm I saw the Liquitex Matte Varnish as well; glad to hear it's a viable alternative. I'll 'prolly pick up some of that since it was even cheaper.

 

Thx!

[Midnight Lurker]

In the event that the new stuff doesn't work out for you, I seem to remember Anne mentioning something about the possibility of Reaper releasing larger size bottles of certain popular items (RMS sealer being one).

 

 

Jen

[Serenity]

Another thing I've done with Liquitex Matte Medium is smoothing out rough spots on a sculpt that I failed to fix before I began painting. Like the Reaper brush-on sealer, it works well for thickening paint and as a glazing additive. I've noticed it makes some of my RMS paints thin better than water or flow improver. I haven't used it as a sealer, but it might work for that. It dries about as fast as acrylic paint.

 

The W&N Galleria Matt Varnish is good at what it says it does, but I haven't used it for glazing or washes. According the the back of my bottle, it is not intended to be used as a medium. It also says to allow 24 hours between thin coats. I think it dries much faster than that, but I don't use it very often, so I can't say for sure how long it takes.

[Kang]

Another thing I've done with Liquitex Matte Medium is smoothing out rough spots on a sculpt that I failed to fix before I began painting. Like the Reaper brush-on sealer, it works well for thickening paint and as a glazing additive. I've noticed it makes some of my RMS paints thin better than water or flow improver. I haven't used it as a sealer, but it might work for that. It dries about as fast as acrylic paint.

 

The W&N Galleria Matt Varnish is good at what it says it does, but I haven't used it for glazing or washes. According the the back of my bottle, it is not intended to be used as a medium. It also says to allow 24 hours between thin coats. I think it dries much faster than that, but I don't use it very often, so I can't say for sure how long it takes.

Heh, have you noticed how the Liquitex Matte Medium bottle also warns not to use it for glazing? That's pretty much all I've ever used it for though, and it works great... you just have to be careful not to let it pool or it can dry white in little nooks that you'd probably rather leave dark. Interesting tip about using it to fix rough spots, will have to remember that one.

 

Kang

[Ferox]

Interesting tip about using it to fix rough spots, will have to remember that one.

Me too -- the Lupines I just cleaned up are a bit rough around the armour plates. This'll be easier than trying to water down green stuff.

[rgtriplec]

WN and Liquitex don't recommend their varnish as a glazing medium, because they sell glazing medium also. The glazing medium dries faster than the varnish which is why they recommend it for glazing, and the varnish dries harder which is why they recommend it as a sealer. You need to remember these products are designed for canvas painters. Painters may layer a painting with a dozen or more glazes and waiting for varnish to dry would be too time consuming. They also mop their canvases as the glaze, actually wiping them with a rag. So the layers below all have to be totally dry.