Liquitex products

[Chaoswolf]

Are the Liquitex gloss and matte mediums similar in results to Glosscote/Dullcote or similar products?

 

Meaning do they provide a protective finish on miniatures?

[Pingo]

I haven't dealt with Glosscote/Dullcote, but I have a lot of experience with Liquitex and other brands of paint.

 

So far as I know Liquitex gloss medium provides a protective finish, although the primary purpose of gloss mediums is to be mixed with paint.  However, I have generally found Liquitex's to be one of the stickier gloss mediums.  I'll have to check my notes, but I think there are others that work better.

 

Matte mediums are meant to be mixed with paint also, and are not nearly so protective.  Some brands don't even dry particularly matte when used as a film without paint in, but again I'll have to check my notes re: Liquitex.

[Bruunwald]

My experience with Liquitex was from a long time ago. But whenever I handle Vallejo varnishes and mediums, I can't help but notice that they feel and work nearly identically to my memories of the Liquitex stuff.

 

As for varnish, I know some guys online who use Liquitex and report zero problems. One of those guys paints on commission. So there's that.

 

There is an argument I've read and heard, from some of the more hardcore element (read: guys who knock their minis off the table when they lose a match) that, since Liquitex is "for artists" sealing their work on canvas, it is necessarily weaker, being that a canvas is not mean to be slammed down on a gaming table. This would seem counter-intuitive to what my mother told me when I was a child and she was teaching me to paint (and I am paraphrasing):

 

"This stuff is to protect your painting, so that when people put it in boxes and move it around, or it falls down or gets left out, it will still be safe for years and years."

 

Edit: For the protection part, I'm speaking only about Liquitex varnishes. The mediums are just mediums. Like any medium.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Bruunwald

[Werkrobotwerk]

Liquitex matte medium and matte varnish are a bit more like other companies satin finish. I use it pretty much all the time. gives a fairly good protective coating, does mess things up if you lay it on too thick or try to thin it down too far.

 

As pingo mentioned above the gloss is sticky. It also really does not like bones! On metal or hard plastic minis it is managably sticky, and if you hit it with a little dullcoat afterward things are just fine. On bones it does that never drying thing even if you have a coat or two of reaper paint inbetween it and the bones material. it also becomes so sticky that it will be impossible to strip the affected mini or paint over. 

 

(edit, grammar issue)

Edited April 6, 2015 by Werkrobotwerk

[ferret]

  In my opinion the Liquitex mediums are not similar to Testors Dullcote.  Dullocote is a matte lacquer intended to be used as a final coat,.  The Liquitex mediums are acrylic and are used primarily as an additive to acrylic paints,  Lacquers are significantly harder than acrylics and will be more resistant to wear or scratching,  So a miniature sealed with the mediums will not be as durable as one that is sealed with dullcote or glosscote.  There is not that much difference in appearance although the dullcote is a bit more matte than the matte medium,  So for a display piece either product would work,  For a gaming piece I would definitely go with a lacquer or polyurethane varnish on metal miniatures. For Bones, I leave the figure unsealed or use an acrylic matte varnish such as Liquitex Acrylic Matte Varnish.

[lexomatic]

I've used inks and modelling pastes by Liquitex. I've also used a pumice medium by Golden, but Liquitex has similar products (good for basing sand/snow). The inks are great for translucent bones. I like the modelling paste for the very limited use I've put it to.

 

If I remember correctly mediums are similar to the sealer as well.

I would repeat what's already said above - what it sounds like you want is a varnish, though they might provide some protection until varnish.

[djizomdjinn]

They can be used as such, as others have noted, much in the same way that all the top online reviews for Future Floor Polish are from scale modellers looking for an inexpensive gloss coat and plastic shine.

 

However, as they're not meant as such, the protection they offer is little more than an extra coat of paint.

 

Stick with lacquers and varnishes that are meant to be used as topcoats.

 

There is an argument I've read and heard, from some of the more hardcore element (read: guys who knock their minis off the table when they lose a match) that, since Liquitex is "for artists" sealing their work on canvas, it is necessarily weaker, being that a canvas is not mean to be slammed down on a gaming table.

As an artist myself, my half-joking rebuttal is that artist mediums are designed to be both strong and flexible, so you can lay it down an eighth inch thick to get that chunky dimensional look, and have it stay on the canvas when you take it off the stretcher bars and roll it up; unlike miniature paints, the vast majority of which are designed for not very flexible white metal and styrene minis.

 

Of course, without a proper scientific test, we may never know for sure.

[Chaoswolf]

Good info here, thanks everyone. I'm looking for an alternative to rattle cans; not 'cause I don't like 'em but because I need some way to seal my figures during the winter. Now that the weather is nice®, rattle cans are fine.

[KruleBear]

Why not spray some Dullcoat into a dropper bottle for indoor winter use?

[Pingo]

Why not spray some Dullcoat into a dropper bottle for indoor winter use?

Just a guess here since I'm only marginally familiar with the product, but things in spray cans tend to have highly volatile solvents.

 

Chances are that if you spray the product into a bottle any solvent will have boiled away before a few hours have passed, no matter how tightly sealed, leaving a sticky mess.

 

Oh yes, the sticky mess. Anyone know if dullcote solvent interacts badly with dropper bottle plastic?

[ShadowRaven]

liquitex matte medium is an interesting product. I've had some good successes using it to affix flocking to bases, and I use it with some of my other artist paints as part of the mix when thinning thicker paints. Liquitex also has a matte varnish which, I find quite good for winter and indoor sealing of figures. The key is to lay it down thin and let it dry at least three hours before application of a second coat. Both my Grippli and Grimm Grayrune from my most recent show off's where so treated.

[Doug Sundseth]

Why not spray some Dullcoat into a dropper bottle for indoor winter use?

 

Far be it from me to ruin anyone's fun, but it would probably be easier just to buy the brush-on Dullcote.

 

[FireElemental]

Far be it from me to ruin anyone's fun, but it would probably be easier just to buy the brush-on Dullcote.

 

I bought some brush-on dullcote. It's vapors are toxic (should have read up on it before buying it). So you will have the same (air) issue with using it as you would a spray. I have a GM who claims his bathroom has a good ventilation fan and does all of his spraying in the bathroom in the winter.

 

 

Liquitex gloss varnish has worked great for me on metal and bones. No stickiness. I haven't tried the mediums. The matte varnish has no problems with stickiness, but it isn't as matte as reaper's sealer. So I use liquitex's gloss varnish for the protective coat and then water down reaper's sealer to make the mini matte. If I want anything to be glossy (like eyes), I go back in with Liquitex because it is easier than trying to not matte small areas. Liquitex gloss and matte varnish mix together, so you can choose how glossy you want something, which is nice

 

Note that Liquitex's varnish is not removable according to the website. (Unless you get their more expensive soluvar stuff.) I haven't tried to remove it, so I don't know what this means for the mini exactly. I figure it bonds to the paint in such a way that removal would damage the paint. I'm unsure if this also means simple green won't work or will have a tough time.

[haldir]

 

Why not spray some Dullcoat into a dropper bottle for indoor winter use?

Just a guess here since I'm only marginally familiar with the product, but things in spray cans tend to have highly volatile solvents.

 

Chances are that if you spray the product into a bottle any solvent will have boiled away before a few hours have passed, no matter how tightly sealed, leaving a sticky mess.

 

Oh yes, the sticky mess. Anyone know if dullcote solvent interacts badly with dropper bottle plastic?

 

 

Actually scale modelers do this all the time (raises hand!! ). It's mainly for shooting the color in a airbrush (pre-thinned!!).

 

What you want to do is take a small bottle, like a 1 oz glas bottle from Paasche or other airbrush makers, wrap some plastic wrap with a rubber band on the opening, poke a small hole in the top. Poke the opening of the nozzle into the bottle & shoot short bursts. Some people take straws (this is where Tamiya cans rock for paint transfering, as they have that little nipple on the end) & glue it to the nozzle. After you've sprayed take the plastic wrap off, let it de-gas, doesn't take long actually, about 20-30 mins. Once your done you've got pre-thinned spray can paint.

 

Like any other paint it does break down but those airbrush bottles have a seal on the cap which pro-longs the decay.

 

Testor's dullcoat lacquer is a inert lacquer but I think the solvents would destroy a plastic bottle after awhile but who knows I've never put it in a dropper just glass bottles as the paint usually gets sucked up by my airbrush.

 

I've also seen & read where you can take a spray can turn it upside down & spray till you get clear (actually this is useful for cleaning the nozzle out). This is the solvent coming out. You spray it till the can goes "empty". Next you take a sharp object & poke the bottom of the can & then pour the contents out. I've never done this cause well you know spray cans & sharp pointy objects....uhh no. Still it's a option.

[DocPiske]

When you turn a spray can upside down and spray, you are expelling the propellant, not the solvent. This de-pressurizes the can. Useful to do before disposing of the can for safety reasons.