Discussion about Sealers. What do You Use?

[Kheprera]

What about using soft (non-oil) pastels? I've seen a few mini painters do this and have been curious to try it.

[Pingo]

Soft pastels have almost no medium in them at all. They are nearly pure pigment dust, held together with a minimum of binder.

 

As such, they can be treated like pigment powders. They should have the same safety precautions -- try not to get the dust on your skin and wear a good respirator (there are so many cautionary tales of pastel artists developing lung disease).

[Willen]

They are great as weathering powders, however, so buy one or two, scrape the sides to get a powder (I like it more coarse so this works for me), take care not to get it into the lungs and try them out.

[hammer570]

Personally I use Vallejo brush on Gloss Varnish followed by a coat or two of Matt Varnish.  My first mini or two coated this way, I had a small problem with colors bleeding, but I believe that was because I had watered the varnishes down too much and been a bit rough with the brush.  After switching to unthinned varnish and using a softer brush application, the stuff works great.

 

The primary intent with gloss followed by matt was to get the benefit of the stronger coating from the gloss, then dull the shine with the matt.  The serendipitous benefit I found through using this was that I can selectively apply (or more accurately, not apply) the matt varnish in places that I want to be reflective.  Metals, gems, etc.  This worked especially well on my Great Worm as a sort of poor man's highlights.  I wanted the top portion of the chitinous shell to be shiny and glossy, which I had achieved to some extent with paint highlights and shading, but I applied a much thinner coat of the matt varnish to the area catching the most light to create a hard reflective shell, similar to a beetle or ladybug.  The areas not in direct light got a thicker coat of the matt to subdue this effect.

[Ghool]

I just make sure I'm using a really good primer (Vallejo Surface Primer), and don't bother using a finish at all.

I've found that as long as the primer is well-cured (3-7 days minimum) it doesn't chip.

 

I haven't used a varnish or finish in almost 4 years, and have no problems with chipping paint, or it rubbing off even with constant handling and use.

[Kheprera]

Soft pastels have almost no medium in them at all. They are nearly pure pigment dust, held together with a minimum of binder.

 

As such, they can be treated like pigment powders. They should have the same safety precautions -- try not to get the dust on your skin and wear a good respirator (there are so many cautionary tales of pastel artists developing lung disease).

Well... too late to avoid the rainbow sneezes, and trying to keep it off skin is nigh impossible. It's just a messy medium.

 

My idea, though, is to use a brush, likely a flat, and see what I can do with blending. I can blend soft pastels easy peasy, but they require a lot of sealant between layers to keep from rubbing off. I was planning on trying Dullcote, but would a Fixative be just as good at the lower stages and then a gloss followed by Dullcote? These will definitely have to be well sealed and for show piece only.

[Gadgetman!]

Has anyone tried the Liquitex spray varnishes?

[dsmiles]

So chime in folks with your experiences and brands of sealers that you use!

 

George

Out here in the land of humidity, I use exclusively brush on varnishes. Liquitex Gloss and Liquitex Matte. Everybody's probably already talked about those.

[Pingo]

I'm experimenting with several different combos to see how things work: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/67683-bones-rats-and-mummies-varnishing-experimental-subjects/