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Here's a quick review of the three Matt-Varnish Sprays I've sufficient experience with to feel comfortable reviewing. All have their own quirks and disadvantages. This is a quick run through of my thoughts on each, beginning with the worst and working up to the very best.

Games Workshop "Purity Seal" Satin Varnish.

My absolute emergency-use only Varnish. Why? Because I absolutely hate and loath it. I would never use this stuff on a customer's miniatures and only use it on my own miniatures when I can't get ahold of anything better. For those of you who don't know, "misting" is what happens when a spray on varnish leaves behind a semi-opaque layer (similar in appearance to frost) after you've sprayed your miniature. There are two main causes of misting: temperature and the presence of particles in the air. In cold temperatures, the varnish spray can partially solidify in the air before they even make contact with the miniature. Likewise when it's too hot. Secondly, the varnish droplets can collide with water vapour, dust or pigment particles in the air, forming smal lumps which are then sprayed onto your miniature to dry.

While "misting" is a spray-paint phenomenon in the same vein as death and taxes (meaning it will inevitably happen to everyone at some point), GW Satin Varnish is horrendous for it. It seems to have far less tolerance for temperature variation and the like than any other spray I've ever used. I'll give you some figures to back up this claim. In the last year, I've treated over1400 miniatures with Army Painter Anti-Shine Varnish spray and had misting problems on just three miniatures. I've used GW Satin Varnish on just three occasions in the same time period, treating a total of 34 miniatures with it. Of these, all but thirteen have showed some sign of misting. The rest, have all experienced the second common problem that I encounter using this spray: Metal Discoloration.

The problem you will encounter with just about any spray-on matt varnish is that it will significantly reduce the "shine" of any metal pigments you use in painting your miniatures. With GW Satin Varnish, the problem is bad enough using GW paints, which have a fairly low pigment content to begin with and tend to produce a "glittery" looking metal. However, I use Vellajo Model Air paints for all my Metallics, precisely because these paints have a very high count of very small pigment particles, giving a nice, smooth, realistic metal finish. Unfortunately, GW Satin Varnish absolutely HATES these paints, reducing them to a greyish mess whenever I use more than one coat. Given that it usually takes about three coats of GW Satin Varnish (on top of a coat of gloss varnish) to give a metal miniature decent protection, this usually means I have to completely re-paint the metal areas on the miniature after using this varnish. The anti-shine effect is less noticeable with just one coat, which gives fairly decent protection to a plastic figure; but one coat of this stuff over a coat of gloss varnish isn't enough to remove the unsightly shine left behind by the gloss.

Definitely not recommended to anyone who loves painting their models. Literally the only good thing I have to say about this stuff is that it's readily available to any gamer with a GW shop in easy traveling distance.

Testor's Dullcoate:

Some of you are probably wondering why I've listed Testor's Dullcoate as only the second best of the varnish sprays I've had enough experience with to comment on with any degree of authority. Common consensus on the internet seems to be that this stuff is the bee's knees. Well, unfortunately, I completely disagree. For one thing, take everything I said about the metal "de-shine" problem you have with Games Workshop Satin Varnish and then multiply it by three. Testor's Dullcoate is literally death to metals. Generally speaking, the protective quality of this stuff is so good that I only ever need to give a model a single coat of the stuff over gloss varnish. Unfortunately, that's all it takes to completely kill any shine on the miniature at all. Even the shine that you actually want. So much so in fact that I've taken to calling this stuff Testor's Dead-coate. But because it's protective qualities are so good I still use it, although exclusively on miniatures with very little bare metal. On Napoleonic, American Civil War, WWII, Moderns and the like this stuff is great. Just leave the bare-metal bits unpainted until after you've varnished the rest of the miniature.

The second issue I have with Dullcoate is that it stinks like a petrol station forecourt. Literally. The stuff reeks of petroleum. There is absolutely no way I would use this stuff in doors even with a spray booth and extractor fan. Hell, I would not use this indoors with a bio-hazard level 4 certified fume cupboard! Seriously, breathing this stuff is bad news. Using it indoors, even in a "well ventilated area", (such as a room with huge bay windows), isn't advisable. That means outdoor use only and that in turns means a high risk of misting due to external temperatures and the presence of wind-born particulates.. I can't rate the protective qualities of this varnish highly enough, but unless you have access to a well-kept (by which I mean dust and debris free) garage or a fume cupboard, I would not recommend using it regularly.

This stuff comes in little cans only about half the size of the other varnish spray-cans reviewed here. Not much of an issue in itself, just something to be aware of when placing your order.

Army Painter Anti-Shine Varnish:

I love this stuff. I really, really do. But it has it's weaknesses as well as it strengths. Like Games Workshop Satin Varnish, it takes about three coats over a coat of gloss varnish to provide decent protection to metal miniatures. However, even plastic miniatures often require three coats of the stuff as well, just to get rid of the unwanted shine from the gloss varnish. That being said, while three thin coats of Satin Varnish will completely kill any shine from metals or gem-effects on your miniature, three thin coats of Army Painter Anti-Shine will hardly effect your metals and gemstone-effects at all. Even if your using the same ultra-sensitive Model Air Metallic paints that I use.

Unfortunately, this means that you're going to go through a lot of this stuff. One can of this stuff will varnish anywhere from 30-50 28mm infantry if you give them a coat of gloss as well. I'd expect the same numbers from one can of Dullcoate -and bear in mind that can is only about half-the-size of an Army Painter tin. Even so, when it comes to balancing protection against preserving the quality of the paint-job, I reckon Army Painter is the best of the three by far. I use this can indoors (albeit in the aforementioned room with three huge bay windows, opened all the way; with a mask and using a spray booth) and rarely encounter problems with misting or metal fading.
Spray-Painting Tips:
Just about everyone seems to have their own tips on avoiding misting with spray-on varnish. Here are a few of mine, starting with the basics written on just about every tin. Most of these tips work well with spray paint as well.

<> Although the tin says shake well before and during use, I go one better. Before spraying, half-fill a coffee mug with water heated to body temperature. Sit the spray-can in the heated water for thirty seconds before spraying and when your waiting for a coat of varnish to dry. Heating the spray-can this way helps prevent the varnish droplets from freezing in the air in cold weather.
<>Dust and hoover your varnishing area the night before you intend to do any spraying (or before you go to work if you spray in the evenings) to clear away dust from your work area. Leaving a gap of several hours before actually spraying will give any dust remaining in the air time to settle.
<> Don't spray varnish in the same area that you've just used spray-paint or an airbrush in. You'll still have lots of paint pigment in the air. Instead, I try to make sure that varnish finished miniatures before I spray-paint or airbrush other miniatures. I also make sure the varnish on my finished miniatures are dry (and even move the varnished miniatures into another room) before starting work on anything else.
<> Hold the can thirty centimeters away from the miniatures. Start spraying to the left of the first miniature (so that the miniature doesn't get a soaking from a sudden surge of varnish) and finish to the right of the last miniature (for the same reason).
<> Multiple thin coats of varnish (and spray paint) are better than a single thick coat. If your miniature starts looking "wet" you're putting on too much varnish (and you're probably holding the nozzle too close to the miniature as well).

thanks for the reviews, have you ever used the vallejo spray varnishes?

Great reviews. As far as the Dullcote is concerned, what is this "misting" that you mentioned. I am new to the hobby and just starting out on painting my first minis.

spacewolf - What the OP calls "misting," most others refer to as "frosting." It's the chalky, frost-like appearance that varnishes can take on if sprayed in poor conditions or without proper shaking. It's usually reversible with a heavy coat of gloss varnish over the top (followed by a more careful application of matte to get the appearance that was originally sought), but it's much easier and more efficient to avoid it than to correct it.

I'm one of those many fans of Dullcote and I have to agree, the stuff has quite the stink. I just spray outside and let them dry in the bathroom with the vent fan on - a little smelly, but neither particularly noxious or obnoxious. I haven't, however had a single issue with frosting, whether spraying in near-freezing temperatures or the middle of summer, inside or out. As long as it's reasonably dry, the can is warm, and you shake it thoroughly before and during use (all standard procedure for any spray), it should work just fine - a quarantined clean-room is far from necessary, in my experience. If you're liable to kick up dust before they're dry, stick an upturned cardboard box over the models.

I also agree about the potency -and not just regarding the smell. The small can initially made me wonder if I was overpaying, but that tiny can (which I can buy relatively cheaply at Michaels with their regular 40% off coupon, since it never goes on sale) is good for dozens of models if applied over a cheap gloss coat, since a very light application is all you need for a rather resilient and dead flat finish.

Personally, I love what Dullcote does to metals. I can understand being frustrated if you want them incredibly shiny, but for those who go for a more muted overall look, it does a great job of toning down metals which would otherwise be visually jarring. Honestly, though, it's no more the "death [of] metals" than a wash of Badab Black or Devlan Mud would be - after either treatment, they still have a sheen distinct from non-metallic paints, they simply don't actively gleam, anymore. It's entirely a matter of personal preference, but it is something that people should be aware of.

Thanks for your comments guys - and thank you Oadie, for explaining misting/frosting. I agree 100% than Dullcoate gives easily the best protection and value for money in terms of varnished miniatures by can, but the smell and the anti-shine effect is a little bit too much for me. With the metallic paints I use, Dullcoate doesn't just take away the gleam, it leaves the paints looking non-metallic. But I expect that has a lot to do with my Vellajo Model Air Metallics. I doubt the effect would be quite so extreme on other metals with a lower pigment count.

@ Orinoco I haven't tried the Vallejo sprays yet. I honestly wasn't even aware of them, despite Vallejo being my main paint supplier. Now that I know about them though, I will try them and let people know what I think.

Regarding the Anti-Shine .. isn't that what a Dullcoat/Matte Varnish is supposed to do? I don't understand why anyone would be surprised at it killing any metalic shine as well. It's just doing the job it's meant to do!! (And yes, even on other metalic paints with lower pigment count in reply to your last response there). If you want your metalics to shine you really do have to paint them after your dullcoat OR, mask them off before you add a dull/matte finish.

And yeah, Testors Dullcoat stinks .. largely because it's not an acrylic but it's a Laquer. This is also what gives it the best protective qualities of them.

Thanks for the review, really comprehensive write-out of your experiences with these products.
My questions: Is a gloss coat necessary? I understand for metal models, it might be cause they're prone to chipping, but what about plastic models? Can a matte varnish suffice, and between Army Painter and Dullcote, which would you recommend for it?
Lastly, any recommendations on gloss coat?

Thanks for the reviews, good info.
I had not tried the army painter stuff, may give it a look.

One of my concerns is that most of these products cause some of the more subtle shade variances to disappear (I use a lot of washes for specific effects).

Honestly, the best I have found is using an airbrush.
My favorite is the testors model masters flat acryl.

It gives the least amount of loss of shading detail, combined with straight out of the bottle airbrush or paint on use.

Highly recommended.

Hi guys. Thanks for the comments.

@Rorschach9 You're 100% correct. But it's desirable for the anit-shine effect to kill the shine left by the gloss varnish. It's not desirable to have it effect mettalic paints as well. Having to go back and repaint (or paint) and varnish metals by hand afterwords defeats the purpose of using a spray. I was assessing the sprays based on which produced the best balance between the two effects.

@ Ronin You don't really need a gloss coat for plastic miniatures unless you expect them to see placed on their sides or knocked over quite a bit. I'm thinking of blood bowl miniatures or plastic miniatures that are stored in tubs or boxes rather than foam trays. Because i never really know how my customers store their miniatures (and because of the risks of international shipping) I tend to gloss my plastics anyway.

Also, a lot of people dip their miniatures in floor or wood varnish such as Army Painter dips as a way to simultaneously protect and shade their miniatures. Even if they then go on to provide additional layers of highlighting, the plastic miniatures keep the shine from the dip and really need to be treated with an anti-shine matt varnish. It's not a technique I use, but a lot of the guys I paint character miniatures and vehicles for use dipping to paint their rank-and-file guys.

Between Army Painter and Dullcoate, I would recommend Army Painter if your painted miniatures feature a lot of areas painted with metallic paints, such as chainmail, plate mail, sword blades and the like. On the other hand, if there is very little bling on you're miniatures I'd recommend Dullcoate PROVIDED you live in a climate where you can spray outdoors regularly.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
@davethe pak: You're absolutely right. Normally you need to be less subtle in your shading if you plan on using Anti-Shine sprays regularly because you do tend to lose a lot of definition where subtle tones are concerned.

Strangely, for that same reason, it also makes blending look more natural.

Getting it right comes fairly easily with a bit of practice though.

I also agree about airbrushing on varnish. And I've heard a lot of good things about testors model masters varnish. I use Vellajo Model air satin varnish when I'm airbrushing. A few drops of satin varnish added to the normal paint in the airbrush reservoir is a really efficient way to protect your models. I'm not at all keen on pumping pure varnish through my expensive airbrushes though, which is why I stick to spray cans for varnishing miniatures that haven't been painted using an airbrush.

So let me get this right (as I've never used varnishes before) you need three coats of the stuff on a miniature to be protected? I thought I could do one coat and the will of the emperor will do the rest. I have one coat on some minis and I'm able to scratch it off (not as easily as before but still inadequate)

Ps I'm using golden acrylics matte varnish, will this do or do I need mini specific stuff.
Pps sorry to all the trolls for the thread necromancy

Nothing trollish about acknowledging thread necromancy. You can choose whether or not to be a jerk when pointing it out, but rules are rules and it's on the poster's head if he actively ignores them (not that it's such a serious offense, of course).

To answer your question, though - it depends. Some varnishes are stronger than others. Paintjob resilience also depends as much, if not more so, on what's under it than on top. With a robust primer and a strong varnish, once coat may be all that you ever need. For thin dustings of varnish over an enamel spray paint base, you'll likely need significantly more.

I use spray paint to "prime" plastic and use an actual primer (Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Primer) for metals. In either case, I generally finish with one solid coat of Krylon Crystal Clear, followed by a dusting of Dullcote. Plenty strong for my needs (I don't abuse my models, by any means). If I expect a model (especially a metal one) to see heavy play, I might double up on my gloss coats.

Regarding brands, it's mostly just a matter of personal preference. "Miniature specific" products are usually just a matter of branding - you can likely find equal or better products, and generally for less money, at arts and crafts or home improvement stores. Read reviews in previous threads or get a few different cans and experiment, yourself. You may want to apply another coat or two or you may want to switch to another varnish.

Cool thanks for the advice.
What's the difference between dullcoate and varnish?
I haven't been very successful with spray primers so I prime using acrylic thinned down and airbrushed.
I'll try using several coats and see if it works out. If it doesn't, do you have any recommendations for a heavy duty varnish?

It is varnish (a rather general term). "Dullcote" is just the name of a specific product (made by Testors), same as "Crystal Clear" (one of Krylon's glosses) or any other brand's particular offerings.

It's a lacquer, as opposed to an acrylic varnish, which are generally considered to be stinkier and take somewhat longer to dry (although people tend to ignore the fact that water-based acrylic products have a curing period the extends well beyond the point at which they're dry to the touch), but are more resilient, in the end. The combination of strength (due to the general type) and the quality of the finish (due to their particular formulation/matting agents) has made it quite popular (but not universally so, as you can see above).

On another note, acrylic doesn't bond all that strongly to bare plastic. Using your regular model paints as a primer may be a large part of the reason you can't keep your paintjobs intact. An actual primer will give you a much more resilient base to work over, which will strengthen the overall finish, regardless of what you use as a varnish. There are brush/airbrush-ready options available, if you still want to avoid aerosol cans (which I find easy to work with - just takes a bit of care - but YMMV).

For spray one testors dullcoat is considered an excellent product.

There are TONS of threads about it and varnish, I simple search would yield a lot of good info.

One very important note: spray on a test model FIRST.

That way you know what to expect with your specific mini, varnish, humidity, temp etc.

I am of the same mind as you, except I would not even use GW varnish in an emergency. I would simply leave the model unsealed until I could procure a can of Testor's or AP.

I use AP Anti-Shine Matt Varnish but the only reason I don't use Testor's is because of cost. It is definitely worth it though and I believe the reason it costs even more for a can that's less than half the size is because it is lacquer based, meaning superior protection and requiring less coats. AP's varnish is acrylic, which might be preferable for some, but I think lacquer is supposed to be the superior option for sealing and protection.

 LeadLegion wrote:
I also agree about airbrushing on varnish. And I've heard a lot of good things about testors model masters varnish. I use Vellajo Model air satin varnish when I'm airbrushing. A few drops of satin varnish added to the normal paint in the airbrush reservoir is a really efficient way to protect your models. I'm not at all keen on pumping pure varnish through my expensive airbrushes though, which is why I stick to spray cans for varnishing miniatures that haven't been painted using an airbrush.

Thanks for the reviews of the cans, always good to get clear reviews from experienced users. Regarding airbrush varnishing, I bought a cheapy airbrush (~$30) to practice airbrushing with before buying a Badger Krome. I now use the cheapie to do my airbrush varnishing, saving the Krome for painting, which seems to work well. If protection of your airbrush isn't a concern due to this or something similar, would you prefer to airbrush varnish or spray can varnish? I haven't tried spray can varnishes due to price, but if they worked noticeably better I would consider it for good models, despite already having a good airbrush system setup with a varnish dedicated airbrush.

I have several vallejo varnishes for airbrushing. Along with the matte, satin and gloss Minitaire varnishes which supposedly all come out gloss to ultra gloss hehe, but haven't tried those ones myself.

Nice review

For anyone that is interested, the frosting/misting defect comes in 2 main varieties, In the spray industry they're known as the following;

'Solvent popping' - where the solvent cannot evaporate from the surface fast enough, you get little bubbles or pits left behind in the paint surface when they do eventually evaporate, or get trapped.

'Dry Spray' (very similar to overspray) - where the solvent evaporates too quickly, and is gone before it hits the surface, leaving dried particles of paint, its lumpy on a fine scale, rather than nice and smooth.

Mostly the way to avoid these defects is to have better control over the environment being sprayed in, and ensuring the paint is mixed correctly.

The heating the can up tip is a good solid tip.
I'd go one further and say run the can under the hot tap, shaking as you do untill it stays warm to the touch even after a little shake. Then spray the job before its cooled down#.
This makes the paint coming out a few degrees higher (remember that it is very cold as it de-pressurizes) it helps to avoid condensation of moisture in the air by reducing the difference in temperatures some.

 Yonan wrote:

 LeadLegion wrote:
I also agree about airbrushing on varnish. And I've heard a lot of good things about testors model masters varnish. I use Vellajo Model air satin varnish when I'm airbrushing. A few drops of satin varnish added to the normal paint in the airbrush reservoir is a really efficient way to protect your models. I'm not at all keen on pumping pure varnish through my expensive airbrushes though, which is why I stick to spray cans for varnishing miniatures that haven't been painted using an airbrush.

Thanks for the reviews of the cans, always good to get clear reviews from experienced users. Regarding airbrush varnishing, I bought a cheapy airbrush (~$30) to practice airbrushing with before buying a Badger Krome. I now use the cheapie to do my airbrush varnishing, saving the Krome for painting, which seems to work well. If protection of your airbrush isn't a concern due to this or something similar, would you prefer to airbrush varnish or spray can varnish? I haven't tried spray can varnishes due to price, but if they worked noticeably better I would consider it for good models, despite already having a good airbrush system setup with a varnish dedicated airbrush.

I have several vallejo varnishes for airbrushing. Along with the matte, satin and gloss Minitaire varnishes which supposedly all come out gloss to ultra gloss hehe, but haven't tried those ones myself.

I perfer airbrushing my varnish on, as it gives me more control on how it is applied - for example, if a model has some complex parts, or large areas hard to reach (a monstrous creature, or a necron barge for example) the airbrush allows me to get into those hard to reach areas easier - where as if I were trying to spray with a can, when hitting the difficult spots, I would get a lot of varnish on other areas I might not want to.

Also, I like the airbrush varnishes as the fumes are not as bad, and I can spray in my indoor airbrush station (I have a very cheap home made airbrush station with dirt cheap vent system).

Finally, I too use a larger size airbrush for varnish and primer (usually my patriot 105) and I use my krome for detail painting - similar to your methods.

best of luck, and have fun!