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I've never tried varnish before but I have been painting Blood Rage models, and I wanted to protect the paint-job. I really wanted a matt finish rather than satin or gloss (which I might be more interested in if I was painting minis with lots of metallic armour). My local store stocks Army Painter so I used AP Spray Antishine but I'm disappointed that it has produced a glossy, wet look:

I made sure to follow advice: shook the can for 90 seconds, warmed the can to room temperature, sprayed in short bursts from 30cm away and not too much, let it dry in warm conditions, etc. I have even applied another two coats (leaving at least 12 hours between coats) but no change.

I am not sure if this is a result of the brand I am using (whether I should try Testors for instance) or if I am doing something wrong. Or is this inevitable with any varnish?

I would prefer to use spray on varnish rather than brush-on if possible, especially since I have based the minis using grass which is hard to brush on. I don't own an airbrush.

Any tips appreciated.

firstly, you should save any basing material like flock, grass and also water effects etc. until you've finished the varnish layer. i'm not sure why you've got the shine. all i can think is you may've oversprayed or had the can too close. let it cure and try a light spray from further away. see if that helps.
ensure you spray inside(but a well ventilated area) shake the can well, and ensure the can is warmed up to room temperature. you can use warm water to do this.


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as an addition, everyone talks about dullcote, but i believe the lacquer solvent in it can eat through acrylic paint so i'm loathe to try it. I personally use humbrol rattle can matte, although the cans do have a habit of randomly refusing to spray after a few uses, which is infuriating.

My AP matt varnish did the exact same thing.
AP varnish is...well honestly it can be utter garbage 75% of the time.
I found I had to turn the can upside down and get rid of some of the propellant.
Also when shaking triple the amount of time suggested and spray indoors. AP is far too fragile.

I mostly stick to Humbrol and Testors. Never had issues.
But both are hard to find and expensive unfortunately.

Krylon matte is my go-to. Easy to find and cheap. Hasn't frosted on me yet. A bit between satin and matte, but I find that my blacks are blacker and colors more vibrant when I use krylon vs Testors or vallejo, but still knocks down the shine sufficiently.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
firstly, you should save any basing material like flock, grass and also water effects etc. until you've finished the varnish layer.

.

Why apply grass etc after varnish? I thought the varnish would be a good way to keep it firmly stuck to the base.

Unfortunately I don't have an airbrush (or the budget to get one) so I'll stick with sprays. I've contacted AP to see if they have any advice, and I'll maybe try a very light spray next time in case the problem is over-spray. Otherwise I guess I'll pick up some Testors (but I see some people have bad experience of that too).



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Quasistellar wrote:
Krylon matte is my go-to. Easy to find and cheap. Hasn't frosted on me yet. A bit between satin and matte, but I find that my blacks are blacker and colors more vibrant when I use krylon vs Testors or vallejo, but still knocks down the shine sufficiently.

Unfortunately Krylon is super-expensive in the UK

Griff Glowen wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
firstly, you should save any basing material like flock, grass and also water effects etc. until you've finished the varnish layer.

.

Why apply grass etc after varnish? I thought the varnish would be a good way to keep it firmly stuck to the base.

Because it affects the look of things like modelling grass. It leaves a frosting on it. It's your call but they're not designed to be varnished.