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So Liquitex sells matte varnish in a bottle. I'm wondering if I can use it in an airbrush and if so how to keep it from drying in the brush and clogging it up, as I don't currently have a sonic bath yet. Do I just brush it like any other paint and flush the brush as normal? Any special steps need to be taken?

Hey Aerethan,

Shouldn't be a problem, but check what base the liquitex uses and what you'll need to thin/remove it.

I've used Vallejo gloss and matte varnish in mine with no issues, but both of those are water soluble, so I just ran my cup under the tap and blasted the excess out at high pressure.

After I was finished I soaked the tips in windex and it softened the varnish up enough to get any dried bits out of the nozzle.

Hmm, perhaps I'll use Vallejo matte varnish then if the Liquitex isn't water soluble.

Windsor & Newton Galleria Acrylic Matt Varnish. Bloody lovely stuff, airbrushes nicely thinned about 3:2:1 varnish:water:flow improver.

I also use the new Vallejo Polyurethane Matte and Gloss Varnishes. They work excellent when applied with an airbrush.

Cheers,


IK-Painter

I use some liquitex brand things with my airbrush, they do an airbrush medium that will happily thin acrylic based things without ruining the paint film like over thinning with water would I use acetone to clean the nozzle but windex/water (or any window cleaner not containing vinegar) can be use to a similar effect- vinegar will corrode the chrome inside your airbrush so avoid that.
however they also do something called 'soluvar' varnishes, which I think are polyurethane and thinned with lacquer thinners (which is what you would need to clean the airbrush with afterwards rather than water/windex)
I find almost all paints/varnishes are sprayable aslong as you thin with the appropriate product.

Yeah my main concern is what to use to clean out the varnish. I ordered some Liquitex airbrush medium(it's like the only Liquitex medium that Michaels Crafts doesn't carry). Sadly I forgot to order any specific airbrush cleaner as I've been using windex. I think I'll order Vallejo's cleaner as the warstore carries it along with other paints I need.

I've used matte varnish, gloss varnish, satin varnish, and even GOLDEN oil-based sealers which I had to thin with white spirits in my airrbrush. I never had any issues.

I always take the thing apart, clean the tip with a tiny brush, and soak the needle and tip in simple green after I'm done with a day's airbrushing.

I use a the Liquitex matte varnish in my AB, TBH I'm not impressed with it as a varnish. You can clean it with 90% alchohol and thin it with water. If you havent tried it yet it cleans out very easily, but I discommend it as a product if you are looking for a flat finish.

Has anyone used polyurethane lacquer?Like what they would put onto cars only with a matting agent added. (the kind you need paint thinner for) I had wondered if it will melt the acrylics below or not?