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I need to put some varnish on my terrain and was wondering whether this was best done before or after putting down flock/grass?

varnish first so you don't varnish loose grass to your paint job! Its a nightmare!

I varnish after. I.e. it is the very last thing I do before playing. I do see the other poster's point about grass on minis, but if you've taken care to remove all the flock I don't find it a problem.

Best done before, IMO. I prefer to be able to hose terrain down with varnish as much as I like without risk of drowning flock and static grass. With any care during application, it will hold securely, anyway.

Use tufts instead and avoid the issue of loose static grass

But for me, after.

I would varnish before and after flock and static grass I would get some scenic cement to lock it in place. It is pretty much just watered down pva glue.

For me - varnish before.

On granander's 'scenic cement' point - I've started sealing in basing grit and flock with a DIY mix and love how fast and easy it is, as well as how effective. A little pump spray bottle (a buck and change at the craft store) filled with a 50:50 mix of matte medium (lighter body than PVA) and water, plus a few healthy drops of flow improver, makes short work of terrain and model bases. Dries clear and matte, soaks right into any texture, and is pretty much foolproof - you can soak an area until its dotted with white pools and it'll still dry looking great, with no need for an additional varnish layer.

Ok... I need a break from Dakka... too many people have agreed with me the last day or so...