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Hey,

This is the first time I varnished anything. I must be doing something wrong.

I varnished using GW 'Ardcoat first, let it dry overnight, and tried applying Vallejo Matt Varnish many times after that. I applied it with a brush, thin and thick layers, at least 5-6 layers total over the last few days. I shaked the dropper bottle well, and I could see bubbles caused by shaking on the bottom of the bottle when I flipped it upside down, so there's no residue. The result is still glossy, as far as I can tell as glossy as before.

Am I doing something wrong? Help this noob

Thanks

Yeah, I haven't used it myself, but I've seen a few comments online about Vallejo's matt varnish coming out shiny...

General consensus seems to be that it needs to be shaken like you've never shaken anything before... and then shake it a little more for good measure.

thats odd........i had no issue using it. one layer over my decals would normally take the shine off. The problem i sometimes face is its too matte.

I shook the little bottle unit my arm hurt, and then shook a lot more. In the end, the varnish was a bit foamy, but very usable. I also applied it in thicker layers.

And it worked! Thanks for the advice.

Just a lil tip... if you buy the medium size one (the one with a fliptop cap, instead of the dropper), you can unscrew the cap and put one of those paint mixer do-hickeys in to agitate it much more efficiently and evenly.

Makes sense. I have a dropper but I'll get the fliptop when it runs out.

Perhaps you should look at artist's varnishes. The problem with (I find) acrylic varnish is that regardless of what it is(matt or gloss) it leaves a kind of slightly unclear skin. The matt I've tried is probably closer
to satin in real terms,which is great if you a building plane kits but not so great on minis.
Artist's varnishes(soluble ones) are a lot better. Regardless of how glossy the gloss is,the matt will turn it matt.Really matt. It will leave you scratching your head wondering if you glossed it in the first place!
Give them a try.

For matte, use testors dullcote.

I've never had a problem with my Vallejo matte varnish coming out gloss, though I've only ever airbrushed it. A couple of times it has come out slightly more satin than I'd like, but nothing I'd ever describe as gloss and I usually attribute that to spraying pressure/viscosity/distance/temperature rather than something wrong with the paint.