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Hey there,

So I'm pretty damn new to painting and initially just wanted a decent tabletop standard, so naturally went the dip method, followed by a coat of Testors Dullcoat. However I'm now starting to get a little better at painting, and I've just done a model and finished it off with a agrax earthshade wash. Now, at the moment its a little bit shiny on one or two parts because of the wash, but nothing too major. I do want to give it a little extra protection though and dull the shine from the wash.

My question is, would you recommend using a gloss varnish and then using Testors Dullcoat to dull the gloss, or can Testors work okay without the need to gloss varnish it beforehand? And does Testors alone provide protection to the model?

Thanks,
David

Edit: Also, bonus question - If you recommend a gloss varnish prior to Dullcoat, which would you recommend?

You've gotta be careful with dullcoat. It does indeed protect the mini. However it also washes out some of the great detail effects you get with washes, really messes with the lustre of your metallics, and just generally makes your colours look a little more...well...dull.

It comes highly recommended for use on metal miniatures, given that they're more prone to chipping. However for plastics I do not find that they are truly necessary, provided that you've started off from a good undercoat.

PirateRobotNinjaofDeath wrote:
You've gotta be careful with dullcoat. It does indeed protect the mini. However it also washes out some of the great detail effects you get with washes, really messes with the lustre of your metallics, and just generally makes your colours look a little more...well...dull.

It comes highly recommended for use on metal miniatures, given that they're more prone to chipping. However for plastics I do not find that they are truly necessary, provided that you've started off from a good undercoat.

Thanks for this - Would you say that a gloss varnish on the miniature prior to the Dullcoat helps at all? Like I said, I've used dipping (which has a built in gloss varnish) and then used dullcoat after with pretty good results - I'm just not sure about dullcoat if I'm not dipping

On metals, I use a coat of Future before the Dullcote. On Plastics and resin, the Dullcote by itself works just fine.

Best way to test if you like that finish is to do a bit of sprue or spare scenery with your paints and then use the Dullcote.
When people talk about gloss then matt, they are usually thinking of protecting from chips, more than the finish itself.
The difference is not noticeable after the Dullcote.

It's a very personal taste, mini finishing, so not really something we can answer for you other than the physical practicality.
In our household alone, I quite like satin, but my partner dislikes it greatly and wants the matt-est of matt.

Yeah, I just want some decent protection, and I've used Dullcoat after a Quickshade dip, and just worried about the insane amount of conflicting information on what varnishes work and don't

I can understand that. In this topic, or in general?

Spray varnishes can get a lot of different responses form folk because they can react badly to humidity and cause "frosting".
They can also dry shiny if you do not shake them enough, which is another buggerance.
There's a dislike of some brands online, that's for sure.

If you're looking for protection, then gloss underneath will help. Dullcote is not a very thick layer, and can wear off from handling and very heavy use. Nowt is going to shift gloss underneath.

Why don't you paint on your dip rather than dip?

A dip like Army Painter Quickshade can be thinned with mineral spirits and applied with a brush. You can then take a Q-tip with the some mineral spirits to roll or dab off areas where you want to recover your highlights.

All of the stuff in my gallery was done this way. It provides good shading and some protection. Finish off with some dulcote or even satin varnish.

Generally speaking, I would use a satin (or semi-gloss) varnish to give a good balance. Gloss varnishes are just way too glassy looking, and matte varnishes flatten a model out in the sense that they remove depth.

On occasion, if you're varnishing something like a stone building, matte (dullcote) might be more appropriate. Or, if it's highly weathered. Likewise, there are use cases for gloss -- if you want a super shiny or glassy look, like an alien power source, or a jeweled object this is the way to go.

Vallejo Polyurethane Satin is very nice

Dullcote used to be my go-to matte sealer. These days it seems to be highly variable. I don't tend to find it too flat, but it frequently isn't flat enough.

These days I'm more likely to use Vallejo matte varnish out of an airbrush liberally thinned with Liquitex Airbrush Medium.

My general guidelines:

I tended to use nothing but testors dull cote for years, I was generally painting grimier weathered stuff for playing with, so wasn't too fussed about the dulling down effect - in fact I liked it.

I've never had too much of a problem with models with only dull cote rubbing off with handling. (phrasing...)

If however, it's a metal mini, i'd either gloss coat the whole thing, or at least any sticky out bits, prior to dull coating it.

Now adays with an air brush, I find by far the most cost effective thing is to buy bottles of lacquer varnishes fromt he hobby store and spray those on - also gives me better control for getting it into the crevices to stop them shining.

Also helps avoid the frosting issues I, and others, have had.

Short version though, i still use testors dullcote, i like how it looks, i find it effective in preventing chipping and wear on everything EXCEPT metal models.

I prefer to gloss then dull coat for added protection. but most of my models are metal.

I own Testors Dull coat. It worked wonderfully on a test model. I mixed about a 4:1 of Tallarn Sand and Abbadon Black, and put dull coat over it, giving a great look to military models, kinda like those old WW2 jerry-rig cans, or those green jeeps.

Dullcote works fine on its own, assuming you like the look. Many use it over gloss because they want the finish it provides... but think that gloss protects better. I think that, at least for our purposes, that's bunk.

Gloss should protect better, as there are no weaker 'voids' or peaks created by the mixture of varnish and matting agent. Against normal gaming abrasion (this doesn't include drops that cause chipping, mind you - that's a separate issue), though, you'd need sandpaper hands for play and a coarse burlap sack for storage/transport to overcome good lacquer, which Dullcote is. Additional layers increase protection more than alternating between types of varnish.

I use gloss before matte, mind you, but for an entirely different reason. I've found gloss varnishes to be rather forgiving, whereas mattes are somewhat more finicky. I'll only use Dullcote for the last layer (if I'm using aerosols - plenty of positive experience, there, but I've moved largely to airbrushed finishes), but any old gloss will work for the first few layers of protection, while costing significantly less.

If it worked for you before, it'll work for you again. If you dipped in a polyurethane stain/varnish (Quickshade, Minwax Polyshades, etc.), you've already got the equivalent of a few good coats of gloss varnish. Hit 'em with Dullcote and you're set.