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Has anyone tried a brush on varnish on flock? What were the results like? Depending on how a test model comes out, I'll either varnish in Vallejo gloss and Army Painter anti-shine or a couple layers of Vallejo matte and see if it still needs the anti-shine –– should I apply both of these layers to the flock? I've seen folks recommend spray on varnish over flock but I can't find anything discussing whether brush on will look good. Will it make it stick to the base better and longer and blend in with the model more or will the act of brushing the flock loosen it? People paint flock right, so I should be good there? I'm going to avoid the actual grass obviously.

I'm not really interested in getting an airbrush or using spray cans so I don't need advice re: that (e.g. "just get an airbrush," etc.).

Dab thinned varnish on, or use a dropper to "paint" the flock. A touch of washing-up liquid helps it to flow.

An alternative is to dip the whole base in the liquid then wipe off the excess.

Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement or thinned-down PVA glue will also work. PVA can easily be thinned to 1 part in 10 (with a touch of flow agent) with water.

Once flock has been saturated like this, it will dry hard and can be varnished, painted etc. More safely. Spraying and soaking flock using thinned PVA or Scenic Cement is an old terrain-builder's trick to stop the flock shedding.

I would advise against brushing varnish on flock, static grass or other loose basing material.

If you are brush varnishing, I'd suggest double-pva on sand if you're using it (pva on the base, apply sand, let dry, apply thin PVA to seal on the sand). Then paint and varnish the model and basework before applying flock etc.