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What's a good High Gloss varnish that won't clog my airbrush like "Ardcoat?. It would have to be something I could mix into standard water-based acrylic paints like Citadel/ Vallejo without reacting or getting cloggy.

Future floor wax. Thin as heck, glossy as all get out and tough once dry. Clean your airbrush like normal afterwards. Do NOT forget to clean. One dry it'll never come out but cleans easy when still wet.

I have W&N Galleria matte varnish that brush on paints beautifully. Have not tried it on my airbrush, but people say that it won't clog if you pop a drop of Vallejo Flow Improver or Airbrush Cleaner.

I imagine you can stop ardcoat clogging if you thin it with an appropriate acrylic thinner.

For an airbrush gloss I use Tamiya X22 thinned with Gunze self levelling thinner. Gives a nice finish and a tough layer for doing weathering/decals/oils.

I've heard Future is good but you can't get it out here and the alternatives people recommend I didn't really like. Humbrol also do a Clear that works pretty well and sprays without needing to thin it, but I prefer the Tamiya stuff even though I have to thin it myself, seems to dry harder in less time.

Never mixed gloss with paints, but I use Humbrol's.

I use liquitex gloss for most of my miniatures. Never had a clog with it but I don't tend to mix it with paints and they advise not to thin it.

I use Alclad Gloss Klear Kote and sometimes Future (though I like to mix a little Tamiya X-21 Flat Base in the Future to make it satin). I've also used Vallejo Gloss Varnish and Liquitex Gloss Varnish with no problems.

I missed the part where the OP wanted to mix it with paint. My question then is, why?

If you're trying to create "clears" you should thin the varnish right back so it goes through the airbrush like nothing and mix in only the tiniest amount of paint.

If you're trying to turn matte paints glossy, I'd say don't bother. If you want a glossy finish, spray it how it comes out of the pot (maybe with some drying retarder and flow improver to help smooth it out and make it less rough) and then come back and apply a gloss coat at the end.

If you want to persist then Humbrol Clear might work because it's very thin, has a slightly slower drying time and thus not as prone to clogging as some other varnishes.

https://www.humbrol.com/uk-en/humbrol-gloss-clear-125ml-bottle.html

Vallejo gloss varnish.

I also use Vallejo Gloss Varnish

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
I missed the part where the OP wanted to mix it with paint. My question then is, why?

If you're trying to create "clears" you should thin the varnish right back so it goes through the airbrush like nothing and mix in only the tiniest amount of paint.

If you're trying to turn matte paints glossy, I'd say don't bother. If you want a glossy finish, spray it how it comes out of the pot (maybe with some drying retarder and flow improver to help smooth it out and make it less rough) and then come back and apply a gloss coat at the end.

If you want to persist then Humbrol Clear might work because it's very thin, has a slightly slower drying time and thus not as prone to clogging as some other varnishes.

https://www.humbrol.com/uk-en/humbrol-gloss-clear-125ml-bottle.html

I'm mixing a tiny amount of it in to offset the matte-ing efect you get from using the airbrush as opposed to brushing on. I'm not looking for a glossy final result, just want it to have the same little bit of sheen that brushing on gives it. Might try the Humbrol. Is it straight up water based acrylic that plays well with Citadel Vallejo etc?

Liquitex gloss varnish is what i use

though iv been enjoying alclad ii laquer varnish when i really want to hate my self when i eventually restrip and repaint models.