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Some questions regarding varnishes.

Is gloss varnish a better protector than matte and satin? I've read various opinions on this and I can't find any clear answer. Some people make the claim that it is true and as a final step in their painting they varnish in gloss for maximum protection then finish in matte or satin to achieve the desired look.

Do you prefer to apply edge highlights and or metallic paints after the final coat of varnish? The reason for this is to keep the highlight colors from being altered by the varnish. For the metallic it would be for keeping the shine.

Do you apply a gloss varnish prior to applying washes? I've tried this and it does help the wash find recesses and not pool on flat surfaces. I'd like to hear from others who have tried it.

If all the above are true then that's a lot of varnish. A coat of gloss before washes, a coat of gloss to seal everything, a coat of matte/satin for asthetics, and a brush on gloss to metallic.

Some varnish as you say, with gloss then matte, some don't. Commonly called "bullet coating". I have had better painters than I say, "If you let your primer cure for 24 hours you don't need varnish". But I finish with a single matte varnish step. Partly to seal base flocking, as this is done after paint.

When I varnish I use Liquitex varnishes, gloss and matte, through my airbrush. I don't think they alter the look much at all if I keep the coats thin. If you want a shine, think wet look, apply gloss over the final matte selectively with a brush on only the areas you want to look that way.

Depending on how I want my wash to work I have been known to varnish first. Lately I've opted for just thinning my wash. This seems to have close to the same effect as varnish first and cuts out a step.

It is a lot of varnish. But, since I use an airbrush I don't have issues. When I used spray cans I did have detail clogging issues.

TL : DR, I like to varnish from my airbrush, YMMV.

 Caveman wrote:
Some questions regarding varnishes.

Is gloss varnish a better protector than matte and satin? I've read various opinions on this and I can't find any clear answer. Some people make the claim that it is true and as a final step in their painting they varnish in gloss for maximum protection then finish in matte or satin to achieve the desired look.

Do you prefer to apply edge highlights and or metallic paints after the final coat of varnish? The reason for this is to keep the highlight colors from being altered by the varnish. For the metallic it would be for keeping the shine.

Do you apply a gloss varnish prior to applying washes? I've tried this and it does help the wash find recesses and not pool on flat surfaces. I'd like to hear from others who have tried it.

If all the above are true then that's a lot of varnish. A coat of gloss before washes, a coat of gloss to seal everything, a coat of matte/satin for asthetics, and a brush on gloss to metallic.

1. No, gloss isn't better than matte or satin in terms of protection. Maybe it was true back in the day, particularly when you are talking about lacquer based varnish, but for current day acrylics there are no difference outside of the finish.

2. I personally don't. If I were to do that, I would only apply re-apply metallics after varnishing, regular non-metallic colours shouldn't be hugely altered (in terms of tone/hue) by your varnish step.

3. Oil washes, yes; acrylic washes, no. You are better off just using water or matte medium to thin your washes if you want then to run a bit more.

You can really get away with one varnish step at the end for protection, everything else is kind of needless unless you are doing something specific (oil washes/alcohol based paint/weathering pigments).

I do a lot of varnishing before washes. I love using oil and enamel based washes and the varnish both helps it flow nicely into the recesses and cleans up super easy with cotton swabs and thinner after it is a bit dry. It's also easy to feather a wash out of the recesses when it's partially dry over gloss varnish to get more a transition in the shade.

These guys pretty much covered what I would say, but I'll add, even with just straight acrylics (varnish and paints and washes) ...if it's a lighter color and I don't want to disrupt my nice (airbrush) blending for example... say on Yellow or White, then I'll still gloss it up real shiny, apply washes yes even GW standard washes, then matte varnish.