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I've read that matte varnishes don't always look great over metals, but I don't want a glossy finish on my Grot Big Mek (who has alot of muted metallics as well as some shiny bits). What do you guys use for clear-coating with an airbrush? I have army-painter anti-shine matte finish, but am guessing that might not be what I want for this application.

A matte finish will kill the shine on metallics, but I don't like a gloss coat over them either, looks tacky and plastic to my eye.

My solution is to finish the metallics after the varnish, I'll normally base coat them beforehand, as the matting helps with the shading, then paint the brighter colours on as one of the last steps before completion. Sure, technically that leaves the paint unprotected, but it doesn't seem to have been an issue, even on metal models.

Satin varnish?

Vallejo produces a gloss varnish designed to go on their metallics. It's from the Metal Color range (77.657).
I haven't used it myself, but the rest of their Metal color range is really top notch, so it's probably worth a try.

Who's satin do you recommend, Crispy? I didn't see one on the Army Painter rack, but I'll check the Vallejo rack when I go to the other store.

Also -- with all these varnishes, do they clean up with water and the same airbrush cleaner I use after shooting acrylics or the vallejo primer?

I use Vallejo:
https://www.everythingairbrush.com/vallejo-premium-satin-varnish-60ml.html

Airbrushable and water soluble.

I find it only has a slight sheen to it, it's pretty near matt.

Key is to go over the metallic parts again with your metallic highlight color after you varnish. Just bringing back the luster on the raised areas is often enough to trick the eye into seeing it as proper metallic effect