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Finnish weather being less than ideal for outside spraying with minus degrees and snow or water falling. So I'm stuck with varnishing. I have sorted basecoatting with airbrush. Would same work with varnish(army painter i have easy access) or would it be clogging it? (particularly worried permanent)

Anybody has tried this before?

I'm pretty sure that you would run into the same problems if you were to use an airbrush. You could just varnish with a brush, though getting an even coat of with a translucent substance can be tricky.

Look at the Vallejo Premium varnishes - product codes 62062 to 62064. They are water soluble and airbrushable. I use the satin - 62063 - myself.

you can use rattlecan varnish and primer outside to atleast -10*C if you heat it up a little before you spray. you just have to bring the model quickly inside to dry, and the rattlecan too.

Man up and spray indoors :'D

But seriously, varnishing with an airbrush is fine. IN FACT, I think it's more economic and safer to use since you can regulate the output and avoid over spray that you can get with cans.

I clean it by simply increasing pressure to 2+ BAR, backflushing and blowing out.

Oh, and try Vallejo.

 CragHack wrote:
Oh, and try Vallejo.

Sure. The moment you open store nearby that sells it! Or doesn't charge arm and teeth for sending single bottle to finland. Alas only store I can get single paint bottles for reasonable price(I do not consider 8e for single bottle reasonable) switched to army painter rather than vallejo.

Thanks for replies everybody!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Power Elephant wrote:
I'm pretty sure that you would run into the same problems if you were to use an airbrush. You could just varnish with a brush, though getting an even coat of with a translucent substance can be tricky.

What problems? Problem with airbrush is clogging up. Weather isn't issue with airbrush as finnish buildings are built with insulations so I'm quite warm and dry at my home Obviously I'm not airbrushing outside. I would freeze to death there!

Are you sure there aren't any Finnish distributors of Vallejo?

I get my Vallejo paints from a shop in Oslo, which imports them. I'd assume your situation in Finland to be about the same.

Army painter seems to carry an acrylic varnish: https://shop.thearmypainter.com/products.php?ProductGroupId=22#Anti-Shine%20Matt%20Varnish (there's also a gloss version).
Never used it, but I assume it can be airbrushed just fine with some thinning.
Cleaning varnish is no different than cleaning paint. I usually clean a little bit more just to be sure, since it's hard to see if there's any residue left (no color), and I'm afraid it might cure harder. But plenty of people have been airbrushing standard acrylic varnishes for years without issues.

I find it much easier to varnish with an airbush, compared to a rattle can, because controlling the flow is a breeze. Multiple thin layers is the way to go, and it dries pretty hard: airbrushed paint coats are usually much more delicate than brushed-on coasts (because the coats are much thinner), and can easily be damaged. But I never had issues with airbrushed varnish.

I use Testors dullcote (the one in the glass bottle) but it's a lacquer, so you need a lacquer thinner and don't spray it in doors unless you have good ventilation.

I've mostly given up on airbrushing varnishes though, too much hassle, I pretty much exclusively use rattle cans now (also use Testors variety gloss and matte rattle cans).

You can try and set up a decent spray booth to use spray cans inside. Set it up with a decent fan that'll exhaust the air out a window, don't use a pissy little fan (like something you'd use in a computer) use something with a bit of power that can exhaust most the air in the room in a few seconds and spray directly through the fan blades (avoid spraying directly in to the motor or you may start a fire). When you finish spraying cover the models or put them in a spare room so they don't out gas in to the rest of your house and stink it out.

It may sound horrible to exhaust all your nice warm air outside in the middle of winter, but remember air doesn't actually hold much energy, as long as you don't run it long enough to cool down the walls/furniture and only exhaust that room instead of the rest of the house it shouldn't take too long to warm it back up again.

That said the coldest place I've lived was Pennsylvania, where at worst it's probably only -10 C outside during the day.

 Zingraff wrote:
Are you sure there aren't any Finnish distributors of Vallejo?

I get my Vallejo paints from a shop in Oslo, which imports them. I'd assume your situation in Finland to be about the same.

Sure. It just adds ~6e postage to the 2-3e bottle itself costs. Rather pricey.

I use the Army Painter Matte Varnish in my airbrush and have not had any problem. I just make sure to strip and clean my airbrush immediately after I'm done applying the varnish.

I have an issue with varnish residue sometimes. What kind of stripper do you use and any other tips?

I airbrush varnish all my work. Winsor & Newton Galleria Satin, 30% airbrush thinner. Lovely.

I've used a few, up to and including the old octagon pot GW Gloss varnish, and what matters more than anything is the cleaner - and specifically how quiclky you do it.

Blast 3ml of acetone through your brush (IF THE SEALS CAN HANDLE IT) and you're golden