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Hi all,

Having just completed a figure with vast areas of metallic paint I have found myself hesitating to apply varnish to those areas in fear of adversely affecting the finish.

I am fine applying varnish to skin and other areas, but metallics have me stumped… and therefore cautious.

What do the good people here say?

I'd recommend a satin varnish.

I was settling on a satin. Any recommendations?

Is this not going to interfere with the aluminium powder in the paint and effect the finish?

Just don’t varnish them. Unless you are having specific issues that means you need to apply a varnish, you should be fine without one. Metallics can be picky with varnishes, and if you need to use a varnish the best thing to do is trial and error; different metallics react differently. Definitely err on the satin-gloss side though.

shmvo wrote:
Just don’t varnish them. Unless you are having specific issues that means you need to apply a varnish, you should be fine without one. Metallics can be picky with varnishes, and if you need to use a varnish the best thing to do is trial and error; different metallics react differently. Definitely err on the satin-gloss side though.

Yeah, the model I have just finished is for display only and is never going to be used for any kind of war gaming so, in that case, perhaps I am better not varnishing at all. Maybe varnishing is better only for the war gaming characters as a protective barrier from constant use.

Satin it is, for wargaming characters only.