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I’m finally giving up on using an airbrush to apply gloss varnish. I only do it when I am oil washing minis. However, no matter how well I flush through it seems to clog the airbrush. It takes a lot of cleaning up afterwards. I like the precision I get with the airbrush as I want to 100% cover before oil washing but don’t want to fill in detail.

Can people recommend a good spray can gloss varnish for minis? I could use GW stuff but there must be a cheaper and equally good product. Is something like Army Painter a good bet or should I go with craft sprays?

Any automotive/household clear will do. Krylon, Rustoleum, Plastikote and any other brand maybe exclusive to the UK. For the most part a clear is a clear is a clear. "Hobby" clear coats such as Testor's or Tamiya is the same stuff as Krylon or Plastikote, just rebranded for use for mini's and then inflated price-wise 200 to 300% to sucker people into spending more money.

Also, try floor wax. Here is a link http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html to a website that details what the exact brand is and how it's used to clear coat models.

It can be thinned if need be or used straight out and clean up is easy and I've never had issues with it clogging (just make sure to run straight water or alcohol through AB if you plan to spend a long time clear coating minis.

Are you thinning your varnish with water? I thin it like 60% water 40% varnish honestly, so it goes on super thin. Give it like 3-4 coats of super thin varnish, and it works pretty well. Never clogs.

WobblyGoblin wrote:
I’m finally giving up on using an airbrush to apply gloss varnish. I only do it when I am oil washing minis. However, no matter how well I flush through it seems to clog the airbrush. It takes a lot of cleaning up afterwards. I like the precision I get with the airbrush as I want to 100% cover before oil washing but don’t want to fill in detail.

Can people recommend a good spray can gloss varnish for minis? I could use GW stuff but there must be a cheaper and equally good product. Is something like Army Painter a good bet or should I go with craft sprays?

Dude, i went to common shop for paint/craft supplies etc, and the varnish i got looks great and its a big bottle, i really think these other things are a rip off and don't work any better. But i do have paint strokes i can see after i have layed the varnish down on flat surfaces, i only notice this when i have the light reflecting off it at a certain angel if you know what i mean. ( maybe i its because i didn't thin it down )