Vallejo Model Color 500 ml Matt Acrylic Varnish

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Like I said, if it works for them, more power to them, but I wouldn't touch that technique with a barge pole. I'm new to airbrushing, and new to varnishing. I did models as a kid, just painting from the pot. That was about 30 years ago. Well some say it's a good idea to spray a gloss coat on after your base coat, to protect from scrapes. It's supposed to be easier to rub off a mistake without damaging the base coat, and it makes oil washes flow really smooth in all the crevices. Then after you're all done finish up with a Satin or Matte coat. I'd tried the Gloss to Satin technique as I described, but my minis are extremely glossy still.

So anyway. It makes sense if you're doing decals to first do a gloss PU coat; there's little to no difference between vallejo PU gloss brands, so go for whichever polyurethane gloss is cheapest (probably the standard PU one). This strikes a decent balance between strength and convenience - it can even be thinned with airbrush thinner if necessary, but too much will weaken it. This gives a nice smooth layer for the decals on curved surfaces, and protects the paintwork when you're poking it into position. (I strongly recommend using the microsol/microset combo to make your life easier for positioning). This is also a good time to do any oil-based washes/streaking effects. New formula acrylic colors with a satin finish, extra resistant and impact proof especially designed for airbrushing surfaces exposed to aggressive manipulation. The advanced formulation contains a revolutionary component which guarantees exceptional adherence on even the most difficult surfaces, and offers great resistance to rough handling, impact, friction, scratches, etc. Once dry, the Mecha surface looks the same as the original plastic of the model, while yet the smallest details of the original remain clearly visible. The color range includes primers as well as special varnishes – also with an exclusive formulation- and a series of colors for aging and weathering effects. It is recommended to apply the Mecha colors in several layers on the previously primed surface; a few hours after application the colors will have dried to form a homogenous coating of extraordinary strength and resistance. Mecha Color can be airbrushed directly or diluted with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner or Flow Improver, and the colors can also be applied by brush. The compressor adjustment recommended is 15 – 20 PSI o 0.5 to 1 kg. For best airbrush maintenance we recommend using the Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner. The thing that stopped me from buying any more rattlecans was my airbrushing kit. The precision of a fine nozzled airbrush is spectacular compared to any rattlecans. And I use a lot less product. Yes the initial investement may look offputting. But for me the cost equated to something like ten cans of GW products. And I now have the flexibility of being able to spray any colour I want. No more toxic smelling primers, paints and varnishes drying on my work bench.And the nozzle is an unknown factor as well. The spray pattern might not even be suitable. At least not if its anything similar to the ones normally fitted to hat type of bottles.. So at this point I’m open to suggestions, is it me that I’m using this stuff incorrectly? This doesn’t really happen with my Vallejo resin varnish when going through the airbrush, they seem to go much smoother without much thinning. The other very popular option is rattle can based, Testors Dullcote. Goes on extremely matte, and dries very tough, being a lacquer. Also stinks like the devil! Hey Psy, I wrote anther edit as you must have been typing. I've never heard anyone recommending that you paint your mini gloss before completion. Fair enough if it works for them, but I'm frankly HORRIFIED at the concept. Gloss paint is super smooth, it doesn't take drybrushing AT ALL, it screws with your opacities, and if you paint with thinned paint it encourages your layers to slide into the crevices as you describe (I use a consistency approaching milk to achieve a smooth finish when painting with a brush). Well acrylic varnish isn't useless; i have a whole ton of models from the 90's only covered in a double coat of acrylic varnish and they're fine. (the ones that weren't varnished, less so!). But then, they live in cases..It's just these days, it's one big advantage - being water based - has been superceded by PU water based varnishes that are basically better for virtually the same price. Yellowing is mainly an issue if you like to leave your minis in daylight for long periods (as in months or years), as it's UV light expsure that can do.it. I gifted some diorama pieces to my parents, oh, 20 years ago, and you can definitely see a bit of yellowing now because they've been on display.

By the way, my airbrush is an Iwata eclipse hp-cs with a 0.35 needle. And i tear it down after using varnishes to clean the gunk, so previous residue doesn’t seem to be the issue. So that leaves vallejo PU varnishes. They do a standard polyurethane, which is fine, or their 'premium' line. Lately, they've also introduced the mecha varnish. I'm 99% convinced the latter two are the same stuff, or at least very, very similar. The main difference is the paint line they're attached to - premium is marketed at airbrushed RC cars, mecha line at airbrushed gundam etc. Mecha varnish is available in a 17ml size, while the smallest premium bottle is 60ml IIRC. equal parts varnish and thinner, 30psi: less clogging, still happening though, and unsure about how much the varnish is really protecting by thinning it down a 50% I would also say that if in doubt test it out before covering you model with anything be it paint or varnish.FWIW, I wouldn't put lacquer varnish through an airbrush. You can, but you definitely need good ventilation and an organic filter face mask, and you're not going to be popular with anyone else sharing the same space! So acrylic is definitely better under that circumstance! It's just modern water-based PU does it better yet...

I would be extremely careful using that spray bottle. It could come out clumpy or spotty. In fact I wouldnt try it at all, but that's me. Hey! I’ve been using this varnish (particularly, the Matt one) for a bit, and always had problems with it. It seems to like clogging my AB needle tip every time, after a few passes of varnish, no matter how much I thin it down. I tried different thinning ratios with the same results:

Colors for hobby and fine arts

Now I have used the products mentioned above with my airbrush and they achieve very good results. My current varnish to thinner ratio is 5:1. I’m working at ~22 PSI and coating the figure so that the varnish goes on wet, so a little closer than the distance I would normally spray at. If you are spending many hours painting miniatures then protecting your paint work is part of the painting process. Plastic miniatures hold up well to repeat handling but metal and resin miniatures can often scratch or chip. To counter this unwanted damage many of us coat our figures in a protective layer of varnish. Edit edit - Another interpretation of what you mean is to paint over the gloss varnish by hand to add more detailing. Yes and no, see the comment above about the spray not getting into all the crvices. You can mitigate that somewhat by very careful spraying, but ultimately you're spraying a clear liquid and estimating ceverage is hard. Are you doing it for an effect, like a headlight? Then paint that iny area once you're done with spraying on the matte. I usually do 2 coats of varnish to seal the paintjob, and noticed that I can’t really get this stuff to come out of my AB properly with lower psi settings (15-20psi), it just won’t. Also, when it clogs, it seems to dry at the needles tip and suddenly spews varnish chunks when trying to clean it.

There are exceptions to the rule but this is the rule I follow and have, as I said never had a problem. Now most of us want our models to look the best we can make them. A gloss coated miniature looks out of place on the table and pales next to one with a more matt finish. So if you want to protect your miniatures and have them matt you need to use both products. If you want proper misting of the paint or varnish you need a higher pressure than a pump bottle of that size can deliver. I have previously used Vallejo 70.510 Gloss Varnish but feel this is an inferior product on all accounts when compared to Galeria. For decals, you want to gloss varnish first - either the whole model (if you're spraying), or just the area you want to put the decals (if using a brush).There are several guides on the internet about what to use and how to do it already. Problem is that they all reference a product that is no longer available and were written a million years ago by old school modellers.