Varnish

Anna

Hello! 
Some of my oil paintings are getting close to 6 months old, and I thought, I'll have a go at vanishing one of them. I've never vanished before, either oil or acrylic.

I've got some varnish for acrylic, and I figure I can't use this on oil... But what do you use on oil paintings? Google seemed to focus on vanishing acrylic paintings... 

What varnish do I need for oil paintings? I made my own medium for the DMP method, so I have all of those ingredients, in case it's one of them?

Thanks in advance!
Anna

Richard_P

I think the major paint brands like Winsor & Newton make various varnishes for oil paints. Either glossy, matt, removable, spray or brush on.

I would suggest a removable varnish in case it goes wrong!

dencal

Anna

A varnish of any merit should be applicable to oil or acrylic.
None of your SDM ingredients are usable as a varnish.

Here is a useful link.

http://www.winsornewton.com/na/discover/tips-and-techniques/other-tips-and-techniques/all-you-need-to-know-about-varnishing-paintings-us

Denis

Kaustav

Kaustav

Kaustav

This is for conservation knowledge

Anna

Ok so you can use a varnish that says for  'acrylic' paint, for oil paint? This is the one I have...

Forgiveness

"GOLDEN" brand varnish for both acrylic and for oil painting.

NanaBean

Anna said:

Ok so you can use a varnish that says for  'acrylic' paint, for oil paint? This is the one I have...

I would not, as It's an acrylic emulsion and you will likely have adhesion issues later. I'm a beginner and have only used spray retouch varnish so far but I see Gamvar recommended here pretty often.

Kaustav

@Anna acrylic varnishes are not for oil paintings. Oil painting varnishes are mostly natural substances which can be desolved in turpentine for cleaning purposes maybe say 50 years later. 

MTO

As a general rule, you cannot put acrylic/water based paints on top of oil.  But you can put oil on top of water based paint, ie. gesso.  So you must use varnish specifically designed for oil paint.

I have a related question:
What type of brushes do you guys use for varnish?  And what is your method of washing the varnish brush?  It's been difficult for me in the past, and I'm debating on buying a cheap brush for varnish then tossing it.

Kaustav

@MTO Any general purpose harware store brush would do. The videos above are self explanatory. Brushes are generally washed in turps and after that can be washed in soap and water if required.  

Forgiveness

"GOLDEN" brand can be used for oil painting, removable with turpentine, this one is not water based, must dry for entire year for full benefits and best results.

Anna

Thanks everyone. I went with AS glossy varnish, the girl said it's for oils. On the bottle it says it can be used for acrylic as well. Any experience with this one?

dencal

Folks

Cheap brushes leave bristles on the surface. Varnish can be applied with a foam applicator or sponge.
Best approach is a pressure pack of gloss varnish, or use a PREVAL sprayer, or a fine spray gun.

Denis