Varnishing Box

GTO

I have a solution to prevent dust from getting on a freshly varnished painting.
I was considering using spray varnish but I ended up going with a known tried and true Gamar gloss.  I did change up and used a nice 1 1/2” Master trim brush of fine synthetic material.  It doesn’t lose any brush hairs and doesn’t leave any brush marks.
But the game changer is this cardboard box that lets me close the top and prevent dust from getting in the painting.

Richard_P

Are you sure that's not a pizza box?

I made something similar to store wet paintings in between sessions to stop dust landing on the paint and to slow down the drying (oxidization) process.

GTO

That would be a very big pizza.  The painting is 24”x24” 60cm x 60cm.  That’s a good idea @Richard_P I don’t think about using it between painting sessions.

toujours

Yes, boxes are good.  I have used cardboard and plastic bins.   I often turn the paintings face down,  precariously balanced, sometimes where the gentle sun is on the back of the painting.  if large, you can screw flat battons to the back, sticking out, to do this.  Duck/duct tape works on smaller paintings
I tend to use spray varnish and just do thin layers so they dry very quickly.   Sometimes I figure dust is part of the whole process, just as it is part of life,  bit like horse hair, my hair, insects which i am forever removing as i paint.  Then again my paintings are not world beaters and will not hang in museums 100years from now as some of the ones on here may one day do.

GTO

@toujours yes, dust is part of the process. I haven’t isolated the paintings between painting sessions.  And over four to six weeks it is inevitable that dust “appears”. 

I am going to see if I can isolate the paintings during the process and see how that goes.

MichaelD

I usually slide my varnished work into a large cereal box then tape the flaps shut.

The pizza box is a great idea @GTO