Pat Ripley  | 19 Nov 2008 7:59 p.m. PST |
Normally i varnish all my miniatures but i've got a couple of batches coming up to that stage which i've used as painting practice and will be selling off. Having just seen a new aquantainces miniatures which are all unvarnished i'm in a bit of a dilemna. Would you bother varnishing miniatures intended for buyers unknown? |
| Daffy Doug | 19 Nov 2008 8:04 p.m. PST |
No. I used to put the clear coat on, but decided it looked like crap. I would rather see a little metal show through on the high spots over the years, then ruin the contrasting hues and paint textures under any clear coat. |
| jpattern2 | 19 Nov 2008 9:01 p.m. PST |
I'd say no, but definitely let the buyers know when you sell the minis, so they can varnish them if they want. And if the buyers say they prefer a gloss or flat or gloss-then-flat finish, tell them you'll do it, for a little extra.
Personally, I use airbrushed Future for protection, followed by sprayed-on Dullcote for a dead-flat finish, then I pick out eyes and other glossy bits Future applied by brush. |
| Pictors Studio | 19 Nov 2008 9:30 p.m. PST |
Yes put varnish on them. Put a coat of dull cote on after that. Selling people figures that are just going to be all chipped up is no good. Now if they are plastics you could get away with it. But not metals. Use Krylon's satin coat and then testors dull coat or just two coats of Krylon's dull coat. |
| Cardinal Hawkwood | 19 Nov 2008 9:31 p.m. PST |
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| Pat Ripley | 20 Nov 2008 2:23 a.m. PST |
as it happens they are plastic, i probably wouldn't have asked the question if they were metals |
| Troop of Shewe | 20 Nov 2008 2:24 a.m. PST |
I'd always double varnish, bur if you dont i feel you need to make it clear. Jpattern2, slightly OT but i havent the Balls to use Future/Klear through my Iwata, what do you use to clean afterwards ispropanol-alchol (sp?) |
| Pat Ripley | 20 Nov 2008 4:09 a.m. PST |
and some of the lads in question link |
| OrcTrader | 20 Nov 2008 5:13 a.m. PST |
Unvarnished painted figures. Ridiculous! ;) I varnish all of my figures as soon as they are painted. link |
| nycjadie | 20 Nov 2008 7:25 a.m. PST |
I like unvarnished. It tends to retain the color and detail that varnish hides. But, I'm not your target audience. |
| WarWizard | 20 Nov 2008 8:37 a.m. PST |
Yes, I always varnish, for myself and for ones I have sold. |
| jpattern2 | 20 Nov 2008 11:42 a.m. PST |
Troop of Shewe, I spray Future through my Paasche. As soon as I'm done, I open the nozzle all the way, dunk the whole airbrush in a big bucket of clean water, and spray for 5 or 10 seconds to really flush out all of the Future. Then, with the nozzle still wide open, I spray some clear unscented rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol), just to be sure. I buy it by the gallon, and it lasts forever.
I've also sprayed clear Windex instead of alcohol, but I don't really notice any difference between the alcohol and Windex, and the alcohol is cheaper.
Every 10 or 15 sessions I disassemble the airbrush and clean all the metal parts well with acetone, pipe cleaners, toothpicks, etc. |
| jpattern2 | 20 Nov 2008 11:45 a.m. PST |
Following up a little, I haven't found Future to be any worse or more finicky than any other acrylic paint or finish. I wouldn't let it dry in the airbrush, but I wouldn't let any other paint dry, either. And the eventual build-up inside the airbrush is no harder to clean than other acrylic paint build-up, or even enamel build-up. That's why I use acetone, it takes care of acrylics enamels, future, lacquers – just don't use it on any plastic or rubber parts. |
