"Why varnish and finish and touchup" Topic

I have been experimenting with new primers and new varnishes and new finishs…and I am wondering why?

So I prime with my gesso, I paint just as I have always painted, then I varnish and then I flatten the gloss out with a matt finish and finally I have to retouch up everything shiny such as helmets, bayonets, swords, shiny straps, etc… Then it is finished.

Why all of this extra varnish, finish and touchup work when my miniatures look great when I finished painting them? I had a bunch of miniatures from the 80's in storage which went through multiple moves and still look pretty good today with only a few nicks here and there. They weren't varnished or finished or touched up. Althogh I didn't use acrylics on those old miniatures. I think I used the testers and humbrol paints. Those paints may be stronger than acrylics.

Is it really worth all the extra work when a good strong primer and a paint job will only require a touchup once in a blue moon?

Or is all the extra work necessary for acrylics or will acrylics last many years with a good primer without all the extra work?

What is all the real benefit of varnish, finish and final touchup?

I have not gone through the finishing process. Try it and let us know. (Hopefully, someone will have a better answer than that.)

Jeez, don't do it if you don't want to.

Personally, I swear by it. I've been using some type of sealer for 25 years. Yes, my prep and priming and sealing and storage/transport has gotten better over the years, and yes, that is the best explanation for 25 or 30-year-old figures being chipped.

But I still think sealing is worth it.

Also, nowadays, I have kids. My friends have kids. I look forward to the day they join us in gaming … even if it means my figures take some extra abuse.

enamels (such as humbrol) do not require the varnish.
acrylics will rub off quite easily if not coated.
ymmv,
R.

No matter how well you prime all paints including enamel will rub off the extremities. With the sharper castings and raised details of todays figures this is even more pronounced. From experience I'd rather suffer the boredom that is varnishing than the tedium that is doing the same work over and touching up but as above you take your choice…

Vallejo acrylics are very, very prone to damage until varnished. Humbrol acrylics are somewhat better in this respect.

You could make the same arguments about finishing furniture. Why not just stain it and leave it at that. The piece will probably last as long as you own it. After that who cares?

Some folks think the job isn't done until the finish coats are applied and the thing looks as good as it can.

But hey, you could save a lot of time if you didn't do the prep work, filing and application of primer too.

Just wouldn't look as good -- will IMO

mjc

What kind/brand of varnish do you guys use on your figures?
I just finished a bunch of 54mm soft plastic Mexicans for a Magnificent Seven game and want to overcoat them.

Someone suggested overcoating with watered down white glue and then spraying with a matt spray.

Jeez, don't do it if you don't want to.

That's about the size of it, really.

I give my painted figures a couple of sprays with a gloss varnish, for strength.

Then I give them a light spray with matt, to take off the shine. Or not, because I rather like a satiny finish. It depends how shiny the gloss coat had dried, and what the subject is. A light misting of matt varnish won't dull down metalwork to any serious degree.

Each step takes a minute. No more.

I've never thought of going over the metalwork again. That part sounds very tedious.

enamels (such as humbrol) do not require the varnish.
acrylics will rub off quite easily if not coated.

See that is a problem. 20 years ago, I did not use acrylics. Everything completed recently, I have used acrylics. Plus I have quite a few figures done in gesso and many primed with gesso. The gesso-metal bond is not strong. Those absolutely must be varnished for strength and then matt finished.

If acrylic won't hold up well, then I have to varnish and finish.

Some folks think the job isn't done until the finish coats are applied and the thing looks as good as it can.

Actually I think my miniatures look their absolute best when I finish the paintjob. Up to this point, I have had absolute control over colors, brightness, shading, etc. I think they look very good. The best they will look.

But the moment, I put on a varnish, the colors and shading start to change out of my control. Suddenly all is glossy. Even what I don't want glossy. I continue to lose further control when I apply the matt finish. The matt finish dulls everything, not just what is needed. Those shiny bayonets and bright brass helmet suddenly look dull and lifeless. Now I must spend time restoring the look I had already achieved to my satisfaction earlier.

However if acrylics will not stand the test of time regardless of primer, then I have no choice. I must varnish, finish and touch up.

Tom,

Don't do the watered down white glue -- I've never done it but I will have nightmares thinking about might happen.

mjc

I have been thinking about acrylics having a weak bond and thus chipping and flaking easily. For some reason that is not adding up to me.

The primer is used to bond to metal and provide a good bonding surface for the paint. Pure paint will not bond well at all with bare metal.

So the paint bonds with the primer, not the metal. Yet when I see chipping or flaking, usually I see bare metal, not primer. Which suggests to me, the problem is not the acyrlics but the primer. The primer is losing its grip on the bare metal and breaking lose leaving bare metal exposed.

Any chemical experts out there that could perhaps confirm or deny that the problem with chipping and flaking lies with the primer or the acyrlic paint???

Finishing with a gloss coat is a good idea if you think anybody is going to be handling your painted minis. It's easier to clean the greasy neon orange crap from cheese puffs off of a sealing coat than to have it stain an unprotected paint job…. ;-)

Having been doing this for 35 years now, the best reason to coat, is still to keep the paint from rubbing of due to handling. When I started, I didn't prime the first few figures I did. Boy did they look lile carp. I also didn't coat them. After several months of D&D, they had bare spots, and needed repainting. By that time there were a few more experienced gamers around to give me tips and such.

When applying the matt finish, why not avoid the bits you want to stay glossy; that will save you a step.
Obviously you'll need to use a brush-on matt finish, but those are generally more reliable than spray ones anyway, I find.