"How long to wait between coats of spray varnish?" Topic

Hello all.

Just asking the question of how long should you wait between coats of varnish before applying another?

Also, is there a safe minimum time to allow acrylic paints to dry on miniatures before you can apply the first coat of varnish?

My rule of thumb years ago when I first did wargaming was to wait 24 hours between varnish coats, and to wait at least 48 hours for paint to dry first. Wondering if that's long enough or if that is overkill.

Minutes

I've waited for the paint to dry as little as 4-6 hours when pressed for time. As was stated above, only a couple minutes between varnish coats.

I do gloss coat first then a couple dull cotes later. I seem to get better results if I wait a day on the dull cote. If I rush it, I get a satin finish in the recesses.

I suppose a second gloss coat could go on in minutes but I usually only do one of those.

how long should you wait between coats of varnish before applying another

Until the first coat is dry. Waste of time putting more varnish on a varnish coat that is still wet.

I typically wait 24 hours for paint to cure and 24 hours between spray coats or between priming and painting. I tend to err on the side of caution.

Thanks for all the great input folks!

I noticed that some of you use the gloss coat first followed by a matte coat second technique.

For the purposes of terrain and miniatures, is gloss absolutely necessary, or can you just use several layers of matte varnish? I know that many gamers testify that gloss varnish provides a tougher protection.

I just don't want to run into the problem of when I try to apply matter over gloss that the gloss persists and I end up with a satiny finish. I really want my miniatures to stay as close to possible to true flat or reasonably close.

If you stick the painted figures in the oven at 50 degrees C for 15 minutes and then spray with Matt varnish you pretty much guarantee it'll be very flat and dries totally within 5 minutes.

Test the gloss/matt thing on a fig/vehicle or two and see what you think.

A lot of it will depend where you live. Here in Southern California, I generally allow paint to dry 12 hours or so (or overnight) before applying varnish. As for the time between varnish coats, I generally wait 3-4 hours between applications, but then So Cal runs towards dry.

I usually wait 24 hours only because spraying on varnish is usually the last thing I do before cleaning up

Read the label.

Hair dryers help the drying, but there's no substitute for leaving it over night.

I do two coats of semi-gloss, the second 15 minutes after the first, then wait 24 hours to spray on a flat coat.

Grelber

Just until it's dry. On a sunny day this can be a matter if a few minutes. Fat Wallyscoven trick works very well indeed.

It normally says on the tin, I generally follow the instructions, the people who make it know a lot more than us.

Most I use say minutes or you have to wait like the next day.

Baranovich… is gloss absolutely necessary, or can you just use several layers of matte varnish?

People do it but it's not a recommended practice.

The issue is the flatting additive which makes the matte varnish non-reflective. Multiple layers can have unpredictable results, such as a silvery look or even the dreaded white coating.

So if you want a matte finish but also multiple layers of varnish for a thicker protective coat, it's best to apply as many layers of gloss varnish as you want, then one top coat of matte varnish.

To answer the main question, 14Bore has it right. Follow the instructions on the can. Most advise either apply relatively quickly (e.g. when touch dry but still tacky) or wait overnight (so the layer is fully cured).

@CeruLucifus,

Thank you for that info! I have always wondered all these years what was the dynamic behind matte varnish that caused the clouding and frosting issues!

That makes perfect sense. If the matte is non-reflective, then perhaps multiple layers of it play havoc with how light hits it, and the multiple layers of matte actually work against you. Or that multiple layers of matter on top of each other can't retain a clear surface and it becomes opaque.

Would make sense that the properties of matte varnish itself would be more of a factor in clouding than humidity or other factors. Not that humidity doesn't affect it as well, but I think that the combined factors of using matter in several coats along with the weather is what leads to the dreaded frosting disasters.

I will do exactly that, apply a coat or two of gloss and then finish off with a single coat of matte.

Thanks again!