"Matte or flat varnishes?" Topic

I've painted some 20mm Airfix, Italeri, and Revell napoleonics using flat enamel paints. Now I'm attempting Epic Battles ACW figures with acrylics. Slight research recommends a coat of varnish for protection. I don't want a glossy finish. I'm looking for a varnish with a flat or matte finish. Any suggestions?

Krylon Clear Matte first liberally. Then hit it with Testors matte and it will be flat and protected

The Krylon is a spray, which is ok by me. Is the Testors also a spray application?

Thanks for the help. I'll look into that

Is Testor's still available? It seems to have disappeared from the shelves both real and electronic.

Humbrol Matt Cote or Daler Rowney artists Matt varnish.
Both brush on; spray varnishes are much more likely to cause frosting or be shiny

The large bottles of Vallejo matt varnish are pretty good. I prefer sprays but they can frost and they are tricky to use outdoors unless in good weather, so I tried some of the Vallejo and have been very pleased. It doesn't need a lot of constant shaking either.

It's this one
link

or if the US this one
link

For metals and hard plastics, gloss coat first, then matte for extra protection. For soft plastics, a coat of dilute PVC is more flexible.

Krylon, Army Painter and Armor have all worked well for me. I'm leery of Testor's Dullcote. Bad experiences with it yellowing over tine.

Windsor & Newton is supposed to be really good. Haven't tried it yet, waiting for my stock of Dullcote to run out before I switch. Testors Dullcote, my go to for decades has been discontinued.

Depending on the PVA you use, it can come out shiny rather than flat.

Dull Coat is the best for me. Never yellowed on me. I have used it since early 1980's. It is still stocked in Hobby Lobby Rustoleom bought it out. Thats my view only. For what it is worth.

Thanks to all for the info. One of the few advantages of living near a metropolitan area is the relative ease of finding the materials mentioned. As an aside, the enamels I still use are Testors and the acrylics are Tamiya.

Since you already use Tamiya paints I would highly recommend (TAMIYA TS-80 Clear Flat Spray) it works like a charm.

I use Winsor & Newton Professional Matt Varnish. Available in spray cans and as good as the discontinued Testors.

For what it's worth, Paul's experience is actually more recent than mine. I did Dullcote in the 70's and possibly the early 80's, lost some work I'd been very please with and never touched the stuff again. If he's gone 40 years without trouble, they may have fixed the problem.

But I know Austrian armies coated in Krylon Matte regularly since the 1960's and still white.

For what it's worth, Paul's experience is actually more recent than mine. I did Dullcote in the 70's and possibly the early 80's, lost some work I'd been very please with and never touched the stuff again. If he's gone 40 years without trouble, they may have fixed the problem.

But I know Austrian armies coated in Krylon Matte regularly since the 1960's and still white.

Ah. If the slight shine of dilute PVA on flexible plastic gets annoying, you can always hit them with a spray matte as a second coat, but the first coat on a soft plastic should always be something flexible.

I work indoors because there are only about 6 days out of the year that I could spray outside. I've been using the Army Painter gloss/matte paint on varnishes. I like them. Gloss coat first for strength and then matte for appearance. Make sure your brushes are clean and any water or pallet used is clean too.

Another vote for Windsor Newton -- I've found it as good as Testors Dullcote and more reliable. I've been using it for, oh, two years now and it's just about the best spray on varnish I've encountered. The Vallejo brush on matte varnish is good too, but unless I'm using a lot of metallics or whatnot, I usually don't bother…