Colour Loss After Matt Varnishing

[IvanRosski]

Hello everyone,

I'm really sorry if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find anything with the keywords I was using.

I was wondering if anyone else had experienced colour loss following matt varnishing, whether it's brush on, airbrushed, or sprayed. For example, if I were to paint a model chaos black, then varnish it, the black becomes more a charcoal colour.

Does anyone know any tips to avoid this? It's almost as if the colour loses it's vibrance.

Many thanks,
Iain

 

[Shawn R. L.]

A bit of saturation and contrast loss is normal with a matte finish. On the other hand, when I'm painting on canvas I count on a gloss finish to kick the saturation and contrast up.

 

[gsr15]

Its been quite some time since I last varnished a figure, but I used to use the FloQuil Figure Flat spray stuff and I could swear I remember it seemed to have the opposite effect and made the colors pop more...of course I didn't have all sorts of lovely shading and highlighting and such to notice a loss of contrast. Are newer finishes more aggressive or something? What's the safest choice these days?

 

[IvanRosski]

Well, I've figured out a short term solution at least - using Vallejo GC gloss varnish, diluted 1:1 with tap water, liberally spray the model with you airbrush. Once that's dry, give a very light covering, again by airbrush of the Vallejo GC matt varnish, again diluted 1:1.

Still gives a pretty matt finish, but retains much more of the colour!

Hope this is of help to someone - my airbrush is a pretty cheap setup, so it's definitely not an overly expensive option.

Cheers!
Iain

 

[Einion]

A matt finish automatically equals lower saturation and contrast (in short: duller colour) and generally speaking the matter you go the worse it gets.

For example, if I were to paint a model chaos black, then varnish it, the black becomes more a charcoal colour.

Yep, perfectly normal.

The effect is caused by scattered light on top of the coloured surface (matt = microscopically rough) so it's basically something like a layer of tracing paper over a bright colour.

You can see the same thing if you've ever watched black car paint being colour sanded - it starts out looking 'deep', can even look like it's still wet, and as soon as they start the sanding it instantly becomes grey. Then as they smooth the surface with finer and finer grits it becomes darker and darker before ending up black again when fully polished.

Einion

 

[VendettaUF]

I have had a problem with varnishes in general...but this is primarily a geographical and weather issue. I'll share it and maybe it will help you.

I live in Florida, the weather here can be *extremely* humid. By that I meen, 90-95% humidity. On one such balmy summer day, I finished up a few models and was adding the final spray matte varnish. Confident they were adequately covered, I left them outside to dry in the nice, humid afternoon sun.

Now, I had used this same matte finish a few days earlier in much drier conditions...so I had no reason to be concerned. A few hours later I came back. The matte varnish had taken on a grey smokey color, ruining my paint jobs. The moisture in the air apparently does not react well with the varnish when it dries. After reading the can thoroughly, it even warns to use in a dry place. The moral of the story is, only apply varnish in dry conditions. If its humid outside...apply outside and then bring inside somewhere to dry. Modern AC units keep the home pretty dry.

 

[Gandalf the Grey]

I am currently using GW ardcoat, watered down 1:1 and then a couple of light coats of Testors Dullcote. There is a very slight loss in the highlighting but generally I have been pleased with the result.
I have gone through numerous tins and pots of all sorts to get to this tage so I appreciate the problems you are going through.

 

[Grumb]

I have taken to clear coating the minis with a high gloss varnish first, which makes them way too shiny, but really protects the paint well, then adding a coat or two of Testor's Dullcoat afterwards. Gives you the best of both worlds (hard finish underneath, non-shiny finish on top). As others have mentioned, it can dull the colors a bit though, and can make highlights less visible. If you "over-highlight" a bit, then it comes out better after the matte finish, but this is tricky to do as it doesn't "look right" before you apply the matte finish. Try it on some test minis before you do it on a serious piece of work...you know, something you can strip later.
Cheers,
Grumb.