Sunday, October 11, 2009

Notes on Oil Painting Varnish

It is very important to varnish your paintings. They protect your finished art against atmospheric acids, dust and decay. For a varnish to be acceptable it must be reversible. All of Charvin varnishes are reversible, meaning they can be removed without harming the paint layer below. In all cases this should be done by an experienced restorer.

Dammar Varnish Gloss - This final varnish is made of a base of dammar gum. It gives painting a bright and glossy finish.

Dammar Varnish Matte (Satin) - A varnish made with a prepared blend to give paintings a bright appearance but without the glossy characteristics of damar.

Gloss Painting Varnish - This is a classic varnish based on newly developed synthetic resins. It is totally colorless and fast drying. It creates a resistant film that is slightly more difficult to remove. It must be dried to perfectly dried paintings.

Matte Painting Varnish - A synthetic based varnish that is totally colorless. Creates a very resistant film and is fast drying. Apply it to a very dry painting.

Retouching Varnish - This pre-mix by Charvin is a tried and true formula. Retouching varnish is used to even out the finish of the painting as some areas may be glossy while other may appear matte. This will disturb the painter's perception of the pictorial substance that he is working on. It also allows painters to see paint layers more clearly then if they were left matte. Finally if you can use Retouching Varnish to speed the curing of the finished painting.

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