Varnishing
What varnish can I use to protect my acrylic painting on canvas without making it shiny?
You can use either MM6 Polymer Matt Varnish, or MM15 Matt Varnish (Turps)
All varnishes start out with a relatively high gloss level, some are not as glossy as others but by and large they can be considered to be glossy. Matt and satin varnishes have what are known as matting agents added to them to reduce their gloss levels.
The matting agents are extremely fine particles suspended in the varnish or may be a wax which tends to sit mainly on the surface of the varnish. Both defract (scatter) the light passing through which gives the matt appearance.
The matting agents which are suspended in the varnish tend to have a longer lifespan and do not catch dust and dirt nearly as readily as the wax versions. The wax matting agents tend to mark very easily, however, some artists prefer the soft and subtle reflection of light off this finish. (It is possible to use a very light coverage of wax applied over solvent-based varnishes, once they are dry, to achieve this same effect).
If you want to apply many coats of a varnish (in excess of 5 coats) and require a matt finish, it would be advisable to use gloss for all but the last few coats. Too many coats of the matt varnish may give a cloudy appearance. This cloudy appearance is the concentration of the invisible matting agent starting to increase to the point of becoming visible!
It is A MUST to stir matt and satin varnishes before use to evenly distribute the matting agent so it does not form a concentrate in the bottom part of the container.
Last update: 2010-04-12 14:26
Author: matisse
Revision: 1.2
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