Alternatives to Testors?

[theoldschool]

Sadly, having been extolling the virtues of brush-on Testors a couple of weeks ago (dead flat, no problems, no 'whiteys', easy to use, my world was complete...) this weekend I applied it to another batch of finished figures, and it completely unaccountably dried with a slight sheen! I tried a second coat. Same thing. I shook it, I let it stand and separate, I applied it in a warm room, I applied it in a cold room - there is just no rhyme or reason to it. What was a brand new bottle of dead flat matt lacquer three weeks ago, is now, inexplicably, a nearly new bottle of slightly satin lacquer...  (

I tried Testors, both spray and brush on for a while. The appalling reek of the spray made it impossible to use indoors and I am afraid the weather here in the Borders meant I could only varnish figures twice a year. The brush on got the brush off when I found that no matter how long I let the gloss varnish dry the Testors was lifting the paint, particularly bad on reds.

Best of luck with the Galleria, let me know how you get on.

[Captain Blood]

Best of luck with the Galleria, let me know how you get on.

Pat - a triumph! I'm in love with W&N Galeria  :wink:
(Yes, I know, I'm fickle in my affections!)
Went on very easily, barely any odour to speak of, and seem to dry perfectly matt, with no hint of white bloom / dullness.
The only possible criticism I can make is that (unlike most acrylic based paints) it seems to take quite a long time to dry. But apart from that it works a treat.
I'm a convert!
Thanks for the advice.

Mind you I loved Testors the first time. It's once the bottle has been opened and a few weeks have passed that the true test of product consistency / stability kicks in...

But so far, so good.

[theoldschool]

Best of luck with the Galleria, let me know how you get on.

Pat - a triumph! I'm in love with W&N Galeria  :wink:
The only possible criticism I can make is that (unlike most acrylic based paints) it seems to take quite a long time to dry. But apart from that it works a treat.
I'm a convert!
Thanks for the advice.

I'm glad it worked. You're right about the drying time, I find it best to do the varnishing last thing and leave it over night to dry completely. I think it is slightly different from most hobby matt varnishes in that it is more of a true varnish rather than just a matting agent in a carrier, which is why I reckon you don't need to gloss first.
Like you I searched for a long time for a matt varnish before finding Galleria. Now I won't use anything else.
Pat

[Antenociti]

Im not sure if this is one of those "you want it to work that way so you think it does" things but.....


i take the galeria matt varnish from inside the neck of the bottle where it accumulates after shaking and goes quite thick.  That seems to dry a lot faster and matter.


could just be wishful thinking though :-0