Galeria Betrayal

[The Mystic Spiral]

Anyone bought a bottle of Windsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Matt Varnish recently?

I have bought 2 in the last 2 weeks and both are giving a satin finish.

First one I bought was shiny, just put it down to a bad batch. Second, from a different shop, in a different town, just as bad.

No amount of shaking/not shaking, tipping carrier, storing upside down and using the gunky bit helps. Airbrushing helps a bit, but not ideal.

Big problem for me cos I paint hundreds of figures that need photographing for company websites. Matt finish is vital.

I am wondering if it's just a couple of unlucky bottles or they've changed the formula.

J

[Belisarius]

I bought my first bottle last month and am pleased with the results, would it be anything to do with cold or humidity. Maybe give them a second coat . Having looked at your blog I realise I,m teaching my granny how to suck eggs,  I,ll just get my coat.......

[Captain Blood]

Nooooooooooooooooo! Don't say that. It's been my reliably flat matt staple for the past 5 years or so... 
Please tell me they haven't changed the formulation...
Worth enquiring direct to W&N perhaps, to see if they've fiddled with the recipe?

I have had a couple of tiny white spots / granules drying on one or two of my figures from the current bottle of Galeria I'm using, so it may be time to buy another one. So I'll see how it turns out with that...

[The Mystic Spiral]

Make of it what you will. But...

I got hold of a bottle of the slightly more expensive Windsor & Newton acrylic matt. And that is just fine.

I think they are giving us reason to spend a bit more.

For the record, the figures that went shiny were salvaged by a quick airbrush of the W&N. I have found that when the varnish gets a shine this is the best way to fix, brushing on just seems to make it shinier.

Please tell me they haven't changed the formulation...
Worth enquiring direct to W&N perhaps, to see if they've fiddled with the recipe?

In past experience they never admit they've changed a thing. Sent a bunch of really poor series 7 brushes back to them once. Told on the phone it must be my fault, but send them back. Got a letter swearing blind there was never anything wrong with them, still replaced them grudgingly. I am clearly an amateur, expecting a £12 brush to keep a point. Those brushes have never been as good as they were 7-8 years ago, something changed, must have.

So for me it looks like the quest for a dead matt finish now costs a couple of quid more. Has to be done.

J

PS. The series 7 brushes are still great brushes, just not as consistent or long lasting as they were.

[FramFramson]

I haven't been able to find the W&N matte here (funny enough gloss was no problem though), except for once long ago and I really found it inferior, being too thick (leading to buildup in deep crevices and pooling areas, in spite of my wiping away as much as possible) and more of a satin requiring two or even three coats.

[WillieB]

Make of it what you will. But...

I got hold of a bottle of the slightly more expensive Windsor & Newton acrylic matt. And that is just fine.

I think they are giving us reason to spend a bit more.

For the record, the figures that went shiny were salvaged by a quick airbrush of the W&N. I have found that when the varnish gets a shine this is the best way to fix, brushing on just seems to make it shinier.

In past experience they never admit they've changed a thing. Sent a bunch of really poor series 7 brushes back to them once. Told on the phone it must be my fault, but send them back. Got a letter swearing blind there was never anything wrong with them, still replaced them grudgingly. I am clearly an amateur, expecting a £12 brush to keep a point. Those brushes have never been as good as they were 7-8 years ago, something changed, must have.

So for me it looks like the quest for a dead matt finish now costs a couple of quid more. Has to be done.

J

PS. The series 7 brushes are still great brushes, just not as consistent or long lasting as they were.

Absolutely correct! Both me and my wife have been using W&N 7s since Jesus walked the earth and we too had a few really dodgy ones lately. In at least instance ALL the hair fell out after the first brush-stroke. Another one looked liked an electrocuted porcupine immediately after touching paint.
The Galeria matt finish just isn't matt any more and increasingly becoming treacle -thick and lumpy. Only used it for small bits not entire figures but won't be using it any more.
I've switched over to HMG varnishes completely.

[theoldschool]

I switched from Galeria a while ago after the latest bottle wasn't drying matt. Now using Winsor & Newton Oil Colour Artists' Matt Varnish. Better protection than the Galeria and the best matt finish I've seen. Also has the advantage of smoothing out the painting you get from applying a gloss varnish. There is a water mixable oil colour version for those who don't like cleaning brushes in white spirit, but I haven't tried it.

I've tried the HMG varnishes and they certainly dry very matt, but the nozzles kept clogging on me and I prefer brush on varnishes. I found I had to use it over a gloss first coat or it could occasionally dry white.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

My latest bottle was bought some time ago and it is behaving itself.

I find that adding some Tamiya Matte helps to keep things matted down.

http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/matt-varnish-my-latest-recipe.html

Also any chance that you will be at Parabellum this Friday?

http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/im-planning-away-day-in-birmingham-next.html

Tony

[The Mystic Spiral]

Also any chance that you will be at Parabellum this Friday?

http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/im-planning-away-day-in-birmingham-next.html

Tony

Nope. Stuck in working on top secret stuff. Have a nice time. If you can get in the shop with the mountains of kits blocking every possible square millimetre.

As far as W&N and their brushes and varnish goes, I have been plugging away. Some conclusions I have drawn.

Galeria

You can get a decent finish if you airbrush, not super dead matt, but close.

If you absolutely drown a figure in it you can get a matt finish, but risk some really shiny patches.

W&N Artist's Acrylic

Airbrushes dead matt.

Bit thicker than Galeria so doesn't brush on and self level. Beware of pooling cos it leaves chalky white patches.

In conclusion

Airbrushing is not a solution for everyone, also cleaning the damn thing after takes ages. Can do batches, but means unprotected figures lying around risking scratches and dust.

For now the old days of sloshing on some varnish are gone. Bugger.

I have a bottle of the oil based W&N, will report back when I try it.

J

[Skyven]

My other half, a professional artist, says that Winsor and Newton quality for paints and varnish has degraded significantly over the last couple of years. They were bought out by ColArt, and production moved first to France and then to China. She no longer uses them.

[The Mystic Spiral]

My other half, a professional artist, says that Winsor and Newton quality for paints and varnish has degraded significantly over the last couple of years. They were bought out by ColArt, and production moved first to France and then to China. She no longer uses them.

What I suspected. 

Thanks for the confirmation.

J

[Rhoderic]

This thread is giving me angst. I'm having one of those "there's just no winning in this hobby" moments. Galeria Matt Varnish was part of the firmament I stood on. Airbrushing is definitely not something I'm prepared to do.

[Phil Robinson]

Daler Rowney Soluable Matt Acrylic has never let me down, I was a bit wary when they changed the labelling but have had no problem. It may sound daft but it seems matter.
.