Help needed to cure white spots from spray varnish

[Vagabond]

Hi Guys
I wonder if anyone can help with advice on how to get rid of white spots caused by spray varnishing with army painter matt spray varnish.

I have used this a number of times and had good results but the last couple of times it has been bad. My problem is that winter in England is dark and the cottage I live in is very dark so all winter work is done with electric lights and my eyesight is getting worse.

I sprayed a test figure and it looked OK and so I did a batch of about 80 figures, I have recently photographed some of the figures and with the enlargement could see all the white spots, I have then repainted out the spots and now need to revarnish.
However today I have been photographing another batch of figures sprayed at a different time and they are exactly the same.

NOTE Because I have heard that people have problems with spray varnish if the temperature is low or the humidity is wrong I sprayed these in doors so temperature, humidity should be ok and can was well shaken.

This is how I see the figure



This is how the camera sees the figure



Now I know the spots are there I can see them clearly.

With these figures I used washes and so it will be very difficult to match the paint easily

I have heard that over varnishing has worked, does anyone have experience with this and which varnish, or does anyone have any other sugestions, anything gratefully recieved.

Thanks for anyhelp you can give

[DELTADOG]

Sprayed with the same can? Sprayed at the same place?

I had this fail years ago. In first a thought it would be the place I sprayed them, something like white crumbles that hit the figure while drying. I came to the reason for that crumbles after I had empties the can completly and saw it off. It was the inner plastic coating of the metalcan itself which had a failure and crumbled in the Paint itself, let call them sprayed on flickers.

You should use a new can and look if the problem still there.

[Cherno]

I had this problem once with Army Painter anti-shine spray varnish, ruined a bunch of figures. Since then, I've only used brush-on varnish.
Looks like the dreaded frosting effect many people have experienced. Some talk about carefully brushing the figure with a cotton ball dabbed in alcohol, others recommend a coat of brush-on shiny varnish followed  by(after drying) another coat of matt varnish.

[snitcythedog]

Looks like the dreaded frosting effect many people have experienced. Some talk about carefully brushing the figure with a cotton ball dabbed in alcohol, others recommend a coat of brush-on shiny varnish followed  by(after drying) another coat of matt varnish.

Another folk remedy is to use a cotton bud with olive oil.  That or re spray them when the weather is better.  I have tried that one and it does work. 
Snitchy sends.

[Vagabond]

Hi guys - thanks for quick response

Deltadog - yes same can, same place, but I have used the same can before and it was OK. I suppose it could be that there is less varnish in it and maybe the last bit has degraded!!

Cherno/Snitchy - have you tried the alcohol or olive oil, I usually drink the first and cook with the second. I will try your other option of revarnishing today and see how I go on.

Thanks again for the advice 

[carlos13th]

Rubbing them with olive oil. Leaving it for a bit then washing that off and when they are fully dry revarnishing later worked for me recently. It turned the models from looking like they were stuck in a blizzard to looking fine. except one that while improved was too far gone too fully fix

[Vagabond]

Carlos - thanks for advice, did you revarnish with the same spray can and did you use washing up liquid to wash off the olive oil.

I wonder what causes it, I have had a similar thing happen with undercoating figures where small spots of paint come out, it most be something to do with it not atomising correctly, and what is happening when it is recovered with either oil out varnish. We need a chemist or paint expert here. 

[carlos13th]

I revarnished with the same spray. But I did fully outside instead of by the back door and I did it when the day was less warm.

I washed it off with handsoap.

I belevie it has something to do with moisture getting trapped under the varnish.

[Vagabond]

Thanks to all who took the time to offer suggested remidies, and I thought I should let you know how I went on.

The 1st thing I did was to spray the old can onto black card and I had loads of white spots, the can was almost empty. I also sprayed a new can onto the black card and it was fine. This was done at the same time indoors in a warm room, I wonder if it is the proportion of propellant to varnish that is causing the spots. i.e. when there is little varnish in the can then the white spots are more prevalent, or it may be as Deltadog suggests that the can interior coating is breaking down, it is probably 3 years since I 1st used it.

I tried 2 of the remedies suggested, the 1st was a cotton wool bud dipped in olive oil, rubbing each individual spot, this worked a treat, the white spots disappeared, I then washed the figure lightly in a mix of water and washing up liquid to remove the olive oil, this left me with a figure with a slight sheen. I then sprayed with the new can of army painter anti matt spray and it was fine. I worry a little about the fact that my figure will have some vegetable oil still on it and so will cause bacterial growth in the future.


Raoul De Nesle - Compte de Soissonis - spotless

The 2nd I tried water to remove the spots, when wet they were invisible but when it dried they were still there, I then re-varnished the figure with my normal brush on varnish. This currently is Ronseal interior water based matt varnish, the stuff normally used on wood. This normally gives quite a good matt finish, and then sprayed with the new can of army painter anti matt spray and it was better but not cured.


David - Earl of Huntingdon not so spotless

I believe gloss varnish reflects the light because it is a solid surface, and that matt varnish is microscopically rough and so diffuses the light and so is appears matt. If this is the case the oil will fill up the rough surface therefore making the spot invisible and then the anti shine spray will break up light reflection and so a good result, maybe the fact that I used a matt varnish to overcoat the spots means they are still none reflective and so when sprayed with matt varnish didn’t get a good result. So maybe Chernos suggestion of using a gloss varnish would replicate the oil, but I don’t have any gloss varnish.

So it looks like some 100 figures will have to be dabbed with olive oil and washed and sprayed again. Bugger.