Matt Varnish, What am I doing wrong? <resolved>

[racm32]

So I normally use the army painter spray anti-shine varnish and then might touch it up with the brush on. But in my current location I couldn't bring or ship the spray so I brought only the brush on. After applying 2 coats and giving it 8-10hrs to dry between I'm not getting the results I'd expect. Could the bottle have gone bad?

[Citizen Sade]

My guess is that your varnish is not sufficiently mixed. Did you shake the hell out of it before application?

[racm32]

yes, though perhaps what I thought was sufficient shaking might not have been. Will try applying another coat after "shaking the hell out of it"

[SJWi]

Hi, I've never used the brush-on ant-shine stuff but had found issues before with the spray. After much practice  I make sure the varnish is warm, well shaken and then use it in a very dry atmosphere. I then make sure where I dry the figures is very warm. I actually use the top of an Aga stove...much to my wife's consternation. 

[Doug ex-em4]

I advise ditching what you’re using and get Windsor and Newton Professional Spray. In 50 years of painting figures (starting off with Airfix brush-on matt - oh my word...!), the W&N is THE best ever.

Doug

[racm32]

Good suggestions but I am currently deployed and have very limited facilities as well as shipping restrictions. So spray varnish is not an option right now. I do have a dehumidifier in my room which is relatively well insulated so temperature and humidity shouldn't be an issue.   

[fred]

I tend to use Vallejo brush on matt varnish, and it works fine. Not tried the AP version.

[aircav]

I use the AP Matt varnish & sometimes it just goes on glossy & the next time it will be fine.
I think it depends on how well mixed it is & how cold it is as well.

[Ray Rivers]

Good suggestions but I am currently deployed and have very limited facilities as well as shipping restrictions. So spray varnish is not an option right now.

Like fred said:



Very forgiving, may need 2 or 3 coats with a brush but works well. I've had a 500ml bottle for lots of years and still have half left.

[racm32]

Update: After vigorously shaking the bottle for a full min I got much better results. Thanks for the suggestions.

[armchairgeneral]

I find GW Technical Stormshield gives a good brush on Matt finish.

[racm32]

After shaking vigorously for 1 min it gave better results

[carlos marighela]

Testors Dullcote. The brush on version. I just had an unfortunate happening with the spray version. Must have been more humid than I thought and I ended up with a couple of figures looking like snowmen.