How to Varnish a Painting

Описание: In this video I talk about how to varnish a painting.  This works for both oil and acrylic paintings.

I used to struggle so much with varnishing, I've put coats on that ended up foggy, or had large brushstrokes or even hairs in them, but I've finally worked out this system for varnishing that consistently works!

MATERIALS MENTIONED IN THIS VLOG:

GamVar Satin Finish Varnish

Large synthetic brushes

Blue Shop towels

Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits


GamVar continues to breathe after its been applied so you don’t have to wait 6 months like with other varnishes. Instead just wait until your painting is thoroughly dry to the touch and thick areas of paint are hard. Since I use Walnut Alkyd Medium and Gamblin’s Solvent Free Gel they speed the drying so I can varnish within a few weeks.  If you use use linseed oil it may take a little longer.



Here are 5 simple steps to varnish a thoroughly dry painting:


Apply a liberal coat of varnish brushing vertically
Then brush horizontally
Remove the excess with a paper towel (or better yet a blue shop towel!) *add blue shop towels to supplies list
Do very light varied brushstrokes across the painting
Look at it from all angles for hairs or large brushstrokes


This has made it so  streamlined for me to varnish a painting and not feel totally frazzled as I do it!


Fortunately, if a coat of varnish ever gets really messed up, you can always use turpentine or mineral spirits to remove the varnish!


What tricks do you have for varnishing? Leave a comment!