Hi all - I'm about 6 months into the hobby and I've painted up about 150 or so models thus far. I've recently finished doing the bases for them as well, and I'm relatively pleased with how most have turned out, despite the fact that they all pale in comparison to the models that I see posted here - ha !

Anyway - I wanted to ask about varnishing. I remember reading on various posts here that some people will add varnish to the finished models, but I didn't know if I needed to do that. Could someone please share both the pluses and minuses of adding varnish ?

thanks very much !

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T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her..

When you touch your miniature you may remove the colour. Varnish does not allow that. Also, it is a myth that it protects the model from dust, only in glass cages you can protect it.
Also in some models (satin, gloss or matt) varnish give it a nice finishing touch effect.

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Yeah, varnish basically protects your paint job, but it can also change how your model looks (making it shiny if you apply gloss varnish, etc.).

Yes varnish offers protection. But you put so much effort into the paint job and in my opinion varnish makes it look terrible. Have you seen a varnished mini before ? Besides if the paint comes off you can do some touch ups. Chances are you won't like the original paint job anyway.

Buy varnish. Its a must. I like krylon's matte finish. I also use their clear acrylic spray.

Ehm, that shouldn't be the case. Varnish can alter the appearance slightly, but proper (matt!) varnish will, if anything, help mask any shine present in certain paints. If you put much effort into a paint job, you want to protect it againt damage through transportation or gaming, so I'd certainly recommend varnish: although I only bother for metal models, plastics rarely lose any paint.

thanks for all the replies, but I'm afraid I'm no closer to knowing what to do !

Here's a quote from each of the 5 Replies, showing a great variance of answers:

POSITIVE "....varnish give it a nice finishing touch effect..."
NEGATIVE "... (varnish) can also change how your model looks..."
NEGATIVE "...in my opinion varnish makes it look terrible...."
POSITIVE "...Buy varnish. Its a must...."
POSITIVE "...Varnish can alter the appearance slightly, but proper (matt!) varnish will, if anything, help mask any shine present in certain paints...."

I don't know what to do. Is this just a preference kind of thing (i.e, prefer Coke or Pepsi) ? Or is it something that most experienced painters choose to do ? And if you do it, do you spray it on or use a brush ?

Would anyone else care to weigh in with thoughts, opinions, advice ?

thanks much !

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T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her..

I never varnish any of my own models. If i am asked by a client to varnish a completed model as they intend to game with it then i varnish with vallejo brush on matt varnish. i've had no problems with this stuff.

I would avoid spray varnishes as they are too dependant on conditions outside of your control, humidity , air temperature for instance. if one of these things is not right your varnish may dry like a white dust.

stick wth vallejo matt brush on in my opinion.

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I too don't varnish my minis. I almost never paint them in such a way that a single varnish wouldn't ruin the way it looks IMO. So long as you're careful and store them properly you shouldn't have problems

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Its not as simple as being careful and storing the models properly i'm afraid. There are oils in your hands which over time will actually damage the paint job. A coat of varnish will protect from that.

If you plan on gaming with your models give them a protective coat. In all honesty I have never noticed a difference between a model before and after i varnish with vallejo matt - i always aim for a matt finish anyway and use matt finish washes to achieve this look - the varnish has exactly the same finish.

Not sure what you guys are using to get a result which you think makes such drastic alterations to your paint jobs.

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Sausage fingers hit the nail on the head. Do you want to protect the paintjob? Apply varnish. Are you impartial on the paintjob and dont care if you have to add touch ups from time to time? Then dont varnish the mini. There is no wrong way to paint minis, just do what you like most.

Personally, I dont like grabbing a mini and seeing bald spots from where the paint has rubbed off from use. Thus, I use varnish.

See I hear about that all the time but I've been gaming since day 1 of LOTR SBG and I've never had a "bald spot" or paint rub off of a mini. And neither have any of my friends who play LOTR or 40k. Could the far warmer and dryer climate of Texas be the reason for this?

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MiniWargaming

I cant speak for Texas as I have only been there once (for a 2 month stay). However, I did paint about 8 miniatures while I was there. I am from Oregon and can only speak confidently of that state. I used both metal and plastic, varnished and not varnished minis. My plastic LOTR minis never needed rubbed bald. They were not varnished either. However, all of my metal minis (LOTR, reaper, and Dark Sword), if left unvarnished would lose paint every time I touched them. Maybe I have greasier hands than J, I don't know. All I know is that if I want the paint to stay on the metal minis I paint I must do the following:
-Clean the mini
-prime the mini
-paint the mini
-Varnish the mini

Good call! Read too many [= horror] stories related to spray varnish to even contemplate using that stuff. Yes, it's quick and easy when everything goes well, but results are nothing short of a disaster when the environment isn't perfect.

some really good advice here and lots of great info, thanks very much...

If I decide to go ahead and add the varnish to some of my models, I'll re-post on this thread with how I got on...and you can be sure it will be brush on varnish with a matte finish !

again, appreciate the help - thanks much !

_________________
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her..

I've had the exact opposite experience. I've used krylon matte finish or krylon clear acrylic from day 1 and i've never had a problem, except when i fail to follow the directions on the can. I've used the spray varnish in hot and humid environments and cold, wet and rainy environments. The only time I got foggy varnish seal is when, as I said, i didn't follow the directions.

I give the mini 5sweeps with the spray wait 2 FULL MINUTES. If you fail to wait a *full 2 minutes* you will get a foggy finish. Once the *2 minutes* have passed I give it another 5 sweeps and let it dry. Most varnishes can be handled after 2 hours but I usually spray the mini at the end of the day before bed and let it dry overnight.

Now about the 2 minutes, just to be clear, by Two minutes i mean 120 seconds. Not 1 minute and 50 seconds, not 1 minute and 55, not even 1 minute and 59. It has to be 2 full minutes. More is fine, less is not. I usually wait 3 minutes before i apply the second coat. Also, be sure to get matte unless you want a high glossy, shiny finish.