How do people apply varnish to 6mm Figures?

[Mark G]

That rain thing is a tad overstated.

I spray on a balcony in the west of Scotland, as long as im not actually getting rained on, It's fine.

Could be the combination if high humidity/ about to rain, and not-cold is what does it.

But about to rain and chilly seems to cause no adverse effects except wind blowing varnish back onto my specs.

Varnish pushing actual rain onto a figure would be bad, obviously.

[Andreas Johansson]

The cans I had said you shouldn't use them in cold weather. I never did try what happens if you use them in subzero temperatures, but if you have to wait until it's not cold, not raining, and not windy, and you don't have something more pressing to do, I found you can end up having to wait for a long time here around. With brush-on varnish I can apply it when it suits me rather than the weather gods. Similar with primer - brush-on is slower to apply, but actually gets done.

I imagine Scotland is easier because you probably don't get enough extra rain to compensate for the milder winters.

[Imperial Dave]

And always undercoat after you finish gluing. Otherwise you are just sticking paint to paint.

yep. learnt that one the hard way.....

[dwkay57]

I started off by spraying my 6mm with Games Workshop matt varnish but after a batch came out cloudy I changed to painting with a gloss varnish from an art shop. This seems to work fine and following advice on another thread (I think under painting figures) I gloss varnished over the cloudy figures and they all came out fine.

There are some pictures on the Little Battles thread in Battle Reports.

[eques]

I started off by spraying my 6mm with Games Workshop matt varnish but after a batch came out cloudy I changed to painting with a gloss varnish from an art shop. This seems to work fine and following advice on another thread (I think under painting figures) I gloss varnished over the cloudy figures and they all came out fine.

There are some pictures on the Little Battles thread in Battle Reports.

Thanks

Any tips on applying with a brush?  What brand of varnish was it from the art shop?

[Chuck the Grey]

For years I have used an artist's fixative spray with a matt finish. This  spray is used by artists to protect charcoal, chalk, pencil drawings and the like from smudges, smears, etc. I have 25 mm figures protected with this substance that are 40+ years old and I have never had any flaking or other damage to the paint. The spray has a very fine mist, does not cover detail, and I have never had any clouding issues.

I haven't tied it on any of my 6mm figures yet, but I don't think it will cause any problems.

You should be able to find the fixative spray at any artist supply shop or on line.

[eques]

For years I have used an artist's fixative spray with a matt finish. This  spray is used by artists to protect charcoal, chalk, pencil drawings and the like from smudges, smears, etc. I have 25 mm figures protected with this substance that are 40+ years old and I have never had any flaking or other damage to the paint. The spray has a very fine mist, does not cover detail, and I have never had any clouding issues.

I haven't tied it on any of my 6mm figures yet, but I don't think it will cause any problems.

You should be able to find the fixative spray at any artist supply shop or on line.

Thanks. Can you recommend a brand?

[Chuck the Grey]

Harry,

I have used Krylon Crystal Clear and Grumbacher Final Matte. I would test them on a unloved figure first, kind of a "forlorn hope", before using any brand on a group of loved figures. I didn't consider that fact that when I started using the fixative sprays I was working in Humbrol enamels. I haven't sprayed any figures since I started using acrylics a couple years back. The fixative should work on acrylics, but a test is still recommended.

[eques]

Off the back if this thread I sprayed a couple of bases of 6mm Persian cavalry using winsor newton fixative spray, and they came out nice.

Roughly painted up a couple of old 1/72 Spanish and roman for testing purposes first (which made me start wanting to paint up the full armies of course!)

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Andy Badger]

I use Coat d Arms gloss varnish. Get a big brush and slap it on like a possessed looney then grab another brush and disperse any pools of varnish, usually between the legs.
All my armies are 6mm and have used this technique for all of them with no mishaps. Once you get into a rhythm you can do an entire army in one sitting. Watching a movie or documentary makes the task fly by.

[Imperial Dave]

up in the loft and found a few different varnish sprays either matt or semi matt/sheen. Might have another go with it to see the difference