Now it does take a few coats to make sure that your miniature is well protected. i used to coat the entire model but have found that this varnish is not great for colour distortion so I recommend you only use it on spikes, edges, and other parts that get handled frequently or are likely to chip. Typically I use a single coat on plastics, two on resins and three on metals, you can add more and I have done up to 5 thin coats on some pointy bits I feared would chip, at five coats your miniature is next to bullet proof and will only be damaged if it takes a tumble off a table or gets stood on. What I have come to notice is that many hobbyists do not understand the qualities of the product they are using, or how to get the best use out of them. There are three types of varnish that most people are familiar with, gloss, satin and matt. The names reflect the finish left by the product but do not otherwise offer any information. I am going to use Vallejo matt (brush) varnish and Winsor & Newton Gallery series (brush) matt varnish. Is anyone using em for producing serious results ?(I mean not only for tabletop but for display too). Or does somebody knows a better product than them? So I suppose I should go with the Testors Medium/Satin coat, or whatever they call it. I am going to start experimenting with oil washes(as per Buypainted's tutorials) on my next batch, and it seems the satin wash is needed if you want the oil wash technique to work well. It appears his satin coats dont throw off his colors, if anything his minis are the best I've seen, and I had amazing results on my Dark Angles, other than the damned varnish circus.

Now most of us want our models to look the best we can make them. A gloss coated miniature looks out of place on the table and pales next to one with a more matt finish. So if you want to protect your miniatures and have them matt you need to use both products. Anyway, I've had some very bad experiences with varnish from my airbrush. In fact I've had ZERO good experiences with airbrushing varnish. They always frost. No amount of thinning, changing air pressures or changing the distance I spray, always frosting. I would also say that if in doubt test it out before covering you model with anything be it paint or varnish. So anyway. It makes sense if you're doing decals to first do a gloss PU coat; there's little to no difference between vallejo PU gloss brands, so go for whichever polyurethane gloss is cheapest (probably the standard PU one). This strikes a decent balance between strength and convenience - it can even be thinned with airbrush thinner if necessary, but too much will weaken it. This gives a nice smooth layer for the decals on curved surfaces, and protects the paintwork when you're poking it into position. (I strongly recommend using the microsol/microset combo to make your life easier for positioning). This is also a good time to do any oil-based washes/streaking effects.The thing that stopped me from buying any more rattlecans was my airbrushing kit. The precision of a fine nozzled airbrush is spectacular compared to any rattlecans. And I use a lot less product. Yes the initial investement may look offputting. But for me the cost equated to something like ten cans of GW products. And I now have the flexibility of being able to spray any colour I want. No more toxic smelling primers, paints and varnishes drying on my work bench. As mentioned previously there can be a degree of difference with some of these. The Vallejo Aerosol Satin is gloss, yeah it sounds stupid but it is so shiny it puts actual gloss varnishes to shame, and it also takes about 3 weeks to dry. Edit edit - Another interpretation of what you mean is to paint over the gloss varnish by hand to add more detailing. Yes and no, see the comment above about the spray not getting into all the crvices. You can mitigate that somewhat by very careful spraying, but ultimately you're spraying a clear liquid and estimating ceverage is hard. For decals, you want to gloss varnish first - either the whole model (if you're spraying), or just the area you want to put the decals (if using a brush).

same configuration as before but with a drop of liquitex flow aid: less clogging but still happening Its a bit like woodwork. Varnish a bit of wood that is not 100% dry and the water vapour will cloud the bottom of the varnish as it tries to escape. I have used several gloss varnish products. My current favourite is Galeria Gloss Varnish which is made by Winsor & Newton. Very good product that can be applied directly with a brush or through an airbrush. I only thin this a tiny amount (5:1 varnish:thinner) when used in an airbrush and so far its been amazing. Safety: Mecha Color is not flammable, and does not contain solvents. Please see also certified safety information of the product on the Safety sheet.Hey! I’ve been using this varnish (particularly, the Matt one) for a bit, and always had problems with it. It seems to like clogging my AB needle tip every time, after a few passes of varnish, no matter how much I thin it down. I tried different thinning ratios with the same results: