Liquitex Professional Acrylic Varnish, High Gloss, 946 ml

Product Information

Each brushstroke should slightly overlap the previous so that you don’t leave thin spots or narrow bands uncovered but if these do occur don’t overwork the surface trying to rectify it, leave it for the next coat to even out. I’m not familiar with spraycan varnishes available in the US but unless you’re sure about what they are I would be wary about using them on an acrylic painting. This varnish is famous for its high gloss retention, long lasting properties, excellent outdoor durability, superior flowing characteristics and high build properties. If you don’t get anything more helpful and since the piece can’t last forever, you might consider trying something old-fashioned like an oil/resin varnish (linseed oil/copal for example).

I have played safe between layers and left it to cure before re-coating, as I want to try to get a really resilient finish. It’s best to use a specialist varnish brush but any wide, flat brush of the right length can be used as long as the bristles are not too soft; hog bristle is probably best but there are good synthetic options. When you’re done, the painting needs to be protected during drying so you will have to improvise something to prevent dust landing on the surface, a board held a couple of inches over the surface on two stacks of books is probably easiest.If necessary, apply a second coat of the product after drying and intermediate sanding (P 320 - 600). I’m looking for a smooth, wet, sexy, high-gloss look for the finished surface of some paintings but didn’t want to go the polyurethane route.

If you apply a single coat and you’re getting sufficient coverage you’re probably applying it too thickly.Grumbacher is a spray for both oils and acrylics, and is the brand I currently… as you can probably guess by the name, it’s not cheap.

This means if there is a problem like scratches, embedded dust/dirt or discolouration it might be impossible to rectify without damaging the painting beneath. A thick coat will take longer to dry, may dry cloudy, may drip or sag during application and has a greater chance of showing brush strokes when dry. The actual makeup of the varnish is what’s really important, not whether you spray- or brush-apply it (coat thickness will play a part too of course). Epifanes Clear High Gloss Varnish, known around the world, is considered the ultimate in high gloss finish.

It would have a noticeable yellow colour and may not bond satisfactorily to acrylic paint but these are reasonably flexible when young and are supposed to have good resistance to marring, far superior to any acrylic emulsion certainly.