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Matt Varnish HELP


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Can someone recommend a brushable clear matt varnish to go over transfers please. 

 

DO NOT even mention the word "Humbrol"- the tinlets either come out chalky white or high gloss after about two uses , the spray cans are a total dead loss as you get about 1/100th of the product out before the nozzles seize up or spray everywhere except out of the nozzle, and as for that bottle of rubbish I paid £6.00 for at HobbyCraft, it's just curled up all the transfers and cost me about ten times that in effort and made Railtec £15 richer tonight.

 

Also, don't use Klear Cote "flat" as that is now coming out super high gloss after one use. 

 

The frustration of now a dozen different efforts all not doing what they are supposed to and setting jobs back a full week whilst spending more money getting back to where I was two hours ago cannot be overstated. Help!

 

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1 hour ago, fiftyfour fiftyfour said:

Can someone recommend a brushable clear matt varnish to go over transfers please. 

 

DO NOT even mention the word "Humbrol"- the tinlets either come out chalky white or high gloss after about two uses , the spray cans are a total dead loss as you get about 1/100th of the product out before the nozzles seize up or spray everywhere except out of the nozzle, and as for that bottle of rubbish I paid £6.00 for at HobbyCraft, it's just curled up all the transfers and cost me about ten times that in effort and made Railtec £15 richer tonight.

 

Also, don't use Klear Cote "flat" as that is now coming out super high gloss after one use. 

 

The frustration of now a dozen different efforts all not doing what they are supposed to and setting jobs back a full week whilst spending more money getting back to where I was two hours ago cannot be overstated. Help!

 

Did you use an acrylic varnish on your transfers?,acrylic can be death to them.I always use Railmatch enamel satin varnish in an aerosol can,the nozzles have be kept clean but it is a superior varnish.

                                Ray.

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37 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

Did you use an acrylic varnish on your transfers?,acrylic can be death to them.I always use Railmatch enamel satin varnish in an aerosol can,the nozzles have be kept clean but it is a superior varnish.

                                Ray.

Acrylic was the one that killed the transfers, luckily it was only warning flashes on the ends of coaches but it has left me with a lot of vehicles on the work table all pending just that one bit to finish.

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One of the best Matt varnishes I have ever used is the old enamel one from Xtracolor, I think its now been discontinued but if you ever find it buy as much as you can, you will not regret it.

 

They do an Acrylic version as well but I have never used it so don't know how it compares to the enamel version of which I still have enough to see me out.

 

 

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I've started using Halfords matt lacquer in a rattle can. It gives a finish between satin and dead matt. Compatible with their spray paints, Humbrol and all the transfers I've used it on so far. In fact I've used it in conjunction with transfer paper to create my own transfers.

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I've used a couple of artist's varnishes over transfers without problems. The first was a bottle which my son left around when he moved out. It's about 25 years old and usually looks like a clear liquid over white sludge until well stirred.

The second is a spray satin varnish which can be washed off if you get it wrong.

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Transfers on Matt paint finish are a pain! On herrings have applied a coat of Klear, then transfers, then another coat of Klear followed by 2 coats of Testors Dullcote. Must make sure I get rid of that plastic swarf...BCC18132-41DF-4739-AE62-DAF3EFA17278.jpeg.789b3e145b754415b1c44d60c2b23637.jpeg

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I had a couple of disasters where transfers came out with silvering on the carrier film or the solvent from a varnish caused transfers to wrinkle up. I did some experiments on test pieces and never managed to identify exactly what was causing the problems but I did end up with a process that I know will work consistently.

Once the basic livery is complete, which usually involves some enamels, I stick entirely to acrylics. First a coat of Klear floor polish will give a sufficiently glossy surface to prevent silvering, which I understand is caused by tiny air bubbles being trapped in the roughness of a matt surface. 

Apply the transfers using MicroSol and MicroSet to get them to settle on the surface.

Varnish with MicroFlat or MicroSatin. The varnish can be diluted with water and a tiny bit of windscreen wash and tinted with a little acrylic paint to begin weathering. 

An example is attached below

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I hope that this helps.

Best wishes 

Eric 

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I’ve had Testor’s Dullcote disolve transfers.  Two that I have used with success are Lifecolor varnish (matt, satin and gloss) and some unbranded matt varnish sold by Pendle Valley Models/Carnforth Model Railway Shop which is great for brushing and inexpensive.

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I am trying a two-pronged approach, I have a bottle of Winsor & Newton Galeria Matt Varnish on order and I've e-mailed by friendly Phoenix Precision supplier in Chelmsford to see what stock they have, I will report back! I'm really only looking for something I can use to hold down transfers like numbers and small embellishments rather than something I can spray over a whole vehicle. 

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