Ink washing and varnish questions

[Brother Evar]

I want to experiment with varnish on my mini's and wanted to know if washes turn out better applied after a varnish or before. Also can gloss and matte varnish be combined on the one miniture effectively? What products would people recommend for this?

 

Never used varnish, thought I would ask the pro's. ;)

[Jupiter]

While I have never used any washes after varnishing, I would imagine they wouldn't apply nearly as well as they would over a coat of paint. I use testors varnish, but really any clear polyurethane coat will work

 

If you do try for the wash over varnish, let us know how it goes! I would be interested to hear and I'm too lazy to try it myself ^_^

[Subtle Discord]

I would always add Wash before varnish. The main reason being, it's really just another layer of paint and you want it protected by the varnish, just like everything else. Also, a Wash on a Gloss varnish is going to act much differently, due to the smoother surface. Wash works best on a Flat or Satin surface.

 

As for the varnish itself, there's no problem combining in most cases. What most people will do is add a coat of Gloss varnish for strong protection, and then follow up with a Satin or Flat varnish over that, to tone down the Glossy finish. In other cases people might want certain areas on a miniature to look wet and/or shiny. There's nothing wrong with adding a Satin or Flat varnish as a base, and then brush-on a Gloss varnish to select places for the desired effect.

 

For brush-on varnish I've been using Vallejo brand, and for spray-on I've still got an older can of GW Satin (Read: Purity Seal). Once the 'Purity Seal' runs out, I'll be looking into finding a better product. I like the finish of the GW product, but the cost is just too crazy. I'm positive there's a product out there that can offer a similar (or better) surface and protection at a much more reasonable price point.