Airbrushing Vallejo Satin Varnish

[schnarkie]

Sorry lurk these forums and rarely post.

 

On my Grey Knight army I've started to use an airbrush for most the painting.  I primed it with Vallejo Surface primer black then used the Model Air Metallics to coat the model with silver.  Everything seemed to go fine until I get to the varnish.  My understanding is it is a good habit to varnish after metallics because they aren't very durable.

 

I tried to run Vallejo Satin Varnish through my airbrush with no thinning at about 10 - 15 PSI.  My understanding is it clogged immediately because I tried to spray it and nothing left the basket.  I read some people have managed to do this so I tried this first.

 

I cleaned it out (what a nightmare) and got it back and operational and added Satin Varnish again at 50/50 thinner with airbrush thinner.  It seems to have worked (I think?) because the basket emptied and I'm pretty sure it was spraying.

 

My issue is I can't even tell if anything hit the models?  They look the same as before.  Is this normal with satin varnish?  I figured I would get a glossy finish on the model after spraying.

 

I really don't want to hit these models with satin varnish again so I figured i'd ask.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Firepower]

Typically varnish "flattens" metals to some extent, though that would be hard to notice with only a single solid coat of one color.  Satin varnish has only a very subtle sheen though, one which you maybe wouldn't see against the generally reflective surface of metal paint.

 

I can't quite recall where I read it, but I think Vallejo varnish isn't exactly ideal for airbrushing.  I use Liquitex personally.  But seeing as I can't remember the argument I'm not gonna say with confidence that you should go out and buy a bottle.

 

But i the hopper emptied and you weren't spraying 2 feet away from the model, I'd say it's fairly certain that it did indeed at least hit the model, but I couldn't say if it coated it proper without seeing it before and after.

[schnarkie]

I appreciate the feedback.  There was a model I had used to test airbrushing these model air metallics that I completely forgot about.  After closer comparison you can tell a difference between the two.  Like you said though how well the coating went on is another story.

 

Atleast it doesn't look like it hurt the models (over varnishing) so that is a start.  I was about 6 inches from the model with a low PSI.

 

I'll keep Liquitex varnishes in mind.  I use their thinners and flow aids. 

 

Thanks!

[Greyshift]

How about thinning your paint with varnish instead of thinner? I'm pretty sure I saw

a scale model medic video on YouTube where he did just that with satin varnish

[Firepower]

Seems a bit off, seeing as you have to thin the varnish to spray it alone.

[schnarkie]

The problem I ran into was it dried so fast inside the airbrush.   I varnished one model before the whole thing just locked up.  After airbrush thinner it seemed to go through.

 

I'm working on all the details now then i'm going to try and run matte varnish through it and see what happens.  While it might seem painful I like the control I have airbrushing over spray can.  It can also be done in my room without any nasty chemical smells with controlled humidity etc (which might also mean it isn't as strong but that is fine).

 

Going to pick up a ultrasonic cleaner to do a full clean sometime soon.  I hear they work good and i'm sure my airbrush will need it after all this varnishing.

 

Priming/painting was no problem for my airbrush.  Varnish seems to be giving it a few issues.

[Firepower]

Thinner and thorough cleaning after you finish is key.  Getting down just the right thinner to varnish ratio when spraying will help loads, too, though it's a trial and error sort of thing.  

 

By the way, I would stay away from retarder, as it increases the dry time on the model, and so the varnish may pool or run.

[Greyshift]

This is the video I was referring to, at about the 2.00 min mark he thins Vallejo air 2:1 with satin varnish before spraying. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this as I'm an airbrushing noob - I don't even have one yet - but will getting one soon hence looking up video tutorials etc

 

Edit - on second viewing maybe thins isnt the right term but he gets a nice result mixing the paint and varnish

[S.k.i.t.t.l.e]

 

This is all I do to clean my airbrush, and to be honest, it should be all you need to do. The only thing I do slightly different is I take the needle out of the front instead of  pulling it out of the back if I think it's still quite grubby. Stops you getting paint further inside the airbrush than you should.

 

This:

 is also awesome. He has cleaning tips in there too.

[schnarkie]

Interesting, thanks for the tips on cleaning.

 

Running varnish through it again tomorrow.  Decided to stick with satin varnish because of so much metallic on the models.

[Papa Lazarou]

Hey Schnarkie, I use Vallejo varnish all the time with my airbrush and thin it with roughly 2 parts water, it does need thinning first. For metallics I will give it a couple of gloss coats first for paint protection and then a light satin varnish so it keeps a nice sheen on the metallics and armour then just paint a thinned (with water) matt varnish for purity seals, skin and other matt surfaces.

[schnarkie]

Interesting so you run 1:2 vallejo varnish:water with both gloss and satin varnish?

 

I've only used satin. Ill swap to gloss for the first coat then satin then paint matte.

 

I've been using airbrush thinner but ill try distilled water. Ran satin through again at a low PSI using airbrush thinner and still had some issues. Ill try the 1:2 method with thinner coats.

 

Thanks!

[Firepower]

One more thing that may help you out is needle lube. I'll let this nice man explain-

I started using it (Regdab Needle Juice specifically) recently, and it's glorious for what it costs you in time and money. Acrylic model paints dry so damned fast that this has become a must-have in my tool belt, but it also helps with just about anything else. You still have to thin properly, but this will make spraying and the aftermath noticeably easier. That, and it's cheap

As for cleaning, I wouldn't spring for an ultrasonic cleaner, personally. Yeah, varnish will be a nightmare to clean out of the brush if you let it dry (or if you did a bad job thinning) but when you're doing everything right it's practically a non-issue. I varnished 15 guys the other day (separated into heads, bodies, backpacks, and arms) without a clog, and cleaning was no more difficult than it normally is for paints. For the record, I used Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish, with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner. Thinning with water is a bit iffy, because it will evaporate faster, meaning the varnish will dry faster (whether it's in your brush or not).