Matt varnish recommendations?

[Sky Potato]

I've been using Vallejo Premium Colour acrylic polyurethane varnish (62.062) for a while now. It goes nicely through the airbrush and also brushes on pretty well, or at least it used to.

 

HOWEVER

 

Vallejo have changed the label - and with the label change, comes other changes as well. The new bottle is way glossier than a matt varnish should be - in fact, its glossier even than the bottle of Vallejo satin gloss from the same range.

 

There's three possible options:

 

• Vallejo have mislabelled a bottle of gloss varnish as a bottle of matt varnish, and the new label is a co-incidence
• I've somehow applied it wrong (I've blitzed the bottle on the vortex mixer before use and I've applied it no differently to usual. It can't be this)
• Most plausibly, Vallejo have changed something in the Premium colour line and its just not as good as it was.

 

I'm going to go with the third option, that something has changed. I'm like Garth from Wayne's World, I fear change 

 

Which brings me back to my question. Can anybody recommend a good matt varnish?

[Karhedron]

Testers Dullcote is the gold standard IMHO. Perfect flat finish every time. 

[Oxydo]

Does your bottle have a milky layer of sediment at the bottom? If so, that would explain the  gloss issue since the poly varnish tend to seperate into gloss and whatever they added to achieve a matt finish over time.

[Sky Potato]

34 minutes ago, Oxydo said:

Does your bottle have a milky layer of sediment at the bottom? If so, that would explain the  gloss issue since the poly varnish tend to seperate into gloss and whatever they added to achieve a matt finish over time.

No, there was no separation and besides, I gave it a good 45 seconds at least on the vortex mixer.

[N1SB]

Oh man, thx for the heads up, because I use Vallejo Matte Varnish.  I'll have to watch out for this when I get a new bottle.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I've used their Matt Polyurethane Varnish (72.651) without a problem, but that was before the branding (and possible formula) change. It does look like they've introduced an Ultra-Matt version (72.653).

 

I've not used it, but AK Interactive's Ultra-Matt varnish seems pretty popular (Duncan Rhodes uses it)

 

No idea if that's any help or not  

Edited February 10 by Firedrake Cordova

[apologist]

If you're open to rattle can sprays, I can thoroughly recommend Winsor & Newton professional matt varnish spray. There's a brush-on version that might work with airbrush too, though I can't attest to that.

 

Here's a before and after so you can see the matting effect it has on transfers, and that there's no texture deposition (the fine 3d print lines on the circular area are still visible, for example):

 

 

 

(Rest assured there's no discernible colour shift – the difference here is due to lighting. The before is at night, under artificial light, the second early morning natural light.)

Edited February 10 by apologist

[Sky Potato]

I've had poor experiences with spray can varnishes, but thanks for the recommendation for both the Testors and the Winsor & Newton stuff.

 

The local FLGS both have AK Interactive - and I've been a big fan of their Gen 3 line as well - so I'll give the ultra-matt a go. Thanks for the heads up. 

20 hours ago, N1SB said:

Oh man, thx for the heads up, because I use Vallejo Matte Varnish.  I'll have to watch out for this when I get a new bottle.

 

Just to confirm we're talking about the same stuff. The product code is 62.062

 

The older stuff with the black label is awesome. The new stuff with the predominantly white label - just not matt at all.

Edited February 10 by Sky Potato
Poor photo upload

[Oxydo]

On 2/9/2025 at 10:42 PM, Sky Potato said:

No, there was no separation and besides, I gave it a good 45 seconds at least on the vortex mixer.

Alright, probably not that then. I would wager mislabeled then.

Note, vortex mixing didnt help me, I had to go in with stick and physically stir it to losen it up enough and then shake the frak out of it. Absolute pita, but that was their 26.651 varnish.

Edited February 11 by Oxydo

[crimsondave]

I’ve had horrible issues with Army Painter frosting on me.  I’d avoid it.

[Karhedron]

3 minutes ago, crimsondave said:

I’ve had horrible issues with Army Painter frosting on me.  I’d avoid it.

 

A risk with any spray varnish (although some are worse than others). It is most often caused by moisture from the air getting caught in the spray. To minimise the risk, don't spray if it is cold or damp outside. Best to apply on dry, fine days (which here in Blightly means about 3 days per year ).

[crimsondave]

3 hours ago, Karhedron said:

 

A risk with any spray varnish (although some are worse than others). It is most often caused by moisture from the air getting caught in the spray. To minimise the risk, don't spray if it is cold or damp outside. Best to apply on dry, fine days (which here in Blightly means about 3 days per year ).

I spray inside in temperature controlled environment with a dehumidifier.  It works well with Testors.  I think the AP releases too much too fast but that’s just a theory.  AP seems the worst of any I’ve used.

[Xenith]

On 2/10/2025 at 12:35 PM, apologist said:

If you're open to rattle can sprays, I can thoroughly recommend Winsor & Newton professional matt varnish spray.

 

Seconding this. Great stuff, never had an issue. 

[Evil Eye]

Believe it or not I've actually found Citadel's Stormshield thinned with Tamiya's acrylic thinner through an airbrush to be pretty decent. Tamiya flat clear works quite nicely too!

 

There's also Mr. Hobby's GX Super Clear Matte (which also comes in a UV cut variety, which will significantly decrease the risk of sun damage) and like most of Mr. Hobby's output it's extremely durable and delightful to airbrush. However, as it's a lacquer based paint if you're going to put it over acrylics I would be VERY careful; you can airbrush it over them but you've got to be very careful, so don't spray it on too fiercely and DO NOT TOUCH THE MODEL until it's 100% cured. You could put a gloss varnish like Tamiya underneath, which will offer extra protection, though obviously this takes longer.

[Chaos Moomin]

I use the AK Interactive Ultra Matte, which I like a lot.

 

Be warned, though, they ain't kidding; it is VERY matte. I sometimes mix it with Vallejo's matte varnish (mine is 70.520), depending on the texture of the thing I'm painting, or when I want to to leave room on the mini to go even more matte for parts I want to look particularly dry.

[Sky Potato]

On 2/10/2025 at 8:31 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

I've used their Matt Polyurethane Varnish (72.651) without a problem, but that was before the branding (and possible formula) change. It does look like they've introduced an Ultra-Matt version (72.653).

 

I've not used it, but AK Interactive's Ultra-Matt varnish seems pretty popular (Duncan Rhodes uses it)

 

No idea if that's any help or not  

 

As a small bump, and an update.

 

AK Interactive AK183 Ultra Matt Varnish has done the trick when applied by brush. Lovely matt finish.

 

I haven't applied it by airbrush yet, but I have no reason to suspect it won't be similar, given how nicely its gone on with the brush.

[Volgon]

If anyone needs another endorsement for BRUSH ON varnish (I don't own an airbrush and I don't want to deal with potential frosting from rattle cans) - I've only used it sparingly so far, but mirroring @Sky Potato AK's ultra matte has worked very well for me. Previously I've tried Ammo MIG's Lucky Ultra Matte by brush as this was the recommendation in a painting recipe I'd found a few years ago and I hate it; it never brushes on well for me, doesn't really go ultra matte like it says even after multiple coats (at least via brush), and always seemed to leave slightly visible streaking or tide marks.