Saturday, September 20, 2014

Vallejo Matt Varnish Disaster and Redemption!

Hey All!


Soooo the other night, after finishing up a German 7.5cm leIG 18 and three crew figures, I needed to flatcoat. Currently I have been brushing on Vallejo 70.520 (17mm size bottle) or 26.518 (60mm) and am fairly happy with the results though, there is room for improvement. Also, the varnish is durable and can stand up to gaming so there is that...The flat achieved has a very slight sheen and occasionally an area that is downright glossy.

 So a thought comes to me - I wonder if I can get a better result with airbrushing the varnish? I grabbed a KV-1 I have done a few years back as a test piece and turned it upside down to test on the underside. I sprayed a 2-1 ratio of varnish to water and waited...looked good, in fact, looked GREAT! Super flat! Wow!

I though, heck, I have never been happy with the KV-1s flatcoat so sprayed the entire model...then the 7.5cm leIG 18... then the crew...then an extensively scratchbuilt 15cm sIG 33 also waiting for a flatcoat (see previous post)...then I looked at the KV again...whats this?!...seems to be hazing over a bit...hmm...it will be ok, a little loss of color intensity, its happened before...still such a great flat...hey!...its getting worse! NOOOOOO!!!

Everything white...EVERYTHING...

Tried a few 'fixes'. The gloss, with a second coat of flat, the soak and redo, the olive oil (really?)...all no help...ok the olive oil helped but then they were shiny so ...into the bath of Easy Off...soo much work...

So to sum up, DO NOT SPRAY VALLEJO MATT VARNISH!

So yesterday, I began to re-build the models...this time I plan on fixing a few things that bothered me the first time.
 The shield on the 7.5cm is too thick and has poor detail. I replaced it with one I made from galvanized sheet. As well, cocking handles were added to both models.  Gas recuperators and wooden bar for repositioning the gun were removed as they were out of round and look bad. I replaced them and added the pistons to the gun cradle.  Both models have terrible elevation handwheels so those where changed out too. I plan on painting in the spoke detail later.
 I installed the proper amount of shield supports (two per side) for the 15cm. Aiming stakes added to the trail of the 7.5cm and shield of the 15cm.
 I used Micro Kristal Clear to add rivet details to the 7.5cm shield and added sight doors to both guns.  Pioneer tools added to the shield of the 15cm.  I also cut off the barrel end and replaced it with a brass one as it was out of round.
Tho it doesn't show, I drilled out the somewhat flat axle on the 15cm and replaced it with a brass rod to keep the wheels straight and secure.  Finally, I added a barrel cleaner and recoil shield to the 75.

As I have heard good things, I ordered Winsor and Newton Galeria Matt varnish to try...stay tuned...

Cheers,

Troy 

PS...


After a suggestion by Chevalier de la Terre (thanks buddy!) to try 62.062 Vallejo Premium Acrylic Polyurethane Matt Varnish, I found some at my local hobby shop. At first, I brushed it on and had poor shiny results What the hell?!

I re-read  his instructions 'shake well before use'...oops...I shook the bottle like a junkie needing his fix, put some in my old Badger single action and POW! Excellent results!

I realized now that though the product is clear, you need to shake the crap out of it. I did not thin at all and airbrushed at 20 psi while wearing a 3M NIOSH P100 mask. The bottle says non-toxic but Im sure it isn't something you want in your lungs.

 The results are nothing short of stellar...
This pic was taken with a flash and there is zero shine. I re-coated my entire collection of Soviets and German Infantry stands inside an hour.  They really look great! This product is what I have been searching for since I tossed Dullcote.  Also the Polyurethane Matt Varnish has the added bonus of durability - what more could you ask for?

Cheers and thanks again Chevalier de la Terre!!

Troy

15 comments:

Inkub said...

Sorry to hear about your issue. I use vallejo matt varnish with airbrush for about two years and not a single miniature was frosted... But I heard about it frosting sometimes...

daveb said...

It pains me everytime I hear of varnish disasters. I've only had 2 cases of frosting...and it was minor. I now feel paranoid everytime I need to varnish. Hope you never encounter the problem again, thanks for the warning on airbrushing varnish.

Ritterkrieg said...

I wonder if it was the added water?!? I'll have to test that out. Btw, Vallejo varnish is murder to clean out of the airbrush when dry!!

daveb said...

Oh my god. I hadn't even thought of the cleaning of the airbrush angle. *gurrgle*
I know frosting usually occurs when it's humid out (or, say, when it's raining lightly which was my first time experiencing the problem). It seems reasonable that adding water might be the issue. Maybe isopropyl alcohol as the thinner? What did you use to clean your brush besides elbow grease?

Cameron said...

Wow, that is brutal. I'm really sorry to hear that. Too bad you don't have any pictures of the frosted models (it would be interesting to see them). I've tried airbrushing the vallejo matte stuff and haven't ever gotten good results. It always seems to go a bit frosty. I haven't found any matte stuff I can airbrush acceptably well. I use Tamiya Model Master Acryl Gloss for gloss airbrushing and have had pretty good results with it.

Troop of Shewe said...

I only use testors dullcote through the airbrush, need a mask but so far its been 100% matt and reliable, don't brush it on though.....

Dorn's Arrow said...

I've only ever used Vallejo Matt Varnish from my airbrush and have never had any problem what so ever :-o I do however dillute it with thinner instead of water.

This post is going to make me really paranoid for the next time I have to varnish something :p

Chevalier de la Terre said...

Always vanish a test piece before commencing on something important. Always. Whenever I have not done this, I have regretted it. Still, I have had the odd mess-up I the past: varnishing disasters cut right to the heart of miniature painters I reckon!

OTOH Vallejo Matt vanish (No. 62.062, not the ones you have above) has been excellent for me so far, but I use it straight from the bottle in a couple of thin coats, no water.


CdlT

Ritterkrieg said...

So that is their Polyurethane Matt Varnish not the acrylic resin. Seems hard to find. Is it dead flat when dry?

Troy

Chevalier de la Terre said...

So far, pretty much: shake well before use, the matting agent collects at the bottom of the bottle if you haven't used it in a while, shake to mix it, etc. You can brush it on as well with similar results, but I prefer using it through an (old) airbrush.

CdlT

Braxen said...

I always apply matt varnish with a brush. Had 3 or 4 "fog" incidents during my painting career but at this point, I'd be stupid to continue using sprays.

In regard of how to recover the paint job, as soon as the "fog" appears try to spray a gloss varnish, this tends to "melt" the matt varnish and its foggy effects.

Ritterkrieg said...

I found a bottle of 62.062. Is it their Vallejo Premium Acrylic Polyurethane Color line? Looks kind of clear, not milky like their other Matt Varnish?

Amin said...

I find that the polyurethane matte varnish still has shine when I shake it rigorously. I'll try shaking it even more. What I've been doing lately is one coat of polyurethane brushed on, and then a thin coat of the acrylic matte varnish. The kicker with the matte is that the matte medium separates very easily from the acrylic medium, so I've added more acrylic medium to it, specifically lahmian medium from GW. Works like a charm, and gives me a perfect flat finish.

The polyurethane is definitely different than the acrylic resin. I had to special order it. Smell them side by side, very different. The polyurethane is supposed to be a lot stronger too, which is probably why it smells like gasoline ;)

I'll definitely try shaking the polyurethane more vigorously though, that might do the trick. I do paint it on though, maybe that tends to increase the shininess.

Adam said...

Uhh... Worse thing ever! Had same problem recently but with Army Painter varnish.
Lesson learned the hard way- always shake and try on some small piece thirst!
If it happens again use this: http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/ :)

Anonymous said...

26.518 for brush
62.062 For airbrush
I found this out the hard way...:)