Photo Finish Spray Lacquer
 

Hello,

It is time to varnish my dry oil painting. A friend and artist I respect suggested I use a Professional Photo Finish Lacquer Spray. She says it has a nice surface and is easy to apply. I am just about to order a can or two but now I am starting to have doubts.

Has anyone ever used a photo lacquer on his or her oil painting before? I really like the idea of spraying on the finish rather than brushing it on. But I am a little nervous about using a product that wasn't intended for oil paint--any thought or suggestions?

Thanks,
Lara Cannon

Lara,

It is best to use an easily removable varnish designed for oil paintings. The best seem to be the so-called acrylic resin varishes. These synthetic varnishes do not yellow over time like the traditional natural resin varnishes (mastic and dammar) and are easier to remove too. You can buy some of them in spray cans.

Painting varnishes are traditionally applied with the brush. I prefer to use Gamblin's Gamvar varnish which I brush on. A painting should be allowed to dry for at least three months, better if allowed to dry six months or a year. If a painting is varnished too soon, it will eventually "eat" the varnish (asborb the varnish into the paint film) as it continues to oxidate and parts of the painting will become dull again.

I live in a very dry climate and I varnish this way:
First -- I wet an old washcloth and wring it out as dry as possible. I wipe the surface of the painting with this cloth.

Second -- I examine every square inch of the canvas for lint or cat hair or whatever... I wipe the surface with the dry palm of my hand to pick up anything I see. My hand leaves no lint and I'm not a werewolf, so I noticed no hair on the palm of my hand the last time I looked.

Third -- I lay the painting flat and apply the Gamvar with a soft flat synthetic hair brush. I stroke it out as far as possible. I try and apply an extremely thin coat only. Gamvar and other synthetic varnishes are much easier to apply than traditional dammar and also much easier to remove later.

Fourth -- After only about five minutes, the varnished painting can be placed in the vertical position without fear of the varnish running. I lean it against a wall, the paint side facing in. This prevents dust settling on the varnish as it dries. In my climate, the varnish is dry in twenty minutes or so.

A varnish serves to give the finished painting an even sheen and to protect the paint from the smoke and dirt in the atmosphere.

Lara--

Mr. Whitaker has given you a positive response with an abundance of usable information. I will only add: DO NOT use a laquer over oil paint.

Best--TE

Lara

I agree 100% with Bill and Tom. The solvents in a lacquer would be very bad for oil paint. However, I wonder if the product called a "spray lacquer" really is a true lacquer or if the word is just used as a name. I'd be surprised if lacquer wouldn't hurt photographic paper, too.

Anyway, another good varnish besides Gamblin's superb "Gamvar", is Winsor & Newton's Artists Picture Varnish which they now sell in a spray -- both the high gloss and the satin finish. I'd stay away from any matte finish varnishes for oil paintings.

Hope it helps.

Juan

Oh, yes; Krylon also sells a couple of good spray varnishes -- both are on the "conservator-approved" list (my term) of synthetic acryloid resins: "Crystal Clear", a hard varnish, and "Kammar Varnish" which is a softer, dammar substitute, as they claim.

Finally, Rembrandt Picture Varnish is another one I know of that uses a good, non-yellowing synthetic resin (this time, a polycylcohexanone; Larapol K80) but I haven't used it. Beva, a manufacturer of museum conservation materials, also has a reversible picture varnish. It might be one the best, along with Gamblin's, but it's hard to find, and probably only available in large quantities.

Any of these that we've mentioned should serve you well and you needn't turn to a photographer's product. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that (assuming it isn't a true lacquer) it's just that there are already a number of available varnishes specifically designed for oil paintings.

Best.

Juan

Thank you!
 

Wow! What fabulous information. I am so glad I came here with my question. Thanks to all of you for your input.

Lara Cannon

Gamvar
 

I have personally used Gamvar and find it to be a lovely clear, leveling varnish. One of the caveats of sucessful varnishing is to do it on a dry day. As this was developed in the rather damp northwest I would say this is a very safe varnish to use.

Golden Paints has just released a new archival spray varnish, that I believe can be used on oils. I find Golden's technical support and products excellent. They do a great deal of product research and are generally on the cutting edge. Mike Townsend has been very helpful and knowledgeable. www.goldenpaints.com

Thank you Sharon, I happen to live in a rain forest in the Northwest. Finding a truly dry day this time of year is almost impossible. I will take a look at Golden Paints

Thanks again for the great advice. I am so glad I didn't use the lacquer!

Actually, a lot of them are real laquer. They're formulated to be compatible with photo emulsions, and won't really damage the paper underneath. But they're pretty toxic and fume-y, yellow with age, and cause immense heartache if applied over anything with a trace of moisture--water or oil. Three strikes, to my mind.

Best to use the materials truly designed for oil.

Best--TE

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't oil paint incompatible with lacquer? If so, the lacquer could crackle and start peeling as soon as it dries. This stuff is intended to be sprayed onto photos, not painted surfaces.