[Mike McCarty]

Juan,

Thanks for the reply. Your approach seems reasonable to me.

In your opinion would you think that overlapping the "hole" would be a problem, or would you try and stay inside the hole. I'm thinking that I will apply this new varnish with a small brush.

Just thinking as I type, I could try and stay inside the hole and then when it is dry, depending on the results, I could go over the whole painting with another coat of varnish. Only one coat has been applied so far. Don't people routinely apply two coats?

I don't have the varnish bottles with me right now so I can't tell (would it say?) from the label whether it's hard or soft. I'll read the labels later today.

Do you or anyone else know why this simple sugar glaze would, in less than five minutes, be so effective in removing the varnish. What's the point in varnish if not to protect against these occurances? I like the unifying finish it provides, but I thought it would be much tougher than that.