Final varnish - matte or gloss

[Michele Rushworth]

I'm no chemist either, nor do I like taking risks with important paintings. So I use the varnish that the National Gallery uses: Gamvar, by Gamblin. Easy, simple, looks great. (Hey, that ought to be a tv commercial!)

Damar varnish yellows dramatically over time and because it needs strong solvents when conservators try to remove it, sometimes a bit of the top layer of paint comes off with it. (You can see some before and after varnish removal pictures on some museum websites.) I try to stay away from it, even retouch varnish made with Damar.

With Gamvar, if you make a terrible mess of it (though I don't see how) you can take it all off with a more gentle solvent like odorless mineral spirits. Gamvar is glossy but it's easy to cut that glossiness by thinning the varnish with mineral sprits when you put it on, or with Gamblin Cold Wax medium in whatever proportion you like, to get a less glossy surface if that's your preference.

I always take the paintings out of the frames before varnishing, and wait til the varnish is very dry before putting the frames back on.

[Stanka Kordic]

Hi Mike,

I use GamVar, and really like it. It comes in a cystalline form that you mix with some sort of solvent (don't have the box in front of me) and shake periodically until they dissolve. Once you prepare the solution, it must be used within 30 days. I usually wait until I have a few canvases ready to go in order to make best use of the batch.

The best way I can describe the finish is "sparkly". It's very similar (to my eyes) as Liquin, not too shiny, not too matte. Its really very nice.

Hope this helps.

[Mike McCarty]

The best way I can describe the finish is "sparkly". It's very similar (to my eyes) as Liquin, not too shiny, not too matte. Its really very nice.

Thanks Stanka,

I know what you mean about "Liquin", it has a certain look.

[Tom Edgerton]

Hello all...

Since my last post on this topic, I've experimented some more with a matte/gloss mix.

I tried a 50/50 mix of Winton (Winsor & Newton) final varnishes, and like the sheen it imparts. It's also a little less thick than the Soluvar, and spreads a little thinner and more fluidly.

I've also done some math in regard to how much I have to cut the subsequent mix with odorless mineral spirit to turn the mix into a retouch varnish, rather than a final varnish--after all, the only difference between a retouch and final varnish is the ratio of varnish to solvent: a final mix is 30% varnish, a retouch mix is 15% varnish (according to published tech letters from Old Holland).

If I'm mixing approximately 4 ounces of retouch mix, I cut the 50/50 Winton final varnish mix (straight from the bottle) with about 20% more odorless.

I've usually gone to an application of retouch varnish as soon as the paint was well dry to the touch (about a week or two) as I'm doing commissioned portraits mostly and I've got to get them out the door. I don't want to send them out with no protection, but some paintings go to live too far away for me to loop back and varnish them six months to a year later. So this is my compromise. I never liked straight retouch varnish from the bottle, as the gloss was always too high for my taste.

From researching it, I don't think that this technique is unsound, but if anyone sees a pothole I don't see, please let us know herein.

Best--TE

[Marvin Mattelson]

I mix up the Gamvar and add 2 teaspoons of Bee's Wax Medium by Gamblin. It knocks down about 30% of the gloss, without having to sacrifice any of the depth. Everyone can't believe that their portraits look even better.

Mix the bee's wax medium with a little bit of Gamvar in another jar. Keep adding in more Gamvar s-l-o-w-l-y and shake, shake, shake and stir, stir, stir. Eventually you'll add this "slurry" (Robert Gamblin's word) to the remaining varnish. Shake it very well until there are no more little remnants of bee's wax remaining. You can rest when your arm gets tired. It's well worth the time and effort.

[Terri Ficenec]

Have used the GamVar before, but this is my first attempt to cut the shine using the Bee's wax...

I took 2 tablespoons of Gamblin's Cold Wax Medium and made a smooth slurry with some of the Gamvar in a stainless steel canister... This had a consistency/color almost like milk. Then I poured this into the remaining GamVar in the (5.4 oz) resin mixing jar. What I've got in the jar now is not clear, but rather looks sort of dull white -- more opaque than translucent, let's call it heavy fog. When I swirl it, I see little pearlescent eddies/clouds spinning by. If I turn the jar on it's side and look at the film the varnish leaves on the inside of the glass, at first the film looks a smooth but slightly fogged, then it starts to look a little clearer but almost gritty with little pin pricks -- not sure if these are bubbles, or teeny little bits of undissolved wax?

Questions:
1) Is the 2 Tablespoons number correct for the 5.4 fl. oz. size of the GamVar, or is there another size?
2) Should the resulting Varnish w/Bee's Wax appear clear in the jar, or is it expected to be foggy?
3) If it's supposed to be clear:
a) Does this batch just need more time/stirring/agitation (how long should it take overall?), or
b) Did I ruin the batch somehow? (stainless jar? day too humid???)

I do plan to apply this varnish to a sample painting first, that I will use to show clients what the finish looks like, but I'd rather not mess up even that if this batch of varnish is not right. . .

Any help greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!

[Marvin Mattelson]

I'm assuming you mixed up the Gamvar solvent with the crystals first. Personally, I use glass to mix my mediums and varnishes, not metal. Seems cleaner. After everything is mixed up I shake for one hour all day and let it all sit for a day or two.

When you mix up the slurry you need to introduce the beeswax gradually. Otherwise it may not be properly emulsified. In the final concoction there will always be tiny bits of undissolved wax in the final mix, which I would call more opalescent than opaque. White gesso is opaque.

Definitely test it out on an old unimportant painting that's sufficiently dried (6 mos to 1 yr). If you don't like what you see after it dries (couple of hours), you can always remove the varnish with Gamsol (mineral spirits). Then if you feel it's too mattte, add more Gamvar.

[Allan Rahbek]

Terri,
I believe that Marvins advise is correct when followed from the start, that is gradually dissolving the wax by stirring.

But as you describe the look of it I think that the wax is not dissolved, so that is why you should follow Tom

[Terri Ficenec]

Marvin, Allan, thank you both so much for such timely and helpful responses!

Originally Posted by Marvin Mattelson

I'm assuming you mixed up the Gamvar solvent with the crystals first. . . .

When you mix up the slurry you need to introduce the beeswax gradually. Otherwise it may not be properly emulsified. In the final concoction there will always be tiny bits of undissolved wax in the final mix, which I would call more opalescent than opaque. White gesso is opaque.
. . .

Yes, I mixed up the Gamvar a couple of days ago... but perhaps I rushed the slurry mix and the wax isn't sufficiently emulsified? Or maybe the whole thing just needs a couple of days to settle now that the bee's wax is mixed in? Opalescent could maybe describe what I've got, but so could murky... Certainly not so opaque as white gesso! I'll give some more time and agitation, and make sure it's warm enough -- then see what it looks like on a painting!

And Marvin, I will use glass to make the slurry in next time--Thanks!

[Michele Rushworth]

Terri, I encourage you to email Gambin directly with your questions. I've found Robert Gamblin to be very responsive to queries.