Final Varnish

[Karin Wells]

This info. comes from Gamblin about their Gamvar Varnish...

Most frequently asked question: How long do I have to wait till I varnish my painting, 6 months, 9 months?

The answer is simple and complex. You can safely varnish when the painting is dry. But when is a painting dry?

Some paintings are dry enough to varnish in two weeks. Some are not ready for two years. If one paints thinly with fast drying colors using a fast drying medium, in a warm and dry climate, then the painting may be ready to varnish in two weeks. But if the artist has painted using Alizarin Crimson to make a half inch thick layer using poppy oil as a medium then the painting may not be ready to varnish in two years, if ever.

How to tell if a painting is ready to varnish is easy -- just touch it. If there are impasto areas, gently press your fingernail into that impasto. If it is firm underneath the surface the painting then it is ready for varnishing. We recommend painters using alkyd resin painting mediums wait three months before varnishing. Painters using an oil and dammar mix in their painting mediums should wait six months. But, if an artist has a painting that is only dry on the surface and that painting is sold, we recommend the artist varnish only with Gamvar Picture Varnish. Suggest the painter thin the Gamvar with approximately 20% Gamsol or other high quality odorless mineral spirits to make a very light coating. After application, the surface of the painting will have an even gloss and the colors will look very saturated. The thin coating of Gamvar will slow down the drying process but drying will continue slowly and no problems will occur as the painting ages.