Varnishing Twice?

[Chaeron]

Firstly, thank you in advance for what will appear to be a stupid thing to have done...

 

Recently picked up the big tubs of Dark Tone and Strong Tone from the Army Painter range, thinking they were big versions of the fantastic Dark/Strong Tone inks. I did not realise that they were also a varnish... Which, left me with this:

 

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c254/TheNewAgeOutlaw/GW/IMG-20130422-00160_zps039fd372.jpg

 

Which, isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think he's too shiny - so I'm going to look to use some matte spray to even the balance.

 

My question is - and the answer may be simply to try - but if I would normally do a brown wash, followed by a black wash - in using these two specific varnishes, will it leave a glossy effect that looks like a 1980s KISS show? I.e. awesome but excessive? Will this be problematic applying it twice?

 

I'm thinking that it may become too thick, obscure details etc. - but truthfully - am not sure. If anyone has made this mistake, or can assist, I'd be much obliged before I go and ruin some more models.

 

Cheers in advance!

[Kaedes Nex]

The big cans of tone ARE the same as their smaller bottles. It's simply that the viscocity is much higher since it's concentrated in a big tub rather than being thinned out into tiny dropper bottles. When you dip with Army Painter tone, you are supposed to shake off the excess. It WILL leave a gloss, so you are supposed to hit it with a matte varnish afterwards. Same with the small dropper bottles. Even if you do a light wash with a brush from the dropper bottle, the tone will still leave a gloss instead of the satin you are used to with other company's washes.

 

I probably would not recommend dipping it twice in tone. It is quite thick. You should be able to wash it with Citadel Nuln Oil or a thinner black wash over the brown Army Painter tone just fine.

[Razblood]

Or you could just thin down the strong tone & dark tone before applying and then hit it with a matt varnish.

 

This will avoid obscuring the detail and the Army Painter tones are water based and can be thinned just like any normal ink :)

[Fibonacci]

Just hit it with a spry matt varnish and it will lose the shine.  In fact if you use GW Purity Seal it does best with a gloss or satin varnish first.

[Chaeron]

Cheers for the responses all!

The
big cans of tone ARE the same as their smaller bottles. It's simply
that the viscocity is much higher since it's concentrated in a big tub
rather than being thinned out into tiny dropper bottles. When you dip
with Army Painter tone, you are supposed to shake off the excess. It
WILL leave a gloss, so you are supposed to hit it with a matte varnish
afterwards. Same with the small dropper bottles. Even if you do a light
wash with a brush from the dropper bottle, the tone will still leave a
gloss instead of the satin you are used to with other company's washes.

I
probably would not recommend dipping it twice in tone. It is quite
thick. You should be able to wash it with Citadel Nuln Oil or a thinner
black wash over the brown Army Painter tone just fine.

Oh right! It wasn't dipped btw - it was actually painted on, so in short -if I were to water it down, I wouldn't have a problem? See the thingwith the small dropper bottles, is there wasn't a hint of glosss what so ever - and that was with two thick coats, one of each.

Or you could just thin down the strong tone & dark tone before applying and then hit it with a matt varnish.

This will avoid obscuring the detail and the Army Painter tones are water based and can be thinned just like any normal ink

Yeah, this will probably be best - any idea of how much one should water them down? One to... three parts water or more?

Just
hit it with a spry matt varnish and it will lose the shine. In fact if
you use GW Purity Seal it does best with a gloss or satin varnish
first.

Thanks Fib - I'm just concerned with two washes of it.

Perhaps it might be worth trying watering them down significantly to avoid this then?

[Razblood]

You shouldn't need that much water from what I understand as Army Painter tones are essentially the same stuff as Minwax Polyurethane Varnish so about 10 - 15% water should be enough (which is what I've seen recommended for the Minwax stuff, though I would experiment with it a bit on some spare minis before finalizing the ratio

I've only used the bottled ones and they don't have a glossy effect at all as they are essentially the same formula as GW's old Badab Black, Devlan Mud & Gryphonne Sepia Washes whereas the tinned stuff is pretty much just water based polyurethane varnish.

[Chaeron]

I've only used the bottled ones and they don't have a glossy effect at all as they are essentially the same formula as GW's old Badab Black, Devlan Mud & Gryphonne Sepia Washes whereas the tinned stuff is pretty much just water based polyurethane varnish.

 

Yup, that's why they were ideal! I thought buying them in bulk would be great too - until I forgot to actually check that was the case :lol:

 

Cheers - I'm torn between going back to the little bottles, or attempting to dilute the varnish...

[Razblood]

Since you already have the varnish it's at least worth a go. Plus the glossiness may be annoying, but at least you know that it'll protect what you've done underneath :lol:

 

When you apply it thinned it's probably best to treat it like an oil or watercolour wash and remove excess and clean up areas you don't want shaded with q-tips. This may help reduce the glossiness on the larger surfaces :)

[Chaeron]

Thanks again Raz. I can certainly appreciate the benefit of a nice protective coat - but given it's turned the armour more of a yellowy than an off-white, I don't feel that happy with it currently! But yes, I'll give it a pop - see what happens, and at worst-  I just won't use it on these guys. Probably best for shiny loyalists anyway!