Difficulties with Spray Varnishes

[Nemac Vradon]

Hi everyone,

 

I have bought a can of Purity Seal and followed the instructions on the can, shaking for 2 minutes and only when the temperature is between 15 and 29 degrees. Today is a warn day and is easily within those parameters but I found it has still misted on the model. Is there any advice you kind folks can give me on how to get it to work properly?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Nemac

[Father Mehman]

I have never gotten a can of Purity Seal to work correctly. The best thing I can offer is to tell you some other options, those being Krylon's range of varnishes. They make gloss, satin, and matte, all of which I've found seal the model with no misting. Which one to choose is up to what you're working on. For instance, I use satin or gloss to seal my Death Guard before oil washing and then, when those applications are dry, I seal it again with matte varnish just so the oil won't rub off. If you're looking for protection, Krylon's matte varnish will do perfectly.

 

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[Major_Gilbear]

What the instructions may not have told you is not to use it if it's too dry or too humid. The recent UK weather we've had means you've probably fallen victim to the humidity spoiling your finish.

 

Once it's spoiled, there are very few remedies, and of those none are perfect or even work every time. That I know of:

 

1) Gloss varnish the whole model by hand carefully, and re-spray when dry and in suitable conditions.

 

2) Re-spray a fairly heavy coat of purity seal and put it under a fairly warm lamp to dry.

 

I varnish my models for both finished look and for protection. Gloss provides the protection, and the a final coat of matte proves the finish.

 

I use a floor-grade non-yellowing UV-resistant water-based PU varnish, which I thin on a palette with a little clean water and apply with a soft clean brush.

 

When fully dry, I spray with Testor's Dullcote. It absolutely stinks when you spray it on, but when it dries it really gives you an astonishingly matte and even finish - simply beautiful. Any little spots that I didn't quite catch with Testor's, I touch up with a little thinned matte medium (Lahmian Medium id GW's version). As this is just for finish (since if you can't reach it with spray, you can't reach it with your fingers), the robustness of the matte medium is not really relevant.

 

Although I am super-careful with my models, sometimes the inevitable happens and they take a tumble - so far, I've yet to have a scuff or a chip even on my metal figures. :)

[Nemac Vradon]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will try that method for fixing the model that got a little ruined so extra thanks for that :tu:. I have figured it out I think. the temperature today is good but I think I was too close to the model, hence it went on too thick. A second attempt came out perfectly :)

 

Thanks again, all advice is very much appreciated!

 

Nemac

[old git]

Another possible source of the problem, maybe in conjunction with other factors, is the distance you spray from. Holding the can too far away from the model, especially if conditions are too warm or humid, may mean the varnish is partially dried before it hits the model. Whilst this seems a tad implausible it has happened to me. The varnish diffuses into a fine mist between nozzle and model so each tiny droplet of varnish may dry out a bit if it's too warm.

[Nemac Vradon]

Thanks old git. The distance I sprayed from was too close by about 10cm roughly but I've now got it right. Also found its best to hold the model with gloves on rather then spray into a box lid as it helps cover the whole model and not get too much in one place.

 

Nemac

[Iron-Daemon Forge]

Just say if you get any of the frost look.  Olive oil work.

​Pretty much apply the olive oil onto the part of the model effected, using any old standard brush.  Then just let it settle for a few moment, say half a hour.  Then just use standard brush & paper towel with water mix with a little bit of wash up liquid to remove the olive oil.  The varnish is still there to protect your models, it just remove the frost look.

[Nemac Vradon]

Thanks IP I'll give that a go :tu:

 

Nemac

[Abachrael]

Actually, before I sealed my first models, I read so many horror history with sprays than I decided against all of them. If I ruined a painted miniature because of the spray sealing, I'd be beyond pissed off.

Still, varnishing miniatures is quick. I use Vallejo Gloss varnish (which looks extremely hard), let them dry for 24 hours, and then a layer of Vallejo Matt.

 

No risk of destroying your hard work, takes 2 minutes to do a miniature, and they become REALLY hard to chip. Not that I tried but...I dropped a few from a considerable height, without a single dent.

 

So, bruses for me.

[Sol_Invictus]

I've had several models ruined by frosting from Purity Seal so I've been using brush on varnishes since. I've been thinking of trying Krylon's sprays but I'm scared of ruining another model...

 

As far as remedies I've read that using a brush on matte varnish can fix the frosting but I've yet to give it a go. 

[STC Logisengine]

Well, I could use some advise.

Yesterday I finished a model and unthinkingly went outside to give it a coat of matte varnish of the aerosol spray type.

Thing is I failed to notice that things had gone from normal to a tad humid outdoors and well, the varnish Went a bit White when it dried due to the humid conditions.

Does anyone know if this can be somewhat reversed with the use of a gloss coat or something of the kind?

I'd rather not repaint the whole contemptor if there is another way.

[Iron-Daemon Forge]

Olive Oil.

​Apply this using old brush onto the effected area of the models.  One this is done, maybe leave it for half a hour or so.  Then use washing up liquid mix with water, use brush & paper towel to wipe off the olive oil.  The model should be back to normal, varnish is still there for protecting the model, it just remove the frost effect.

[Hannibaal]

Just say if you get any of the frost look. Olive oil work.

​Pretty much apply the olive oil onto the part of the model effected, using any old standard brush. Then just let it settle for a few moment, say half a hour. Then just use standard brush & paper towel with water mix with a little bit of wash up liquid to remove the olive oil. The varnish is still there to protect your models, it just remove the frost look.

I know it's an old post, but I felt that some feed back would be valuable to the community as a whole. Recently, I thought I had ruined 2 models with a can of purity seal. One of them looked like it literally had walked through a blizzard, with a horribly thick white coat on it from the varnish. I looked on the board here for potential remedies and tried out the lahmiam medium one and the gloss varnish one as well on different spots on the bases to test the results. They helped a little bit, but did not come close to correcting the problem.

Then I saw the post about the olive oil, and figured I was just going to have to strip the models anyway so why not give it a shot. I applied a coat of olive oil all over and let it sit for 30 minutes before cleaning it up with soapy water, and amazingly it completely cleared up the white blizzard effect. The only parts it did not cut through were the ones that I had already applied lahmiam medium and gloss varnishes to in earlier attempts. In hind sight I should have taken photos, but quite honestly I didn't have much hope that I would be able to correct the issue because it was that bad.

I just wanted to share my results with the community since I know I am not the only one to experience such frustration. I whole heartedly endorse the olive oil remedy for frosting from Purity Seal. Thanks Insane Psychopath!

[Demonl]

I use AK Ultra Matte from airbrush for final coating, never had any issues, nice finish.

[STC Logisengine]

All hail olive oil!

 

It works like a charm to remove frosting.

 

I had a somewhat more liberal approach and more or less carefully scrubbed it into every corner of my contemptor with a soft toothbrush, let it sit for 45 minutes and then used regular old dishwashingsoap ( I guess any liquid soap would do) and some lukewarm water in a bowl (submerged the whole oily model) and carefully scrubbed it clean with the aforementioned toothbrush (I usually use it when I clean my FW resin crack from release-agent) then got the soapy water aff bu running it under the tap and then wiping it dry with some paper-tissues.

 

Perfect results!

[Seahawk]

How to make it work?

 

 

Throw it away and use this spray instead: http://www.testors.com/product-catalog/testors-brands/testors/lacquer-paint/top-coats-and-thinners/

 

;)