I am getting ready to varnish a painting. Currently, it has a lot of variation in the dullness and shininess of the surface, due to touching up and cleaning up the edges with medium. The background is very dark gray and black. Consequently, some areas are sunken in… very dull, and some areas are very shiny.
My question is, will varnish mitigate all of this and make the surface even? Would it take lots of coats of varnish? Or should I treat the raw surface with something to help before I varnish? Perhaps oil it out over the complete surface first?
So much work in this, I don’t want to hurt it and I want the surface to be even so there is no distraction from the content.
Let me know what you think! Thanks
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Hi Deb!!! If you know for sure that the touch-ups/edits were made when the paint was wet or oiled out then everything should be just fine when varnished. However, if you are varnishing with something that has been used as a medium throughout then you may encounter some aggregate sheen in spots. You can indeed oil out to double check, but any addition of unpigmented oil/medium may increase the severity of yellowing over time.
Medium used for cleanup was gamblins no solvent safflower oil. Same medium used throughout the painting. Background is black and was dry, likely not oiled out at the time of cleanup of the edges.
Some parts of the black are shiny some are matte. I just want to be sure that all will be unified when varnished, so I just needed some input from someone who knows what he’s doing.
Thanks.
What varnish Deb?
I use Gamvar. Sometimes straight and sometimes with a small amount of a mix of Gamsol and cold wax to make it more matte.
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What you describe is why I am afraid of very dark backgrounds. I usually mix a black with ult. blue and burnt umber but have better luck with ult.blue and burnt sienna. However, I still get a patchy surface with dull areas. I have found that if I oil out I have a bit of trouble getting the varnish to cover without it beading over some areas. I also use Gamvar. I recently watched Gamblin’s video on varnishing a painting and found it very helpful which made for more success with varnishing.
Thanks for raising the topic…good to know that someone else has the same problems as I.
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BTW if you make a mess of the varnish and you have used Gamvar it truly can be removed very easily with Gamsol. So no worries there.
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Thanks Sandra. I am familiar with the beading up of varnish. I’ve seen the Gamblin video, but I’ll revisit it. Perhaps I’ll ask them about this problem.
Also, the easy removal of Gamblin varnish is one of the reasons I like it so well. It’s just easy to use.
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I just revisited Gamblin’s website and they have updated the videos. They specifically address the question I had, which was should I make a final oiling out to help even up the surface before varnishing. And the answer is YES.
Thanks Sandra, for pointing me in the right direction!!
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I have oiled out the whole painting surface with a mix of Gamblin Solvent Free Gel medium (which was used throughout the painting) and a few drops of Gamsol. And… success!!! The final surface before varnish is absolutely beautiful. All the patchiness has disappeared, especially the shiny areas, which were the most problematic (I knew it would take care of the dull spots).
I’m thrilled with the outcome. Another day or two to dry and then varnish. I hope the final surface after varnishing will be just as good.
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Hi! I am glad to read the varnishing was a success- wonderful painting! Just wanted to share an experience I had with Gamblin mediums and varnish a few years back. I had definitely used too much Galkyd Lite medium in the painting and to oil out-- when I varnished with Gamvar it beaded over the oiled out surfaces and would not adhere. There’s an easy fix Gamblin suggested-- breaking up the medium film with a brush dipped in Gamsol to open up the surface to accept the varnish- but just wanted to share that this could happen! I now use a thinner, specially mixed medium to oil out, and I use a lot less. 
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Thanks! Good to know.
I put the oil layer on with my finger and really spread it out thinly. Then wiped with a clean lint free cloth. I’m currently waiting for it to dry before I varnish. Your info is timely.
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Beautiful Deb! Thanks for seeing this through here (and that you Natalie for sharing your experiences!)
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