A varnish question

[Juan Martinez]

Lani, Patt, Marcus;

If I may, I'll add to what's already been said. First, retouch varnish shouldn't be a problem at this point for the reasons already stated. Even if some paint were to come off if you wipe it with turps, which is likely even after a month, if you use a spray retouch varnish instead, it won't be a problem. If the client picks up the paintings and they (the paintings) have just recently been sprayed, they'll look well saturated and at their best. Over the next few months, though, they will fade back to a more sunken-in look. The client will not notice this, however. When you go back in a year, or in 6 months (if you are able) to give them their final varnish, the paintings will pop back to their original glory and impress your client even more!

Yes, varnishing is very stressful for many people. Conservators tell me -- and this is the practice I follow -- that you should use as little varnish as possible, and as few brush strokes. Use a soft-haired, wide brush. Dip it in the varnish, but blot it first on some absorbent paper so that it isn't dripping with varnish. The layer must be as thin as possible. One stroke across the painting, and then one back, is all you should do on that spot. That is, don't go over the same area repeatedly. Move on to the next zone right away. Depending on the size of brush and size of painting, you'll be able to do differing areas of a given painting with a given size of loaded brush. You should at least have enough varnish on it so that you can go across the breadth of the picture in one stroke. If another layer is needed, wait at least a day, but not much more.

I hope that makes sense. Less is more.

Further, using less varnish makes it less stressful, too, as does waiting as long as possible before applying final varnish. The room for varnishing should be well ventilated and warm. Everything; the varnish, the canvas, the brushes, etc., should all be warm. Don't heat them in an oven, but see if you can somehow raise the temperature in the room for a while, or turn off the air conditioning, or some such thing.

One more thing, if you have let the painting cure for 6 months to a year, then first clean the surface of the painting by going over it with a clean, damp -- not dripping -- sponge. Then let it dry for at least half an hour or more before varnishing so that no trace of water vapour remains. Water is a major enemy of varnish, which is why in humid climates it can ocassionally be a problem to apply varnish. Marcus?

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Juan

[Marcus Lim]

Originally Posted by Juan Martinez

Even if some paint were to come off if you wipe it with turps, which is likely even after a month, if you use a spray retouch varnish instead, it won't be a problem. If the client picks up the paintings and they (the paintings) have just recently been sprayed, they'll look well saturated and at their best. Over the next few months, though, they will fade back to a more sunken-in look. The client will not notice this, however. When you go back in a year, or in 6 months (if you are able) to give them their final varnish, the paintings will pop back to their original glory and impress your client even more!

Thanks for the update Juan. I certainly didn't realise a retouch varnish is that useful for us!
On the varnishing process, I admit i was rather apprehensive about doing it at first, but i decided to push for it as i keep noticing mould growing on my paintings - that certainly highlights another issue about using damp sponges on my paintings !

Having said that, the pressure is actually on during the work process itself, as varnishes tend to dry pretty fast - brush-dry at least. So i agree with Juan's method to apply thinly to the paintings. Allan's attention to covering by parcels is great to minimise your worries about the job.

When i recently varnished my painting for the first time, i loaded the brush with enough varnish that it doesn't drip, and brush the painting gently in criss-cross method, slowly expanding the area covering with varnish - and doing this with constant checking by the window. That helped solve my issue with quick-drying and varnishing the painting adequately.

I almost forgot about the cleaning process. Yes, paintings done 6 months or longer needs to be cleaned. Either use a dry brush to sweep over the painting, or brush with turps over the paintings and allow it to dry. Or best do both processes. So with all these thoughts here i hope Allan, Juan and I - the three musketeers of varnishing - has solved your problems for you, Patt!