A varnish question

[Allan Rahbek]

[QUOTE=Marcus Lim]For me, what I did was applying with random (but concentrated) strokes over parcels of areas of the painting. As I did that on a elevated plane, e.g on a table facing the light, I constantly check for areas where I did not cover with my brushing. QUOTE]

Marcus is right about the way of applying the paint in suitable squares and finishing the parcel before going on to the next parcel.

I am a trained interior painter and have painted many doors in glossy alkyd paint. The problem was always to cover the surface by painting wet into wet. The only way to do that was by dividing the area into parcels that were not too big.
Say, if we have a painting that is 10" wide it would be wise to divide it into two parcels of 5"X 5".
That way you will soon be finished with the two first parcels and get to the next row and paint wet into wet under the first parcel and so on...

The way to spread the paint is to dip the brush so that it hold a lot of varnish, but not so much that it is dripping. Put on the varnish with a few vertical strokes and then spread the varnish with horizontal strokes to make sure that the liquid is all over the surface. Finish the applying with some very light vertical strokes all over the parcel.

The varnish will then float perfectly into an even layer.

As Marcus also said it is important to stand by a window or under a light so that it is easy to see if the surface is perfectly covered.

Allan

[Juan Martinez]

Thanks Allan and Marcus. You've added very helpful information on varnish application. This should come in handy, particularly for bigger pieces.

Best.

Juan