Warning! Don't use damar as a final picture varish

[Virgil Elliott]

Originally Posted by Anthony Emmolo

You know your stuff Virgil,

Another question though:
What is the proper use of Retouch Varnish? A friend of mine, a 65ish year old woman from Milano, who was trained in the old style studios of Italy in her youth told me that Retouch Varnish has a different use. Her English wasn't good enough to explain the proper function of Retouch Varnish, and my Italian wasn't good enough to rely on that.

I live in Shanghai, China and books are basically impossible to come by here. I naively left my Ralph Mayer book in California. Can you tell me a website that would have information on the dangers of misusing materials, and the correct ways to use them. Please don't mention Amazon.com for a purchase. I'm here rebuilding an art career after a couple of bad gallery sale years and my credit card has been melted during the crunch as my debts went through the roof. At the moment I am a part-time painter-part time English teacher.
Thank you in advance,
Anthony

Anthony,

The intended use for retouch varnish is to help a painting look better that is too recently completed for it to be ready for a final varnish. However, I'm not so sure that's a good idea, as far as the long-term effects it might have on the picture are concerned. It depends on a number of factors, including what kind of retouch varnish, what method is used for applying it, how much of it is applied, how freshly painted the painting is, what pigments were used, how thick the paint is, etc., etc. I spray it on lightly when I use it at all, and then only after waiting as long as I can for the paint to cure. I use a Paasche VL-3 airbrush for spraying it, and I do it outdoors on a hot day while wearing a gas mask. A friend of mine died recently of lung disease after having worked with airbrush as an illustrator for too many years, so I'm very careful about spraying anything.

I don't know of any web site I could recommend for reliable technical information about painting, but these issues are discussed regularly on the Cowdisley Forum, on Yahoo Groups. I'm the Moderator there, and participate in the discussions fairly regularly.

Virgil Elliott

[Allan Rahbek]

Originally Posted by Virgil Elliott

Allan,

Yes, I am familiar with egg white as a varnish. It's a terrible idea.

Of course there are alternatives to Gamvar. Golden's MSA Varnish is a good one, which I had forgotten about until Valentino mentioned it, and Liquitex Soluvar. Winsor & Newton's Winton Picture Varnish is also pretty good. Gamvar is my personal first choice, however. It was developed by conservation scientist Rene De La Rie, of the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Virgil Elliott

Virgil,
thank you for your reply,
I remember trying the Egg White Varnish many years ago on a couple of paintings. I washed the painting with hand soap before varnishing with White + water and I thought that it was fine, but I don

[Tricia Migdoll]

Hi Virgil,
How would you rate Blockx Varnish.?

[Virgil Elliott]

[QUOTE=Allan Rahbek]Virgil,
thank you for your reply,
I remember trying the Egg White Varnish many years ago on a couple of paintings. I washed the painting with hand soap before varnishing with White + water and I thought that it was fine, but I don

[Allan Rahbek]

Thanks Virgil,
it was a her and she is dead now, lucky for her.......sort of.
I won

[Virgil Elliott]

Originally Posted by Tricia Migdoll

Hi Virgil,
How would you rate Blockx Varnish.?

Tricia,

I believe Blockx has more than one varnish, so I'd need to know which one you meant. If it's their amber varnish, I wouldn't recommend it because it is quite difficult to remove, and because it is too dark, and will get darker still, and mainly because there are better varnishes available that have none of those faults.

Virgil Elliott

[Tricia Migdoll]

Thanks, I was referring to the "Blockx Picture Varnish" and the "Blockx Retouch Varnish", not the Amber.
The reason I ask, is because I do not think I can get Gamvar in Australia.

[Virgil Elliott]

Originally Posted by Tricia Migdoll

Thanks, I was referring to the "Blockx Picture Varnish" and the "Blockx Retouch Varnish", not the Amber.
The reason I ask, is because I do not think I can get Gamvar in Australia.

Tricia,

I don't know what it is, so I can't give you an answer. Try to find out what resin it's made of, and if it's damar, I wouldn't recommend it. If it's an acrylic, it's probably all right. The other possibility is it might be a cyclohexane resin, which would still be better than damar. I've never tried Blockx Picture Varnish.

Sorry I can't help.

Virgil

[Tricia Migdoll]

Thanks anyway, Virgil.
I have made a list of the ones you recommend. I am sure i will find something suitable. I am in a hurry now to throw out the Damar.