I have an oil painting that was signed in ink. the written text was done with a micron colorfast brush pen/marker (recommended by one of the conservators here).
It is now time to varnish that painting, just got it back, though completed in 2014. I usually use regalrez (gamvar) to varnish these days- though I am slightly concerned that brushing over the ink portion will cause it to run/bleed? I would like to make sure to varnish over the signature to protect it as well.
My current plan is to put a light aerosol spray varnish over the part in ink, perhaps two lightly sprayed coats, and let it cure for a couple of days before brushing varnish over the entire picture. How does that sound to the mods here?
no, there are no varnish layers underneath the ink. I agree it wouldnt be a bad idea to do a test, though I no longer have the precise pen I could find one.
So others will likely weigh in on this but FIRST I would like to know whether the ink is on top of any varnish layers. If so then you would absolutely need to spray with any subsequent varnishes. If not then it cannot hurt to do a test…if you have an oil study lying around (or even an oil-primed surface) scribble away with the micro pen and then wait till it is completely dry. Then try brush varnishing with Gamvar. I have done this on one painting before and things were fine afterwards however I made up the varnish myself so it is possible one needs to be aware of the the solvent to varnish ratio here which is why you would need to test this yourself. Also if you want to avoid going through all of the above you can always spray the surface with a final coat of Gamvar. This is help avoid potentially disturbing the ink.
