On Dec 2015 I finished a painting which later I varnished with Gumbacher Matte Dammar in Spray (4 months later).
Last October the owner asked me to give it another coat of varnished (which I didn’t know is not recommended). Then I gave a coat with a cheap liquid matte varnish becayse I didn’t find a good brand). While I was applying it, the painting started to dilute a little bit. I don’t know if that was due the thin sprayed former coat or another reason. I could handle to eliminate marks and had a very good finish. However spots as if sinking in are appearing now.
I have to fix it, but I don’t know how. I’ve never removed varnish before, so I’m afraid of doing so. Some solutions come to my mind.
1. Varnish again (I know it’s not good to use gloss over matte so I thin ther painting could maybe stand another matte coat)
2. Buff with cold wax to get an even surface.
Thank you very much, Kristen.
I’ll try a spray matte varnish spray then. I’m so glad!
Thank you again
We are sorry that you have had some challenges with varnishing…believe me when I say we have all been there. We would not recommend trying to remove the varnishes at this point. It is actually fine to apply a varnish atop a matte varnish however you essentially are defeating the purpose behind applying the matte varnish to begin with. Generally speaking you are better off applying a gloss varnish first and then spraying a matte varnish on top later. In your situation we suspect you might have started to dissolve the matte varnish in some areas, creating an uneven surface and possibly those “sinking” areas that you have described. What do you mean exactly when you say that your painting “started to dilute a bit”? Were you pulling up paint? Were the paint layers starting to dissolve? In any case we recommend NOT removing your varnishes at this point but instead to try and apply a very even, thin application of matte varnish (spraying NOT brushing). We also encourage you to read our document on Varnishes which can be found in the Resources section for future varnish choices and decisions.
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