Monday, January 25, 2010

finishing acrylic paintings.....

This post is more for myself than anyone else... simply so I don't loose this information... but maybe others will find it useful aswell...

So for finishing my acrylic paintings
If they are mixed media.. having some enamel, oil Acrylic etc....
I should be using...Liquitex soluvar (gloss,Matte, Satin) Varnish. I can apply it right away directly onto the painting after making sure its all dry... Oils can take up to 6 months before they are considered dry, acrylic = a few days.... so yea.. you can apply the varnish directly onto it or you can put a medium overtop of the entire thing, and them apply the varnish. The reason for doing it that way is that if for any reason you wanted to take the varnish off, in doing so there would be less risk of damaging the painting since they is an additional layer that you would protect the painting.

If it is purely a Acrylic painting - NOTHING ELSE
Then same as above either apply a coat of medium (acrylic in this case) to the ENTIRE painting and then apply the Varnish which is... " GOLDER polymer varnish with UVLS " just an extra layer of security if for any reason the varnish needs to be removed later.

These varnishes help protect the painting from the UV rays and any yellowing etc that happens over time...

another thing I found out while at opus asking for help...
Oil can go over acrylic but acrylic CANNOT go over oil... so any solvent based mediums... i think thats what oil things would be considered can be a good final coat on any mixed media work, to ensure a consistent final medium before glazing.

I love Opus, their people really do have a lot of knowledge, and I've always found them to be happy to help. Props out to OPUS Granville Island!

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