Painting has come to grinding halt once more due to real life getting in the way. ;) To top that off, some of my Bolshevik sailors will need a repaint soon. After the Tactica in Hamburg, I bought some AP matte varnish after some friends suggested it to me. Because I was unhappy with the matt-ness of the blue with some of the sailors, I decided to give them another coat in March... Since then the varnish started slowly deteriorating. Now, sadly and with great heartache, I have realised that 6 sailors and the MG team, will need a complete repaint. This doesn't fit into my plans at all and I am obviously gutted about it. At the moment I am painting Saxons and some STALKERS by Lead Adventure Miniatures (if anything at all) and I don't really know how to go on. I hate revisiting stuff, but I feel too connected to my little Bolshevik group, that I will have to work on them at some point soon. Fact is, after a ten man group of STALKERS and another 5-10 Saxons, I will have to put everything else on halt and redo the sailors...
Needless to say... this was the last time I've used the AP varnish. For others it works wonders, for me, every single time, it has produced rubbish results. I'll be sticking to my Purity Seal and Daler Rowney.
Stay tuned... I'm sure I'll paint something again soon.
PS: The weirdest thing the AP did, was to throw cracks on the varnish below. Long hairline cracks... What's up with that?
Needless to say... this was the last time I've used the AP varnish. For others it works wonders, for me, every single time, it has produced rubbish results. I'll be sticking to my Purity Seal and Daler Rowney.
Stay tuned... I'm sure I'll paint something again soon.
PS: The weirdest thing the AP did, was to throw cracks on the varnish below. Long hairline cracks... What's up with that?
3 comments:
Whoever recommended AP to you should have mentioned its extreme sensitivity. I've given up on this as well, and there's up to now only two words: Revell Aquacolor. No fuss about humidity or something, for you simply brush it onto the miniature whenever you like. And gives a nice flat finish, too. Not a 100 percent winner, of course, but very close - and super easy to use.
Cheers
SG
Thanks Mr. T! Is that what you are using at the moment? How resistant is it to handling?
As a side note, I think I must have been the most careful person in the world when it comes to AP. I always used it in conjunction with a hygrometer and a thermometer and always by following instructions to the letter. If such control-freakiness still doesn't work, then something is wrong with the product, would be my reckoning!
Yes, Revell's my choice for the time being. Since Vallejo changed recipe I was in search of an alternative which produces similar results regarding mattedness. And finally Revell does.
Resistance is secondary in my opinion; that's what the gloss varnish beneath is for. And certainly, if heavily used, every varnish is going to wear off at some point. But then it's easier to brush it where necessary than spray it with uncertain outcome.
Here I'm completely with you: AP is way too erratic as there seems no 'proper way' to use it. I was fed up with giving it try after try, even replacing half-used cans with new ones to see if there's simply a problem of varying production or expiry dates. In fact, it was not.
Revell gives no super-matt finish like - potentially! - the AP stuff. However, I can't be bothered as I don't have to risk my paintjobs anymore.
Cheers
SG
Cheers
SG
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