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How is Winsor & Newton acrylic varnish applied?

Thinly painted acrylic films may be vanished after 24 hours of drying time, but up to a week of drying time should be allowed for heavy or impasto layers before varnishing. In addition, varnishes may be intermixed for a variety of finishes.

Eight simple steps for varnishing acrylic:

  1. Use a 1"- 4" flat wide, soft, tightly packed, varnishing brush (such as the Winsor & Newton Monarch glazing/varnishing brush). Keep it clean and use it only for varnishing.
  2. Place the work to be varnished flat on a table - do not varnish vertically.
  3. Apply the varnish in 1-3 thin coats, rather than 1 thick coat. A thick coat will take longer to dry, may dry cloudy, drip or sag during application and has a greater chance of showing brush strokes when dry.
  4. Thinned varnish is more susceptible to producing bubbles. Do not be vigorous in your application.
  5. Apply in long even strokes to cover the surface top to bottom while moving from one side to the other. While working, inspect the varnish layer at all angles for bubbles. Even them out immediately.
  6. Once you leave an area, do not go back over areas that you have done. If you do, you risk dragging partially dry resin into wet, which will dry cloudy over dark colours. If any areas were missed, allow to dry completely and re-varnish.
  7. After varnishing, we recommend that the surface should be shielded from dust with a protective plastic film "tent".

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