Varnishing Charcoal on Wood?

[MarinaM]

I've been painting a chair with acrylics and I want to highlight the design using charcoal and conte. The chair has been sealed and was lightly stained before I started with the acrylic.

I'd like a gloss finish but if a matt one would be best, I'd go with that (as long as it doesn't fog the underlying color). I was wondering about the best way to varnish the chair. I imagine that I'll use a workable fixative with the charcoal as I work.

Could I spray a coat of finish and then brush another few coats?
What about sanding between coats?

Thanks!

[DuncanBerenice]

Hi MarinaM,

I would presume that you should be able to spray varnish to protect any brushwork or charcoal and then brush over the varnish once it was dry.

I've always used a satin varnish finish on the items I make and paint but a strong/tough varnish would be more suited for a chair. Try some charcoal on a spare piece of wood then spry varnish and then brush varnish over it to how it works and if it looks good then go for it, it'll save on the disasters :D

hope this helps

Duncan

[paintfool]

I would have given the exact same advice that Duncan has. I did some acrylic painting on wooden chairs and simply used polyurethane (brushed on) afterwards for a nice durable and high gloss finish. But i didn't have the charcoal issue to deal with. Duncans response seems very good to me and experimentation on another piece of wood is absolutely the way to go! We'd love to see the final results.
Cheryl
PS Yes, i did lightly sand with fine sand paper between coats of finish. I think i did three coats. Maybe two. It's been a few years. They're holding up beautifully.