Home › Forums › Explore Media › Oil Painting › The Technical Forum › How to make REMOVABLE final Varish?
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 1 month ago by WFMartin.
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September 13, 2023 at 3:11 pm #1526059
I need to make varnish that does not cost as much as Gamar.
I am thinking alkyd (varnish) with distillates because I have some from years ago. mix it with mineral spirits?
maybe mineral oil????
probably have get Italian tree resin that costs too much. is there a cheaper resin???
Any ‘open source’ recipe’s. ?
September 13, 2023 at 4:04 pm #1526060Jeeeesh……What’s this attraction to “making your own stuff”? By the time you figure in all the number of ingredients, and labor spent in trying to create that which will almost inevitably turn out to be an inferior product, just go a purchase some GamVar.
I’ve used GamVar for years, and I believe it to be the best synthetic resin varnish that is available! Why are artists so hell-bent on re-inventing the wheel?
I have always tried to choose items that made my life easier, and not more difficult. Purchasing GamVar has made my life much easer, and better, in terms of my oil paintings.
wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
https://williamfmartin.blogspot.comSeptember 13, 2023 at 4:57 pm #1526067A varnish needs to be removable and alkyd varnishes aren’t from what I’ve read. At least, removing one would destroy your painting.
Mineral oil doesn’t dry, so that would be useless.The only thing I can think of is making up some damar varnish. You can make up a bulk amount , melting crystals into turpentine, which will be initially expensive, but will save you money in the long run.
Damar is not recommended these days as a varnish though as it becomes brittle and yellows, and would need to be replaced in around 50 years.
It also becomes more difficult to remove as it ages.Ron
www.RonaldFrancis.comSeptember 13, 2023 at 9:54 pm #1526069Gamvar states that it remains easily removable for up to 100 years, using OMS! Don’t think you can beat that level of performance. Bill Martin is on target here. Or, if you wish, make life more difficult for yourself and your painting.
September 15, 2023 at 9:10 am #1526179The most expensive thing in your life is your time, so think about it, is your time really that cheap that you’d be willing to risk hundreds of painting hours to save a buck or two? Just get Gamvar and be done with it.
September 15, 2023 at 9:40 pm #1526234Any artist tends to question the claims of certain manufacturers regarding their products. For several years I was recommending to my students, and friends, that GamVar was a varnish that did NOT bond with the surface of the painting, and was easily removable with the weakest of all mineral spirits.
It wasn’t until I was forced into having to remove GamVar varnish once, because of damage caused by shipping that I actually had the opportunity to test this claim. The varnish removed very easily, with Gamsol, leaving the painted surface intact, and with very little loss of paint color. In fact, the surface proved to be smoother, and more “pristine” than the original surface had been, once I had removed the varnish.
I simply re-varnished the painting, and it was quite honestly better than the original, varnished painting had been, in terms of appearance.
I cannot imagine why anyone would be inspired to attempt to invent a product that performs as well as GamVar Varnish does, rather than merely purchasing the best of all varnishes that is already available,….GamVar.
wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com -
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