Process for Varnishing Casein

[Artist_by_Accident]

Could any of you answer questions about varnishing casein?

1. How long should you wait until you varnish?

2. Is an isolation coat advisable? If so, what is best to use for the isolation coat?

3. What type of varnish is best to use?

Any advice is much appreciated. There seems to be a lack of information on varnishing or at least I haven’t been able to find very specific information.

AbA

[Gary Mc (Trikist)]

I asked this same question of a more experienced painter, Derek, DCAM. I think he would not mind me sharing his response.

“I haven’t done a casein in a long time, so my answer is a guess, but a good guess, I think.
You might try spectrafix first. This is a casein based fix used for pastels…..very gentle and you could put on a couple of coats:
http://www.spectrafix.com/history.html
Let dry, and then use one of the liquitex acrylic varnishes: either the Matt or Gloss ( I mix the two together to get a nice satin). very soft stain brush.
An alternative might be interesting. Gamvar, a fantastic varnish for oils can also be used for acrylics. One coat gives a nice satin and more coats will give a glossier look.”

I used the Satin version of Liquitex Varnish. I did a couple practices on paintings that were less important to me to get the system down. For me that was a good idea.

It does change the look of the painting. You lose that matte look of casein that can be appealing. Good Luck. Gary

One 8×10 painting:

[ATTACH]849083[/ATTACH]

"Painting is a verb"

[Artist_by_Accident]

Thanks so much as that was exactly the information I was looking for. I have SpectraFix and also have Gamvar and the Golden Varnishes (matte and gloss).

The only question I have left is: when the painting is dry enough to varnish? I know the casein dries quickly but I was under the impression that it also cured similar to acrylics. So, do I varnish when its touch dry or wait until it’s ‘cured’? I paint in relatively thin layers if that makes a difference – no impasto or overly thick paint.

Thanks again for the prompt answer!

ABA

[Gary Mc (Trikist)]

I do not know how long is “right”. I have seen it written that it takes 4-5 weeks to fully cure. Richeson’s website did not seem to specify. I know that I can partially lift casein off Gessobord for 3-5 days. I give it a couple weeks but that is in ignorance. Gary

http://www.richesonart.com/products/paints/richesoncasein/richcaseinfaq.html

"Painting is a verb"

[Artist_by_Accident]

Yes, I’d seen 3 – 5 weeks too and also saw that the richeson website didn’t really give much information on the process.

Wanted to say that I think your varnished painting looks good – I like that the varnish makes the colors pop.

[contumacious]

Since you already have some, you might try the excellent product offered by Golden which is a REMOVABLE varnish. They call it “Golden Polymer Varnish” for those who have never seen it. It is designed for acrylics but I have used it on various non water soluble non oil paint surfaces including wax with great results. It comes in gloss, satin and matte and you can mix them around to get something in between but I never have felt the need.

It is designed to protect the finished painting without becoming a permanent part of it. I have totally removed the varnish and did more work on a few paintings which would not be possible with a permanent varnish. If your casein is waterproof you may not need a sealer coat but the Spectrafix sounds like a good idea to add an extra “workable” layer just in case.

[dbclemons]

I do not find casein fixative to be strong enough to resist or repel water or anything liquid. A spray varnish rather than brush application would be better, but I’m not fond of spray application myself. It’s too hard to get a good even coat.

I’ve varnished all of my caseins for quite awhile now. My goal was to allow for the varnish to be removable as is recommended for oils and acrylics. I ultimately settled on a process that treats the casein surface like an acrylic painting by placing down an isolation barrier coat first that will permanently protect the casein, and then varnish. If I were to wait only a few weeks I found that any liquid medium could still lift casein paint when applying a barrier coat of acrylic medium (Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish or Golden Polymer Varnish.) I had to wait at least 3 to 4 months for it to cure solid enough to allow me to brush this barrier coat on the casein. Once it dries I can apply any acrylic varnish, such as Golden’s MSA.

David Blaine Clemons
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My Website
My Blog

[Artist_by_Accident]

Thanks, David! I needed a definitive answer. Of course, I was hoping the time frame might be less but even after a couple of weeks, the paint is lifting from my current painting. I’ll be patient!!!!

[Trond]

Personally I prefer to not alter the surface too much, as I like the surface quality of casein. But I do think that that spraying casein fixative may make the surface tougher. I tested a casein painting that I painted and sprayed ca 6 months ago, and the paint did not scrub off easily at all. Not 100% if this “robustness” is due to the spray or just the paint itself, but I suspect the spray helped.

[Artist_by_Accident]

Thanks, Trond, I appreciate your input. When casein is framed under glass it’s just fine as the paint film holds up very well.

However, I prefer not to have to use any glass/acrylic so will usually varnish my paintings to make sure they’re protected. David’s method is what I normally use for varnished gouache paintings and they hold up very well. I just want to be sure the surface is protected and the varnish can be removed if necessary without damaging the painting. I use SpectraFix a lot on pastels and don’t think it would offer the protection I would need for glassless framing of a casein painting.

Again, thanks for responding.

[Mary Klein]

As an alternative to varnishing, I’ve opted to buff my paintings. I’m posting here in case this might be of interest to others.

My first paintings on Claybord have cured now for at least 6 weeks and I’ve started buffing them. I’m using an old white wool blanket cut up into small cloths to do this. So far, nothing is rubbing off – and the sheen is just what I was looking for. It’s hard to wait the 6 weeks but the results, for me, are well worth it. I like the simplicity of this method, the lovely sheen it produces and its uniqueness.

Above you can see glancing and overhead views of buffed (left) and unbuffed (right) paintings.

[Artist_by_Accident]

Thanks, Mary, it’s really nice to cut out one more step and one more expense in painting!

[Harold Roth]

Wow, the buffing looks great! I have noticed that more thickly applied areas on my casein paintings tend to produce a sheen with buffing even after a week or so, but since I want them to resist water, I have been finishing them with three coats of Dorland’s Wax Medium. It looks beautiful.

https://www.haroldroth.com/
https://www.instagram.com/haroldrothart
https://www.facebook.com/haroldrothartist

[Richard Saylor]

Has anyone used Renaissance Wax?

C&C is welcome.
Richard

[Artandstories]

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