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I'm always on the hunt to try new oil painting products and I decided to try out Gamblin's Gamvar gloss varnish. For anyone new to varnishing: varnish is used after a painting has dried and the artist wants to bring back a richer surface. It brings back sunken in looking colors and there's many different types of varnish from matte to glossy. I personally prefer a gloss varnish. I had previously been using Winsor and Newton's gloss varnish. The first thing I noticed about Gamvar is that it has almost no odor at all. This is really nice since it's good to varnish paintings indoors with no windows open. Varnishing outside or with windows open can cause dust and other particles to land on your canvas and set in when the varnish dries. The second thing I like about the Gamvar is that the bottle is really easy to open; this might sound like an obvious feature, but Winsor and Newton has bottles with a black safety top that are SO ANNOYING to open and I usually end up breaking the tops off (Get on that W+N). The Gamvar is also water-like in it's consistency, I really like this because a little bit of Gamvar spreads across the surface really nicely and goes a long way. Other varnishes dry really quickly and get sticky and tacky almost instantly. I'm still waiting for the first coat of Gamvar to dry to see if I need another coat. The images below show some progress shots as I used the Gamvar on some recent and older paintings. I'm going to see how the Gamvar dries and might apply a second coat after 24 hours. UPDATE: After the first coat dried, the gloss lost a little shine so I decided to add a second coat. The first coat dried after 24 hours so I applied another thin coat and now it looks great.
8 Comments
12/26/2018 03:10:16 pm
Welcome Eric! These are good pictures. I would recommend as few blacks as possible! Solve it in color - like impressionists. Greetings: Valter from Hungary
Eric
12/28/2018 11:59:54 am
Thanks Valtar, Happy New Year I am not happy with my varnishing job on my 8 ' canvas. It dries waaaay too fast. My question is: can you use one or 2 coats of Gamvar satin varnish over the top of 3 coats of glossy Liquidex varnish product???. It is very streaky, no matter how many coats I apply. It looked much better before I put on any varnish. Hi Judi, A variety of factors affect the drying time of varnish: ambient temperature, humidity, canvas type and the amount of varnish you apply all plays a role. I personally don't like the Gamvar satin varnish and I would avoid applying more than 2 coats of any varnish. I would also avoid mixing products. Always make sure you leave a canvas for at least 6 months to dry before applying a varnish.
Marc
1/13/2024 11:47:08 am
Hello
Eric
1/14/2024 11:07:10 am
Hi Marc,
I have found Gamvar varnish "hit and miss" Sometimes it turns out great, other times not so great. Gloss seems to give the best results, usually. I gave a coat of Gamvar Gloss to a 12" x 16" oil painted wood panel. After it dried it not only had a less than glossy result, but there were brush strokes visible. It looked better before the varnish. This is the 1st time I've had this result. My question is, can I apply a second coat of Gamvar, and is it possible to use a different product, like Damar varnish for the second coat. This is very disappointing. Thanks. Hi Bill, Thank you for your comment and experience. I'm sorry to hear that the Gamvar gave you trouble. You are right, it is very "hit and miss". I feel comfortable telling you that you can apply a second coat of Gamvar, but sometimes it turns out patchy (in my experience!) I personally wouldn't recommend using damar on top of the gamvar. Damar is a natural resin and the gamvar is synthetic so I think it might delaminate. Please refer to a book, website or someone else who knows more than I do because I am not an expert about the layering. All the best to you. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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