Comments on: Varnishing Tips for Oil Paintings – Retouch vs Permanent Varnish

By: Lori McNee

Lori McNee — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:18:04 +0000

Hi Eileen, sorry for the belated reply…I am just now catching up on comments. Was the painting dry to the touch before you applied the retouch? It needs to be… Yes, retouch can look spotty at times and that can easily be solved by applying another coat. Keep the brush moving until you achieve the desired sheen. I have never tried removing it myself. Most retouch varnish is thought to be made from dammar, which would mean you’ll probably have to use turpentine. If you don’t have any turps then try mineral spirits but it may not be strong enough to properly dissolve it. If your retouch varnish is made from a modern synthetic resin, mineral spirits should work. You can try a small corner first and see what happens. Also, try laying down a solvent soaked cloth on the painting and see if that helps….needless to say, this will not be a fun project!

Good luck-
Lori

By: Eileen Horan

Eileen Horan — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:30:44 +0000

Hi Lori
I havve a terrible problem. I used a retouch varnish on a one month old oil on canvas painting. It looks awful, streaky and spotty. I love the painting. I did this a month ago and thought it would dry ok. How can I get that retouch off with out ruining the painting worse? Also, is there a good book on varnishing oil paintings? I can’t seem to get it right. Eileen

By: Lori McNee

Lori McNee — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:25:17 +0000

Thank you Les, any extra tips are always welcome here. This site is a collaboration of information

Best-
Lori

By: Les

Les — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:05:21 +0000

I just happened to see your question and just happened to be reading about alkyds last night. You may want to look up the info in “The Oil Painting Book” by Bill Creevy. He states that alkyds dry to a sheen across the color range. So you do not really have to varnish them. See page 152 in the book. Hope this helps in the future.

By: Christopher Clark

Christopher Clark — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:54:53 +0000

Hi Lori, I love your work, and as an emerging and struggling artist I admire the success of your career. Thanks for the varnishing information. Having been an acrylic painter for many years, my recent switch to oil paints has me jumping for joy at the quality of this medium, and stumbling around mystified at the chemistry involved to do a painting correctly. My current problem is with retouch varnish. I’ve done several paintings with Windsor/Newton alkyd oils that have been sold already. The paintings are only about 3 weeks dry. I put a coat of retouch varnish on each of them, and 4 days later they’re still sticky to the touch and total dust magnets. Is this normal? Should I just ship them as-is and tell the clients to clean them with a damp cloth or something?

Thanks for your help Lori!
Chris

By: Lori McNee

Lori McNee — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:19:50 +0000

Hi Curtis…
Retouch varnish really works well for me. I usually do not keep my paintings around long enough for the paintings to cure for the final varnish anyway. If the collector wants a final varnish, he/she can take it to a curator who specializes in reparing and caring for paintings.
Thanks for your comment!
Lori

By: Curtis Verdun

Curtis Verdun — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:55:53 +0000

“I love the smell of damar in the morning!” (but I try not to inhale)
Appreciate the article, Lori. I too, use only the thinner retouch varnish so that it doesn’t intefere with curing. Because of my thick impasto passages, brushing the varnish on can be awkward, so I’m usually using a spray.
Even if I kept a painting long enough, I would still rather have a thinner coat of varnish as provided by spraying retouching varnish. A thicker coat can yellow with age and it doesn’t provide much more protection, anyway.

By: Lori McNee

Lori McNee — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:45:45 +0000

Hi Lee, I made the switch from acrylics to oils and never looked back. They offer me more flexability with the technique I have developed. I am sure you will enjoy learning how to use oils. Thanks for the visit and the kind remarks.
My best – Lori

By: Lee Ekland

Lee Ekland — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:29:00 +0000

Hi Lori,
I’m switching from acrylics to oils and appreciate your thoughtful instructions on varnishing.

I enjoy your paintings and your gift for teaching~
Blessings from California,
Lee

By: Lori McNee

Lori McNee — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:59:48 +0000

Thanks for letting me know this article helped you. Is this Mariam??? We have met in Jackson before at your beautiful gallery. It is fun to see you stop by my blog for a visit. Hope to see you again soon.
Best – Lori