If you want to protect your painting from dust, smoke, and other pollutants, you should varnish your painting. If not, these pollutants will accumulate on your painting and eventually darken or yellow the surface. When you apply a varnish, you are creating a layer that will protect your painting underneath. The layer of varnish can be cleaned periodically and eventually removed. A fresh layer of varnish can then be re-applied.

All Liquitex water emulsion-based varnishes are permanent and therefore NOT removable. Liquitex Soluvar Final Varnish is removable with mineral spirits. The steps to remove this varnish are: Wear a duel filter respirator (NIOSH approved) and neoprene gloves. Dampen a small piece of lint free, soft, white cloth with mineral spirits (not “odorless”) or turpentine – nothing stronger. Do not use ketones or paint removers. Work horizontally. See similar questions...

We can scan your original before or after. The lighting on our Cruse is positioned so it is optimized for virtually no glare when scanning. On pieces with large amounts of texture or uneven surfaces, we can get stray bits of glare. When this happens, we solve it with the Cruse cross polarization system that attaches to the lights and over the lens optics eliminating it. See similar questions...

We recommend painters using alkyd resin painting mediums wait three months before varnishing. Painters using an oil and damar mix in their painting mediums should wait six months. But, if an artist has a painting that is only dry on the surface and that painting is sold, we recommend the artist varnish only with Gamvar Picture Varnish. For this purpose, thin Gamvar with approximately 20% Gamsol or other high quality Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS) to make a very light coating. See similar questions...

Some paintings are dry enough to varnish after two weeks. Some are not ready for two years. If you paint thinly with fast drying colors and use a fast drying medium, in a warm and dry climate, then the painting may be ready to varnish in two weeks. But if you painted using Alizarin Crimson to make a half inch thick layer using poppy oil as a medium then the painting may not be ready to varnish in two years, if ever! How to tell if a painting is ready to varnish is easy—just touch it. See similar questions...

Listed below are some of the most frequently asked questions that I receive via e-mail. I'm sent a great number of interesting and often challenging questions every day (some of which now appear on my Online Forum page). See similar questions...

A spot varnish is applied only to specific parts of a printed piece, to highlight those areas or add to the overall visual impact. See similar questions...

Don't varnish WoodBlocX. Water will get under the varnish and turn it black within a year. Unless you want to treat it like a boat and varnish it every year! Do paint WoodBlocX with any exterior wood paint if you want it coloured, or just leave it natural. The natural green colour will last for several years before fading to a grey. You can always paint it later when this occurs. See similar questions...

Yes, many of our artists and clients use their own varnishes and texturing medium and gels. We encourage experimentation and creativity with our prints. We are happy to make available to our clients, the same gicl?e glaze product we use everyday in our workflow. The water-based formula has been developed specifically for coating pigment based prints on fine art media. We sell it by the quart and gallon so you can bring it home and use it yourself. See similar questions...

with some oil based stains, varnishes contain ingredients that, not only smell and taste bad when heated, but also are very harmful if the fumes are inhaled. See similar questions...

Your painting will usually ship within 5 business days of your order. If you choose UPS ground, allow an additional 5-7 business days for your painting to arrive, or 2 days for Fed Ex 2 nd Day Air. See similar questions...

I would love to create a special paintings for you. I often do commissions for people who have seen something they like on the web site but need something just a little bit different. Sometimes it's important to emphasize a certain colours. Or it could be a special theme that has a special meaning for you. For more information you can go to commission an artwork See similar questions...

Yes! They can make a lovely light and lacy design. Some of the overall background quilting patterns look absolutely great painted on a wall either in tone on tone or in a coordinating color. Back to Top See similar questions...

It is a protective coating that is painted on your child's teeth to help prevent cavities. It can also help areas of early decay from getting worse. Visit our website's Upcoming Events page to find the date of the next Fluoride Varnish Clinic near you. See similar questions...

We usually recommend, and only stock, high-quality water-based varnish products, as they are non-toxic, non-yellowing and quick drying. Please note that this new, water-based technology has only really matured in the last few years, and some well-known and widely-sold products are not very durable. They can need re-doing in under a year in some cases, whereas our varnishes are designed to last at least 5 years, some up to 20, subject to conditions and regular maintenance, etc. See similar questions...

Gloss as a finish is not popular as it shows up any minor imperfections in the floor. However, it is sometimes used effectively on tropical/darker woods for a particular look. Satin, which is between gloss and matt, is the popular contemporary look. It has a sheen and reflects some light, and is forgiving of the odd minor imperfection. Matt, although still a small part of the market, gives a very natural waxed look. See similar questions...