Over the years dirt and dust will stick to the varnish rather than the painting and when the time is right the varnish itself can be removed and the painting re varnished to look as good as new. A minimum of one month is required for thin griffin alkyd paintings.
To varnish an oil painting will give it a nice protective coating and increase the color vibrancy in the painting.
How to varnish an oil painting. If youre too impatient to. The new ownercollector of the painting can take it to a art curator for a final varnish after the painting has cured. Its meant to protect the painting and bring all the colors up to an even sheen.
Allow each layer of varnish to dry overnight. Work in a dust free environment otherwise dust particles will get stuck in the wet varnish. This is because if you ever needed to remove the varnish at a later date the solvents used to remove the layer of oil varnish wont damage the existing oil paint layer.
Try to have the same amount of varnish on the brush for each stroke so you put equal amounts. The main function of varnish is to protect an oil painting from dirt and atmospheric ravages like oh soot for those of you who still heat with a wood stove like old masters. Dont varnish too early even the thinnest oil painting should be allowed to dry for 6 months.
Once the oil paint is dry enough then you can apply the varnish directly to the painting surface. Use even strokes in a single direction for each layer. Its applied as soon as the oil color is dry to the touch.
Make sure to always varnish your paintings when they are completely dry. Its actually not a trivial concern because any sort of smoke or oils in the air will cling to oil paint and discolor over time. Apply the varnish with a soft brush on a horizontal painting.
Retouch is a traditional varnish that has a lot of solvent and a little bit of damar resin. Tips for best results always varnish the whole of the painting in one sitting. On varnished paintings the dirt settles on the varnish not the paint.
Varnish protects the painting from dirt and dust and evens out the paintings final appearance making it all equally glossy or matt. The first varnish that should be applied to an oil painting is the retouch varnish.
