Can you varnish the water mixable oil painting?

Water mixable oil paint is oil paint. So the water mixable painting can vanish as traditional oil painting. You should wait until completely dry paint for varnishing. It takes a good amount of time, like 6 months to 2 years (depending on paint thickness). You can apply temporary retouch varnish during this time to protect your painting.

In this article, I will explain:

• What are some good varnishes for water mixable oil paint?
• When should I varnish?
• How to apply temporary varnish?
• What happens if you varnish too early?
• How to final varnish?
• How to apply spray varnish?
• Some necessary tips and tricks 

What are the good varnishes for water mixable oil painting?

In the market, different brands of varnish are available. Especially for water mixable oil painting, it is very hard to find varnish. However, you can apply oil painting varnish on it, but those are not specialized.

The varnishes will fit with your water mixable oil painting.

	Varnish type	Grade	Note
Winsor & Newton Artists’ Retouching Varnish	Temporary & retouching	Artistic	Removable varnish, built for temporary protection
Winsor & Newton Artisan Matt Varnish	Final varnish & matt	Artistic	Long time protection
Winsor & Newton Artisan Gloss Varnish	Final varnish & gloss	Artistic	Long time protection
Winsor & Newton Artisan Satin Varnish	Final varnish & stain	Artistic	Long time protection
Winsor & Newton Artists’ Aerosols Artists’ Picture Varnish, Gloss	Permanent and final	Artistic	Good alternative. Spray varnish, it can not be removed. Final and parmatent apply.

I already explain similar topics in different articles, you can check

• How to glaze the painting?
• Is it ok apply temporary varnish to the painting with cold wax?

When should you varnish the water mixable oil painting?

Varnish gives protection to painting. But before varnishing, the painting must be dry completely. It takes around 6 months to 2 years. You have to test different steps and then go for the final varnish. The tests are :

1. Touch test
2. Scratch test
3. Cut test
4. Solvent test
5. Visual inspection test

Which I already explained in the article.

So applying the final varnish takes a long time. Within this time, you should apply temporary varnish to protect your painting.

How to apply temporary varnish?

You can apply retouching temporary varnish after 2-3 months when the upper layer dries. The protective layer fills the porous to protect against moisture and dust. The retouching varnish does not affect the painting from breathing. So the paint dries in a regular way. 

To apply the temporary varnish, you need

1. Dry clothes or paper towel 
2. Brush 2-4 inches brush
3. Retouch varnish

How to apply the varnish

Step 1: Preparation

Take the dry cloth or paper towel, then clean the dust gently from the painting. Next, you can blow the painting with a hair dryer in a cold setting. It will remove existing dust from the painting.

Step 2: Apply varnish

Varnish can need to be diluted with solvent. Some varnishes do not need thinning. Read the manufacturer’s label and guidelines properly. If varnish needs, you can apply Gamsol ⅕ ratio to thin the varnish.

Varnish each layer should not be thick. There is a chance of tracking. 

So take a 2-4 inches paint brush and spread the varnish all over the painting. 

Step 3: dry and finishing

Give it 12 hours to dry, and you can apply a second coat if you want.  

What happens if you final varnish on water mixable oil painting too early?

Water mixable oil paint as oil paint takes a long time to dry. It is a long time, but you have to be patient. After varnishing, the paint will be locked up. So the painting can not be breath to dry. Within one year, you easily detect the painting is discolored, bleeding, sinking, yellowing, and affected by more issues. 

So you have to be patient with the dry time of oil painting. Or it would be best if you chose acrylic or watercolor, which dry quite fast, like 12 hours. 

There already have a great experiment on this topic. This is the video…

After two years

How do you final varnish on a water mixable oil painting?

After completely dry, time to go for varnish. There are matte, glossy, and stain varnish available. Choose which one you like. 

You need

1. 2-4 inches brush
2. A dry cloth or paper towel
3. Varnish

How to apply?

You can apply the varnish following the same method as you applied retouching varnish.

Step 1: Preparation of the painting

Take the dry cloth or paper towel, then clean long time dust gently from the painting. Next, you can blow the painting with a hair dryer in a cold setting. It will remove existing dust from the painting.

Step 2: Apply varnish

Varnish can need to be diluted with solvent. So how much solvent or thinner is best for diluting read the manufacturer’s label and guidelines. You can apply Gamsol ⅕ ratio to thin the varnish if thinner needs.

Varnish each layer should not be thick. There is a chance of tracking. 

So take a 2-4 inches paint brush and spread the varnish all over the painting. 

Step 3: dry and finishing

Give it 12 hours to dry, and then apply a second coat. If you think more coats are needed, follow the step.

Can I use spray varnish on water mixable oil painting?

Of course. There are awesome spray varnishes available for the varnish water mixable oil painting. There are two limitations to applying spray varnish.

1. Beginners can accidentally apply thick layers, which causes cracking.
2. Most of the spray varnish are permanent and not removable. However, it is true that painters usually do not want to remove varnish. And they like that the protective coating should be permanent. 

Without this, they are easy to apply, need less time, easy to master, and have other advantages. 

How do spray varnish on water mixable oil painting?

To apply spray varnish, you need

1. Dry cloth/paper towel 
2. Safety gear: mask, gloves
3. Spray varnish

How to apply?

Step 1: Preparation

Take the dry cloth or paper towel, then clean long time dust gently from the painting. Next, you can blow the painting with a hair dryer in a cold setting. It will remove existing dust from the painting. Wear protective gear.

Step 2: Apply

Go outside or ensure proper ventilation. Shake the varnish cans. Start to spray varnish 8-16 inches away from the top-left corner outside the canvas, then end spray the top-right corner outside the corner. 

Start spray of the outside because the sprayer will spray a lot of liquid at the start time. So the painting will be wet, and it will damage the painting. 

Start from the top left corner and end at the top right corner. Repeat the process with as zigzag motion.

After spraying all the painting, the canvas rotates 90 degrees, and applies the same spray method again. 

Step 3: Dry and finishing

Give it 1-2 hours to dry. Then apply the 2nd coat.

This tutorial video will help you!