Varnish

A lovely gentleman came into my studio this afternoon to chat and ask a few questions.  One of which was about varnish, so I figured I would do a post about varnish for oil paintings.

Dammar (or Damar) varnish was traditionally used for oil paintings to protect them.  The idea behind a varnish is to provide a barrier coat between the painting and environmental dirt which can be removed without damaging the underlying paint layers.  When it is necessary to clean a painting, the varnish is removed with a solvent which will dissolve the varnish without damaging the paint.  All the dirt is removed along with the varnish, and the painting is then re-varnished. 

There are several problems with Dammar varnish:  it darkens and yellows with age, can crack, and can become more difficult to remove.  With Dammar varnish, paintings need to thoroughly dry (6 months to a year) to allow the oil paint to finish outgassing before the paint is sealed with the varnish.  I have heard Dammar can be rather stinky as well.

Gamvar varnish by Gamblin gets around these problems.  It is gas permeable, so paintings can be varnished as soon as they are dry to the touch.  It won't darken, yellow, crack, or become more difficult to remove.  It also has the added benefit of UV stabilization to help protect paintings from light.  It can function as a retouch varnish, meaning you can paint over it to make adjustments to a painting and then revarnish.  It is also virtually odorless and can be easily removed with odorless mineral spirits.

You can buy Gamvar here:  Gamblin Gamvar Varnish