Search results for 'varnishes'

Use as varnish over finished paintings. Learn More

Gamvar Picture Varnish saturates colors in your painting and gives your work a unified and protective surface. Developed in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art, Gamvar goes on water-clear, stays water-clear and can be easily and safely removed with Gamsol. Gamvar is virtually odorless and ready to apply. Brush apply. Do not spray. All Gamvar can be applied when the thickest areas of your painting are thoroughly dry and firm to the touch. Please visit our Video Demos page for additional information. Learn More

Aerosol varnish for oil or acrylic paintings. For use as temporary varnish for paintings less than 6 months old. Unable to send overseas. Learn More

Damar resin/white spirit. Rectifies dull areas caused by sinking of paint. Also helps adhesion of succeeding layer. Finish between matt and satin. Unable to send overseas. Learn More

Natural varnish of traditional use. Very flexible. Can be used in conjunction with restoration colours. (Natural mastic resin 40% and essence of Turpentine). Learn More

Use to protect metal & silver leaf, white gold, Ormoline paint & Robersons Liquid Metal range. Provides extra protection on exterior projects & high-wear areas. It dries crystal clear with a satin finish, and is non-yellowing. Learn More

Very fast drying, light varnish for retouching and restoration. Moderately shiny, does not yellow (Ketonic resin 22% and White Spirit). Learn More

Reversible - for conservation use only. Learn More

Used by restoration specialists to revive and protect furniture, leather, paintings, metals etc. Freshens colours, imparts soft sheen. Very long shelf life. (approx 20 years) as long as it is not exposed to heat. Learn More

From the Winsor & Newton website: A quick drying, semi-gloss medium which thickens slowly and extends tube colour retaining crisp textures brush marks without any visible levelling. Speeds drying (touch dry in 1-6 days depending on colour and film thickness). Resists yellowing. Not suitable as a varnish or final coat.

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Light brown, extra smooth and soft synthetic hair with black polished handle, tin ferrule. Learn More

This is a traditional, high-oil "fat" painting medium, made using the highest quality materials. It will retain colour strength, is resistant to bleeding, has good flow release, is ideal for blending, and can be mixed with oil colours in any ratio. When dry, it creates an enamel-like surface.

Contains: Stand oil, Cold-pressed Linseed oil, Canada Balsam, Rectified Spirit of Turpentine, Beeswax, Driers.

Clean tools in white spirit. Do not use as a varnish, always mix with oil colour.

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Colophony is a by-product of the distillation of turpentine. It is soluble in most solvents, but considered an adulterant in varnishes and paints, as it forms a weak surface that is prone to darkening and cracking. It is, however, a key ingredient in wax-based etching grounds, imparting hardness, and can be used in powdered form (rosin) to make aquatints. Learn More

Mars Black makes our Luminescent Watercolors “pop” and also provides an exciting, unexpected background for all your standard watercolour paints. Soft pastels, graphite and watercolour pencils show up beautifully on both the buff and black. *Please note, this product is stored offsite. Please allow extra time for your order to be processed and dispatched. Learn More

Bitumen, turpentine. Covering varnish with hard finish. Recommended for aquatint techniques. Learn More

Roberson Liquid Metals have a rich deep colour, ideal for a wide range of applications including plaster, wood, paper & canvas. The Liquid Metal range does not tarnish and does not need to be varnished. All colours are intermixable and wash up with water. The Liquid Metal range does not tarnish and does not need to be varnished. All colours are intermixable and wash up with water. Coverage is approximately 7 square metres per litre. Two coats are required for most applications but if applied to walls or ceilings with a roller or a brush then three or four coats are recommended. Because of the highly reflective nature of the metallic paint when applying with a roller to a large area apply the paint evenly in long vertical strokes, finishing off the surface by rolling or brushing in one direction, i.e ceiling to floor. This will help to minimise overlapping and create a smooth and even finish. We recommend the use of a professional quality foam roller in order to achieve the best possible finish. When applying with a roller to a large area, apply the paint evenly in long vertical strokes. Finish off the surface by rolling one direction, i.e. ceiling to floor. This will help minimise overlapping and create a smooth, even finish. These paints can also be sprayed and this will produce the best and most consistent finish. To spray Liquid Metal Acrylics, you will need to use HVLP spray equipment with a 1.6mm or 1.8mm nozzle. To ensure proper flow, paint can be thinned with 25-30% water. Learn More

Damar is a pale, almost colourless tree resin, which is soluble in turpentine, but not in alcohol or mineral spirits. It can be used as a varnish or as a glossy painting medium in conjunction with vegetable oils, and is generally preferable to other resin-based varnishes, such as mastic varnish, as it retains its colourless appearance for a longer period of time. In encaustic painting, the inclusion of damar resin imparts toughness and gloss to the paint surface. Learn More

Liquitex Acrylic Gloss Medium and Varnish Learn More

Very soft synthetic bristles, excellent for all-round use. Bight green handle, grey bristles. Learn More

Linseed Oil is derived from flax seeds, and appears on our shelves in many guises: Cold Pressed, Refined, Stand Oil, and as a key ingredient in many mediums. It has been appreciated for its drying properties since the Medieval period, and has become the most popular oil used in painting today due to the strong, flexible and glossy film that it creates.

Stand Oil is paler and more viscous than other Linseed Oils, having been heated and kept at temperature to provoke a molecular change. It is not suitable for grinding colours, but it is a very versatile ingredient that can be thinned with turpentine to create a glazing medium or be included in a varnish. Stand Oil is notable for its ability to smooth out brush strokes to create an enamel-like surface.

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* Only available online.* Cold Wax medium is made by Gamblin. They say:

"Cold Wax medium is made from naturally white, pure beeswax. Formulated to knife consistency, Cold Wax Medium makes oil colours thicker and more matte. Cold Wax Medium can be used to make Gamblin mediums and Gamvar more matte. It can also be applied alone as a matte varnish."

Please see below for more information.

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Shellac is a natural resin that is deposited by the female lac insect on the branches of trees in India and Thailand. It is soluble with alcohol, but not with mineral spirits or turpentine. It forms a tough yet flexible film, with many applications. It is suitable as a top coat for gilding when applied thinly, a sealant for porous surfaces, an isolating layer for tempera paintings, a base for pigmented inks, a protective layer for collograph plates, and a warm varnish for wooden floors and furniture. As it is prone to darkening with age, it is not recommended as a varnish for oils, and its solubility can reduce over time. There are various grades of shellac. When mixed with alcohol, it may initially form a cloudy mixture, due to traces of wax in the shellac, but this should become clear once it has dried. The highest grades of shellac are Clear Dewaxed Shellac, which has been de-coloured using the carbon filtering method, Lemon Shellac, and Orange Shellac, which are pale in colour. Button Shellac is less refined and therefore produces a reddish varnish. It was, in fact, widely used as a red dye before synthetic dyes became available. Learn More

5 Litre containers are not available in the shop, but only as a special order through the website or over the telephone. Roberson Liquid Metals have a rich deep colour, ideal for a wide range of applications including plaster, wood, paper & canvas. The Liquid Metal range does not tarnish and does not need to be varnished. All colours are intermixable and wash up with water. The Liquid Metal range does not tarnish and does not need to be varnished. All colours are intermixable and wash up with water. Coverage is approximately 7 square metres per litre. Two coats are required for most applications but if applied to walls or ceilings with a roller or a brush then three or four coats are recommended. Because of the highly reflective nature of the metallic paint when applying with a roller to a large area apply the paint evenly in long vertical strokes, finishing off the surface by rolling or brushing in one direction, i.e ceiling to floor. This will help to minimise overlapping and create a smooth and even finish. We recommend the use of a professional quality foam roller in order to achieve the best possible finish. When applying with a roller to a large area, apply the paint evenly in long vertical strokes. Finish off the surface by rolling one direction, i.e. ceiling to floor. This will help minimise overlapping and create a smooth, even finish. These paints can also be sprayed and this will produce the best and most consistent finish. To spray Liquid Metal Acrylics, you will need to use HVLP spray equipment with a 1.6mm or 1.8mm nozzle. To ensure proper flow, paint can be thinned with 25-30% water. Learn More

Venice Trupentine is a thick, resinous liquid extracted from the Larix decidua, a larch tree native to Austria. It can impart luminosity, brilliance and gloss when used in mediums and varnishes, and as such it was highly valued during the Golden Age of painting in Venice. It is a slow-drying balsam, which can be diluted with turpentine or placed in a bath of warm water to aid flow.

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Roberson Liquid Metals have a rich deep colour, ideal for a wide range of applications including plaster, wood, paper & canvas. The Liquid Metal range does not tarnish and does not need to be varnished. All colours are inter-mixable. This is a double sided and hand painted colour chart of the full range. Learn More

Lily bristle brush for dragging or varnish walls and large surfaces. 100% pure hog bristles. Learn More

Casein is a protein derived from dried milk, which has been used in painting since ancient times. It can be combined with Ammonium Carbonate to form an emulsion, which acts as a durable, non-resoluble binder for pigments, producing a matte, fast-drying paint, similar in appearance to egg tempera. We use casein as a binder for our L. Cornelissen & Son Pigment Colour Charts, as it is a medium that clearly showcases the characteristics and behaviour of each pigment in its pure form. Casein paints can be applied in thin layers to watercolour paper, but would require a more rigid support, such as a gesso panel, to be applied thickly, as the comparative inflexibility of the paint layer means that it can be prone to cracking. Subsequent layers of paint should be more diluted to aid adhesion, and impasto effects are not recommended. It is possible to varnish casein paintings using an acrylic or damar varnish to obtain a glossy surface if desired, although this is not a necessary step. Casein can also be used as an ingredient in gesso, and is a suitable binder for fresco secco techniques.

Some pigments may require a wetting agent in order to fully disperse within the binder, in which case alcohol may be used.

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Gamboge is a natural tree resin, generally extracted by tapping of Garcinia trees, available as a powder and in the solid "pipe" form. One of the unique features of Pipe Gamboge is that it does not require a binding agent to be used as a paint. Instead, colour can be lifted with a wet brush, as from a watercolour pan. When used as a water colour, it gives a bright transparent golden yellow colour. It is highly transparent, fugitive to light, with a weak tinting strength. The powder can be dissolved in alcohol to colour resin-based varnishes. Gamboge was used from ancient times to dye the clothes and also to make a transparent yellow varnish for the colouring of wood, metals and leather.

Pipe Gamboge is available while stocks last. Larger quantities are available by request.

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Shellac is a natural resin that is deposited by the female lac insect on the branches of trees in India and Thailand. It is soluble with alcohol, but not with mineral spirits or turpentine. It forms a tough yet flexible film, with many applications. It is suitable as a top coat for gilding when applied thinly, a sealant for porous surfaces, an isolating layer for tempera paintings, a base for pigmented inks, a protective layer for collograph plates, and a warm varnish for wooden floors and furniture. As it is prone to darkening with age, it is not recommended as a varnish for oils, and its solubility can reduce over time. There are various grades of shellac. When mixed with alcohol, it may initially form a cloudy mixture, due to traces of wax in the shellac, but this should become clear once it has dried. The highest grades of shellac are Clear Dewaxed Shellac, which has been de-coloured using the carbon filtering method, Lemon Shellac, and Orange Shellac, which are pale in colour. Button Shellac is less refined and therefore produces a reddish varnish. It was, in fact, widely used as a red dye before synthetic dyes became available. Learn More