Problems with GW Matte Finish

[Velmates]

Hey everyone!

The main thing first: my matte finish layer always turns "frosty" white, if you know what I mean. It is like a rough white layer, destroying the miniature completely.

I know that this problem occurs to many people and I have browsed hundreds of forums to get some ideas that could prevent this from happening. Some say humidity or heat or an old bottle of spray or whatnot. But nothing seems to work. I tried indoor-spraying, drying with a blow-dryer, in winter, in summer and every weather condition in between. No effect.

Has anyone some experience with using a gloss finish underneath the matte? Does this work better? Or does anyone know a brand other than GW that works more reliable?

Please please please!

 

[Daoshi]

Hey everyone!

The main thing first: my matte finish layer always turns "frosty" white, if you know what I mean. It is like a rough white layer, destroying the miniature completely.

I know that this problem occurs to many people and I have browsed hundreds of forums to get some ideas that could prevent this from happening. Some say humidity or heat or an old bottle of spray or whatnot. But nothing seems to work. I tried indoor-spraying, drying with a blow-dryer, in winter, in summer and every weather condition in between. No effect.

Has anyone some experience with using a gloss finish underneath the matte? Does this work better? Or does anyone know a brand other than GW that works more reliable?

Please please please!

I am sorry to hear that all your hard work has been destroyed. This is partly the reason as to why I personally have switched over to using an airbrush over propellant cans. First of all, where are you situated? It could be the temperature/weather that you have. Have you tried another can to see if there is any difference?

Usually with propellant cans, I would put the can in a bucket of warm water for a few minutes prior to using it.

Gloss varnish will vanish completely under a matt varnish. I personally do not like GW products, and I personally use:

and I have had no issue with it at all. Doesn't alter the colour at all. Hope that has been some help.

 

[desfer]

Good matte varnishes in spray cans i've tested are Testor Dullcote (probably the best) and The Army Painters Anti-Shine. Generally humidity is your enemy when spraying. You first need to try spraying a test model, if you like it, use it on others as well. I haven't heard the best things about GW varnishes to be honest . You can always try applying varnishes with a paint brush, although that's time consuming.

EDIT: EEk!! A Ninja!! :tongue:

 

[Daoshi]

EDIT: EEk!! A Ninja!! :tongue:

You said you were going to sleep

 

[Velmates]

I live in Vienna, Austria. But as I've said, I've tried different weather situations. Dry summer days in the shadow without wind or at night, cloudy days like today with a relative humidity of about 65% (which, honestly, cannot be too moist except the sprays are made for desert conditions) and so on. So IMO the weather cannot be the main issue but I may of course be wrong with that.

I also tried a product from revell for airbrush guns (without propellant, just air pressure) and was very confident because at that time I thought it could be that this is the main issue. Surprisingly it wasn't. Same problem.

Since I wrecked a whole Space Marine tank, I always test the spray before I use it. Therefore no damage done to my precious Vampire army so far^^

 

[The Keeper]

I personally have never had this problem with the GW purity seal, however i do pre heat the room i am going to be spraying in first and only use a light dusting over the mini. The technical term for your problem is called "blooming" and from what i understand its caused by moisture getting trapped in the paint and like others have said the propellant in spray cans only makes the problem worse. I have also seen this problem happen when applying the varnish over a yet to fully dry layer of paint.

 

[Infernal Skull]

I'm also a fan of Testor's Dull Cote. In my experience, the frosting usually occurs when a model is sprayed outside on a summer day, and then brought inside an air-conditioned room to dry. For some reason, the change in temp and humidity causes the model to frost. Also, spraying close to the end of the can's life (to the point that maybe more propellent than varnish is coming out) can cause it too.

Putting models in a case or cabinet immediately after they've dried is another cause of frosting on both sprays and super glue. The model needs to be left out so the vapors can continue venting away from the model. (I try to leave the models out on a table for about a day to be safe.)

You might try spraying another thin layer of the varnish on the frosted model from a fresh can. If it's soon enough afterward, it might reactivate the frosty varnish and turn it clear again. (Did that on a model helicopter decades ago when it got really frosted.) Or try gently brushing the model with a brush and water to remove some of the frosted varnish.

Hope this helps.

 

[Monkey's_Uncle]

I live in Vienna, Austria. But as I've said, I've tried different weather situations. Dry summer days in the shadow without wind or at night, cloudy days like today with a relative humidity of about 65% (which, honestly, cannot be too moist except the sprays are made for desert conditions) and so on. So IMO the weather cannot be the main issue but I may of course be wrong with that.

I also tried a product from revell for airbrush guns (without propellant, just air pressure) and was very confident because at that time I thought it could be that this is the main issue. Surprisingly it wasn't. Same problem.

Since I wrecked a whole Space Marine tank, I always test the spray before I use it. Therefore no damage done to my precious Vampire army so far^^

Sadly I've had similar problems in the past as well.
I live in the UK and what seems to be a very dry day over here is still way too humid for spraying, I've actually taken to checking the weather forecast for the week to see what the humidity is like if I plan on doing any spraying in the week.

One thing that may work is try holding the can a bit further away from the mini, that would give the propellant a bit longer to dissipate and might alleviate the symptoms a little.

Other than that I can't really suggest anything else apart from leaving it where it is 'till it's totally dry as infernal suggested.

EDIT: Just thought I'd mention that while holding the can further away may help, still test it on something you have't painted first!
(I don't want to feel responsible for messing up a mini, no matter how indirectly!)
EDIT 2: That's weird, editing a post never used to duplicate it...
Sorry...

 

[Monkey's_Uncle]

In my experience, the frosting usually occurs when a model is sprayed outside on a summer day, and then brought inside an air-conditioned room to dry. For some reason, the change in temp and humidity causes the model to frost.

I don't think he's going to have air-conditioning in Austria, Infernal...

 

[Reaper]

I had similar problem with GW purity seal. It wasn't completely frosty, but close to it. According to my experience, it is caused by the can sitting on the shelf for long time, so the matte part of the varnish settles at the bottom while the water part is at the top. Then, when you spray, the nozzle sprays what is at the bottom. Unfortunatelly, not even 15 mins of shaking helped, but I solved it differently. When I don't use the spray, I place it upside down. In this way, the watery part stays around the bottom. Before spraying, I shake it well, and apply. The layer is then without problems.

But I use it only for terrain, unit movement trays etc. I prefer applying the varnish by hand(brush) and I use Vallejo matte varnish.

 

[Zhatan]

I had this problem before as well. Waiting longer after painting before applying the varnish solved it for me. These days I always spray my minis the day after I painted them to let the paint fully dry.

 

[Velmates]

I had this problem before as well. Waiting longer after painting before applying the varnish solved it for me. These days I always spray my minis the day after I painted them to let the paint fully dry.

You mean you don't spray the minis the day after, right?

And, no, I've no air-conditioning at my place.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help. I think, some have this problem, some not but I still couldn't figure out, what's the cause. I've been to a DIY-store and got a spray from there. It is water-based and works so perfectly well, I can't imagine, I've always tried with the GW stuff. I tried a 2 mm thick layer for testing it and it dried perfectly silky matt. (For those, who are interested: Genius Pro Deko Varnish, waterbased, silky matt)

 

[Zhatan]

I had this problem before as well. Waiting longer after painting before applying the varnish solved it for me. These days I always spray my minis the day after I painted them to let the paint fully dry.

You mean you don't spray the minis the day after, right?

And, no, I've no air-conditioning at my place.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help. I think, some have this problem, some not but I still couldn't figure out, what's the cause. I've been to a DIY-store and got a spray from there. It is water-based and works so perfectly well, I can't imagine, I've always tried with the GW stuff. I tried a 2 mm thick layer for testing it and it dried perfectly silky matt. (For those, who are interested: Genius Pro Deko Varnish, waterbased, silky matt)

What I meant was I let the model sit over night before I spray on the varnish. That way I can be sure everything is completely dry and after starting this I have had no problem with the frosty look.