Breathable Solvent Based Varnish

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. Gamvar may be brush applied when the painting is dry to the touch and firm in its thickest areas. For some oil paintings, that might take two weeks, for others, 2 months. To check if it’s dry, gently press your nail into the thickest part of your painting.

A single thin coat of Gamvar provides excellent protection to a painting. If you prefer a higher gloss, a second equally thin coat of Gamvar Gloss may be applied after the first coat is tack-free.

When using Gamvar Satin or Gamvar Matte, it is best to apply a single thin layer and not to apply multiple applications. Multiple coats of either Satin or Matte can dry to a patchy finish or tacky feel, as the 2nd application will reconstitute the matting agents in the first coat. Whenever applying the varnish, brush on Gamvar very thinly. Gamvar dries purely by solvent evaporation. Thin coats easily throw off solvent and typically dry tack-free within 24 hours. The thicker the coating, the more solvent is trapped and the longer it stays tacky. (Varnish applied too thickly may retain a slightly tacky feel even after it has completely dried.) 

When applying Gamvar to a heavily textured, impasto style painting, pay extra attention to areas where the varnish “pools”. We recommend using a dry brush to wick out excess varnish. Use a stack of paper towels to remove varnish from the brush throughout this process.

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