Suppose you have spent hours on an acrylic painting and are feeling very proud of the result. You hang it up, intending to show it off to your family and friends. Only, you realize that the finished painting does not look as uniform as you intended it to be. Worse still, it starts to attract dust after a few months, and the colors fade away with time.
All these can be avoided with just one component – varnish. But Should Acrylic Paintings Be Varnished? Yes, they should, and in this article, we’ll tell you why.
We’ll also tell you what type of varnish you should choose. To learn all these, keep reading this article!
Table of Contents
Why You Should Varnish Acrylic Paintings?
Varnishing has a lot of benefits that make it a popular practice among artists, no matter what painting medium they use. Some of those are mentioned below –
Deepens Colors
Usually, acrylic painting dries so that it makes the result look quite dull compared to as it looked while being painted. Therefore, artists varnish to restore 
the original glossy look of the painting surface. Often, some professionals use an acrylic binder, but that is not sufficient.
By applying a varnish coating, the dark colors of the painted surface do not lose their saturation and look enhanced. Just make sure that the varnish is water clear. Otherwise, it will end up altering the colors beneath.
Provides an Even Finishing
Often, after finishing a painting, you will notice that the finishing looks uneven. There might be small bumps from the dried-up acrylic pigments and lots of dents from the hundreds of visible brush strokes. On top of that, the paint surface dries glossily in some areas, where it has a much flatter matte look on others.
Not to worry, you can still save the day by adding the right varnish finishes to your painting. By doing this, you will be able to create a result that looks even in texture and finishing, whether that is matte, glossy, or satin.
Offers Protection
Paintings can be affected by a lot of things, starting from dust, debris to UV rays. All these can make the painting lose its original glory and look dull and faded with time. Varnish protects against all these elements.
If you add a layer of removable varnish coat on the painting, then this layer absorbs all dust particles and gives UV protection, as it has ultraviolet light stabilizers. Then, as the painting starts to look yellowed and worn out after a while, you can easily remove the layer and add another layer of varnish.
Extends Lifespan
In case you want to make sure that a painting stays in its prime condition for eras to come, apply varnish on your watercolor paintings.
The non-porous varnish layer helps to minimize the damage to the original work and preserve its tur value. Besides, you will need to touch up the painting less often, which contributes to a longer lifespan.
Problems of Varnishing
If varnishing acrylic paintings helps in so many ways, then why do people shy away from it? The causes are explained below –
Time Consuming
Varnishing takes a long time to do, sometimes even longer than the original painting itself. Hence, artists tend to dislike the process. They need to wait for hours for the wet paint to completely dry and start only then.
While acrylic paintings do not take much time to dry up, oil paint cannot be said. Some oil paintings can take up to 2 years to dry up properly. On top of that, if they want to create a removable layer, they must apply an isolation coat, which makes the whole procedure even lengthier.
Unintended End Result
Even though varnishing is intended to make the result look better, sometimes it can have the opposite consequences. If the painting has too much difference in terms of sheen, sometimes adding a particular varnish can only accentuate that difference and make it look even worse.
Besides, a glossy finish can often make the canvas surface look too glaring, while matte varnish can make the painting flat. Therefore, it is needed to find a mix that matches the painting fully and helps it look good in the setting it will be in.
Types of Varnish
There are two types of varnish you can choose from. this depends primarily on the kind of project you are working on –
Polymer Varnish
Polymer varnishes or water-based varnishes are great for small paintings. They dry up quickly and hence do not take up much time to cover the entire surface.
However, this quality makes them unsuitable for large acrylic paints. They also tend to foam up if mixed with, so it is important to apply them in thin layers and wait until applying the second coat.
Some varnishes have a thick consistency, and those need to be thinned before use. Ideally, 1 part water must be mixed with 3 parts liquid varnish. If you feel that water-based varnishes are too runny, you can use a sponge instead of a brush for better application.
Solvent Based Varnish
Solvent-based varnish or Mineral Spirit Acrylic varnish is mostly used by professionals. These varnishes need to be thinned with spirits, which is a bit difficult to do in-home settings. It also takes longer to clean up.
Despite the demerits, professionals prefer this to water-based varnishes for its superior quality finish. The varnish is clear and dries up to a flexible layer. It is also easier to apply and dries slowly, so you do not need to hurry when working on big projects.
Types of Varnish Sheens
The kind of sheen you will be using will decide what the finishing of your acrylic paintings will be. hence, choose wisely from the following three –
Gloss Varnish
If you want your paintings to look more vivid, then glossy varnish is the way to go. This kind of varnish helps to reflect the light more, making the paintings look like they have come straight out of a magazine. It also helps to avoid a flatter appearance and intensifies dark colors.
Matte Varnish
Matte varnish is basically opposite to the glossy one. It does not reflect any light at all and makes dark colors look lighter. This is because of the matting agent used in them which ends up giving a completely matte finish.
This kind of varnish is usually used by abstract painters. Matte varnishes also help to soften the look of a particular artwork.
Satin Varnish
If you are not particularly fond of both dulled-down paintings and too vivid ones, then you might try looking into satin varnishes. This type falls between the former two, and while it helps reflect less light, it also adds contrast and saturation to the colors. Therefore, it is preferred by many artists.
Using an Isolation Coat on Acrylic Paint
To help with varnish removal later, apply isolation coats to dried acrylic paint. You can use any kind of gel gloss, but most people prefer using the Golden Soft Gel Gloss mixed with water for such a coat.
You do not need to use any isolation coat if you are working on an oil painting. Once the coat has dried, you can apply thin coats of varnish. You can also spray varnish, but that process is not much popular. Make sure not to touch the wet varnish.
Final Words
A varnished painting has a much better surface quality than an unvarnished one. While varnishing has some problems, it can do you much better than harm if done carefully and with a bit of patience. Hence, next time you sit with your acrylic paint, make sure to use varnish as well. You will end up with a much better result, as you will be able to see for yourself.
