stupidstupidstudio
New Member
Hello, so I'm an artist that is working on a new set of paintings for a show. These paintings are on a wood panel and I've been learning to lay down glitter and candy paint like they do on cars. They look great but I am having some issues with the clear coat and I need some advice from those who know more than me.
For backstory, I was making these paintings once or twice before and would use a generic art resin to give that glossy clear coat finish. It was a pain to pour and was nearly impossible to get right on a larger painting (30x30") because dust and stuff would get in the surface as it was curing, causing really distracting pimple like dots all over the top. Another problem with the resin is that it is not archival for art purposes as it yellows a lot over time.
I have had some luck this time around, finding a Liquitex acrylic permanent varnish that is supposedly archival for art (AKA it lasts a long time and doesn't ruin the art). It's just a super glossy very soft acrylic top coating that I can paint on in small, thin coats. On a painting with glitter, it takes about 5 coats to get it super smooth on the top. I add one more just because to bring it to 6 total coats. There are still some little imperfections and pimples on the surface, so I've been experimenting with sanding and polishing and have had some mixed results.
I sand with my little Ryobi handheld sander from 600 to 1000 to 2000 to 3000 and then I buff on my new porter cable orbital buffer with the 3-step 3M Perfect-It system with the matching foam pads. I wipe the painting down with dedicated microfiber cloths and water between each step. This has lead to some intriguing results. The sanding and buffing by and large does work. It looks terrible on the first sand and gets progressively better every step. By the end, it's almost as good as a fresh coat of varnish BUT there are some little remaining scratches that I can pick up when I angle it directly at a light (from every other angle they are invisible). My test canvas is mostly black so I realize that's a tough situation for detailing but my paintings all have black linework so it's fairly important.
So with all that info, here are some questions I have that you may be able to help me with:
• Is there a polishing compound that is even more fine than the 3M ultrafine machine polish to help push it another level? I have tried some Novus and Maguire stuff I had laying around the house and those both performed worse.
• Am I screwed because of how soft this varnish is? I am sure it is much softer than any car finish. This varnish is even softer than the resin I previously used as well. It scratches from just gliding a fingernail across it nonchalantly.
• Would a wax or ceramic coat potentially be a solution here? It really only shows the scratches up close on the black in direct lighting.
• How much of this is just a lack of technique? I am new to this and did notice some improvement between my first attempt and my second attempt.
• Do I need any materials that I don't have? I suspect I need an interfacing pad for my sander, potentially a better quality sander, and maybe even a softer pad for the 3M or whatever finishing step I may need?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME I REALLY NEED SOME HELP LOL
For backstory, I was making these paintings once or twice before and would use a generic art resin to give that glossy clear coat finish. It was a pain to pour and was nearly impossible to get right on a larger painting (30x30") because dust and stuff would get in the surface as it was curing, causing really distracting pimple like dots all over the top. Another problem with the resin is that it is not archival for art purposes as it yellows a lot over time.
I have had some luck this time around, finding a Liquitex acrylic permanent varnish that is supposedly archival for art (AKA it lasts a long time and doesn't ruin the art). It's just a super glossy very soft acrylic top coating that I can paint on in small, thin coats. On a painting with glitter, it takes about 5 coats to get it super smooth on the top. I add one more just because to bring it to 6 total coats. There are still some little imperfections and pimples on the surface, so I've been experimenting with sanding and polishing and have had some mixed results.
I sand with my little Ryobi handheld sander from 600 to 1000 to 2000 to 3000 and then I buff on my new porter cable orbital buffer with the 3-step 3M Perfect-It system with the matching foam pads. I wipe the painting down with dedicated microfiber cloths and water between each step. This has lead to some intriguing results. The sanding and buffing by and large does work. It looks terrible on the first sand and gets progressively better every step. By the end, it's almost as good as a fresh coat of varnish BUT there are some little remaining scratches that I can pick up when I angle it directly at a light (from every other angle they are invisible). My test canvas is mostly black so I realize that's a tough situation for detailing but my paintings all have black linework so it's fairly important.
So with all that info, here are some questions I have that you may be able to help me with:
• Is there a polishing compound that is even more fine than the 3M ultrafine machine polish to help push it another level? I have tried some Novus and Maguire stuff I had laying around the house and those both performed worse.
• Am I screwed because of how soft this varnish is? I am sure it is much softer than any car finish. This varnish is even softer than the resin I previously used as well. It scratches from just gliding a fingernail across it nonchalantly.
• Would a wax or ceramic coat potentially be a solution here? It really only shows the scratches up close on the black in direct lighting.
• How much of this is just a lack of technique? I am new to this and did notice some improvement between my first attempt and my second attempt.
• Do I need any materials that I don't have? I suspect I need an interfacing pad for my sander, potentially a better quality sander, and maybe even a softer pad for the 3M or whatever finishing step I may need?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME I REALLY NEED SOME HELP LOL