Saturday, February 27, 2010

I sprayed damar varnish on my oil painting about three days ago and it hasn't dried yet,?

moreover all the dust has stuck on to the varnish on the painting making it worse.how do i remove the dust or what should i doI sprayed damar varnish on my oil painting about three days ago and it hasn't dried yet,?
I would guess that the reason the varnish is not dry yet is because the oil paint was not completely dry (do not varnish a painting less than six months old), you used too much varnish, or the ingredients of the varnish mixture were not in correct proportions (if you made it yourself). And, of course, the longer the varnish is wet and exposed to dust, the more dust collects on the painting surface.





I don't know how you can remove the dust without removing at least some of the varnish. I would wait a week or and see if the varnish does dry. If it does dry, then a very light coat of diluted varnish applied with a soft brush might stick down the dust particles to the surface. Otherwise, you might consider removing the varnish.





It is a very sticky, messy job to remove damar. I have never done it myself, but have heard that a soft cloth with either mineral spirits or turpentine can be used. Winsor %26amp; Newton's English Distilled Turpentine is a good quality choice.





You can get more information about how to use and remove damar at:


http://www.winsornewton.com/main.aspx?Pa鈥?/a>I sprayed damar varnish on my oil painting about three days ago and it hasn't dried yet,?
Damar vanish takes a very long time to dry. The best way to apply it is to wait until your oil painting is dry, then add multiple, very thin layers of the vanish, waiting on the next application until the last layer is fully dried. This whole process will take a few days (maybe more) but you will be less likely to have a think, unctuous layer that will not dry fully for over a week. Also, there is no way to fully prevent the dust from sticking except to varnish your piece in a place with good ventilation (indoors with an air filter) and perhaps to find a way to tent your painting with a heavy cloth (this will slow the dry time, though).





As for your current problem, there is nothing you can do except to wait it out for your varnish to dry. The dust removal is going to be tricky. You will need to very gently wipe the varnish with methylated spirits until you get the dust off using a lightly, moistened wool/cotton pad (pick one that will not leave fibers). This will be removing the varnish and has the potential to ruin your painting if you are not VERY careful. To stop the spirit residue from continuing to dissolve your painting, you will need to go back over the cleaned arears immediatly with another wool/cotton pad that has a bit of turpentine and linseed oil on it. After you have the dust removed and the painting is fully dry again, try one more light coat of the damar varnish to finish it up. This whole procedure is not going to be easy and it is something that a professional art restorer would normally do, but if you still want to give it a shot, go for it.


Good luck!!
Hi,





IF and I repeat IF your painting had dried for at least 6 months, you can remove your varnish with turpentine.


I've done this before using a kitchen paper towell soaked with turps.


It must be soaked as not to get stucked when rubbing off the varnish.


Of course that during the process one must pay attention to eventual bleeding of paint.


Keep the canvas vertical and when finished use a hairdryer (cold) or take it outside so that any remaining turps evaporates from the surface.


I guess it's better to wait about a month to varnish again.





Kind regards,





Jos茅 (from Hushcolours)
I've brushed on damar varnish on my painting after six month of letting the painting dry but have never sprayed it on. I didn't encounter any problems with that method. In fact it dries to the touch by the next day. If you used the can type, were there any special instructions listed on the can label. Did you perhaps have to wait between coats, shake the can well, wait for the painting to dry, etc. My paintings sometimes pick up lint and i usually wait for it to dry before attempting to remove it. To do this i use a roller type lint remover.

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