I want to know if i can varnish over water paint. will it affect what i have painted?

i have a wooden bird house that i wish to varnish to protect from the elements.





will the paint smudge or smear when i apply the varnish?I want to know if i can varnish over water paint. will it affect what i have painted?
';Water paint'; is vague. This could be anything from latex house paint to watercolor for paintings on paper. Your concern for smudging leads me to wonder whether it is watercolor for paintings on paper. Some of the advice given so far is confusing the characteristics of artists paints and mediums with house paint.





Is this paint meant for exteriors? It will fade whether varnished or not if it is interior paint. The varnish must be EXTERIOR varnish regardless of any other characteristic. For a painted bird house you can use either oil or water based varnishes. Oil based varnish as well as oil based paint offers the strongest resistance against the elements. It is safe to paint an oil based varnish over a water based paint, just not the reverse.I want to know if i can varnish over water paint. will it affect what i have painted?
Acrylic paint (latex) is water bound and can be varnished either with oil varnish or an acrylic varnish.





The acrylic varnish (PVA) will look milky when you put it on but dries clear (it's a bit like wood glue) and you can get it in gloss, satin or matt finishes.





The oil varnish comes in the same three finishes but will add a slight yellow cast. It will also yellow if the bird house is kept in a dark place, in a light place it should be ok.





Both will make colours a little richer and more saturated.





I work as a mural painter and use both types of varnish to protect walls from damage and also to make the surface wipeable.





If the bird house is outside I'd use oil but there are some good water bound exterior varnishes around these days.





If you've painted the bird house with ';artists'; water colours (the ones that come as little hard cakes of colour) the water bound varnish will re-activate the paint and it will smudge. In that case use oil.





You can also get aerosol spray varnishes which may work well for you.
As long as it's oil paint it will be ok with varnish meant for oil paint. If you are using a latex paint then you want to apply a varnish meant for acrylic paint or just leave it alone. It's not meant for a varnish meant for oil paint and you will run into problems as it ages.
Surely a few strokes of water paint on a spare piece of canvas, then apply varnish will give you all the information you require relevant to you.
If it is properly dry, then it should be fine. The varnish will darken the colors, but will protect them from the elements, so it's a pretty good idea!

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