Matt varnish

[Jeremy]

Anyone know of a really good acrylic
matt varnish , i have tried a few and they all still have a slight sheen , very frustrating and a complete waste of money , but you don't know untill you try, if it says matt on the tin you expect a matt finish

[Elena]

Here I find Dead Flat Varnish by Modern Masters to be quite flat, but the flatests I've found is Sher-Clear (waterborn acrylic clear coat) Industrial & Marine Coatings by Sherwin Williams, I imagine they ship international.
I found this one by chance when my local SW store was having a clearance sale. Even thou it says it's exterior grade it blisters under heavy rain (in case you want to know . Lori Wilson from Golden Paints told me that flat varnishes in general aren't good for exteriors. Have you tried Golden Flat Varnish? that would be my third option (although Golden brand is on the top of my preferences)

p.s. I edited to add: I meant 'Matte Medium' from Golden, not Flat Varnish (keep in mind that a totally matte top coat will withhold dirt -if that might be a problem- unlike a slightly shinny to glossy top coat)

[Jeremy]

Thanks Elena , I will make inquiries about the sherwin williams product , failing that i will try the golden matt meduim , there proceed glazes are wonderful .
This is for finishing some of my samples as shiny varnish does'nt photograph very well .

[Roymak]

Hi Jeremy I have used a Matt finish on a lot of the fireplaces I used to do in a stone effect. This needed to be totally Flatt finish. I used to use a product called Guard (not the one made by Zinisser). Its water based and dries to a clear Matt finish but i can not remember who made it. I will try and find out.

[Jeremy]

If you can Roy , that will be great !!
the more options the better.

[1st year apprentice]

Roy. Many years ago we used a a water based product to apply around light switch areas on walls we had papered. IT did not stain the paper and dried transparent, was wipeable and kept the area clean. For the life of me I cant remember the trade name. Sounds similar to what you were using on the fireplaces.

Brian

[Roymak]

Yes Brian it sounds like that one.I know we used the product when I was teaching at Walsall and it was specifically for wallpapers.

[elan]

Check and see if you can find Ronan products in the UK. They have a flat varnish that I think, maybe, I used along time ago when I worked in the theatre. In film and theatre, you are always battling reflected light, so if you can find people/vendors that cater to that crowd, you may find the product of your dreams.
I think we also used to coat mirrors and shiny things with cheap hairspray to dull them, that would be a reversible coating - I'd hate to see you permanently dull your beautiful samples. But look for cheap, stinky, old lady hairspray in an old fashioned spray can, the new fancy sprays from the salon have chemicals in them to make your hair shiny.

[Jodi]

OOOOOOO!!! Great idea Elan!! Hairspray!!! Then you can wipe it off!!!

[Jeremy]

[1st year apprentice]

That stuff I mentioned in earlier post was called Fend. it went on milky then cleared. Name just came to me out of the blue lol a minute ago.

Brian

[lisascenic]

Maybe this is a lighting issue, and not a paint problem at all.

Look at it this way: all the great museums photograph their oil paintings, and don't spray hair products on the Rembrandts.

Maybe you need a lighting diffuser, or something along those lines.

http://www.instructables.com/id/10-Minute-Light-Diffuser/

http://www.ferventfoodie.com/2012/01/10/photography-light-diy-diffuser-on-the-cheap/