How I make Dammar Varnish - Tips and Tricks

[@trondsi]

Finally a good use for those old face masks! :D

[@bobby-007-nic]

Thank you so much for the video! Very valuable information. I am a beginner. I subscribed to your channel.

[@samuel.s.hoskins]

I am glad it was helpful! Thank you!

[@eliottodowd9021]

Really cool! Thanks for this info

[@samuel.s.hoskins]

Thanks for watching!

[@AlexRisetto]

Very informative content! But is the two weeks waiting for the retouch varnish or the finished deal? sorry if I have misunderstood it

[@samuel.s.hoskins]

At least two weeks for the retouch. The longer the better but the main goal it to have the painting dry enough so that the varnish doesnt bond into the painting but rather sits on top of it acting as protection. If I have to show a painting, often times I will use retouch varnish. It does the job and still allows some breathing room for the painting to continue to thoroughly dry.

[@김지후-y3i]

what medium can I mix with black oil to slow drying?? and can I mix walnut oil to slow drying?

[@samuel.s.hoskins]

Yes, Walnut or Linseed oil would slow drying compared to black oil. Black oil speeds drying time so anything you add into it will dry faster than if you used it without.

[@김지후-y3i]

What mediums can I use with black oil?

[@samuel.s.hoskins]

I usually mix chalk or marble dust with black oil or just use a bit of black oil itself as a medium. You can use it with anything, just ideally not a lead based pigments or else it can dry too fast and cause problems. I normally don't use any medium until the later stages of a painting. Hope that helps!

[@김지후-y3i]

Thank you for your response😊 Lastly, in the first step, Black Oil 7 walnut oil 3 In the second step, black oil 5. Walnut oil 5 The last step is black oil 7, walnut oil 3 Is it okay to mix it like this??

[@DominicNJ73]

Hi Sam. Why do you use dammar varnish? Just wondering because I know dammar isn't a good varnish over the life of the painting, it's not UV stable. I watch Julian Baumgartner (he's an art conservator, if you haven't seen his channel I highly recommend it) and every painting I see him work on with dammar is always washed out with a yellowish glaze over the paint layer. He always recommends using a modern, synthetic resin varnish so your art remains archival and doesn't yellow.

[@samuel.s.hoskins]

Hi, good question. Synthetic resin (almost always regalrez) actually does the exact things the people use it to avoid. It turns cloudy, discolored, and diminishes the darks and lights in the painting. I had the director the the MET give a talk at the academy I was at a couple of years ago and he was talking about how they switched from synthetic varnish back to natural varnish on the Rembrandt paintings because there was such a noticeable difference in less then 10 years of the synthetic being used. I couldn't find an article about that specifically but I found a similar one of the Frick replacing synthetic with UV enforced natural varnish on their Rembrandt: www.frick.org/sites/default/files/archivedsite/exhibitions/rembrandt/conservation.htm Also, personally, it just seems sacrilegious to use a synthetic varnish on something so significantly made from natural products. Dammar can yellow a bit but less than mastic and synthetics. I know there is a lot of debate but I think a lot of research and thought goes into anything that is done on a Rembrandt and that is my reason for using it.

[@jaywon6749]

I have used woman’s hosiery but I have pool filter socks for my water catchment. I will try it next time.

[@samuel.s.hoskins]

Those work great!