Varnish & Fixatives

Varnish & Fixatives Online in India

Varnish and fixative do opposite jobs and are not interchangeable. A fixative binds loose dry media — charcoal, pastel, graphite — so it stops shedding; it is applied to something that was never bound in the first place. A varnish is a removable protective layer over a cured paint film, and the word that matters is removable: it is meant to be stripped and replaced decades later, taking the accumulated dirt with it and leaving the painting untouched.

Getting it right

Oil paint must be touch-dry through its thickness before final varnishing — conventionally six months for a normal film, longer for heavy impasto. Varnishing early traps solvent and can bloom or crack. Acrylic needs an isolation coat first, because acrylic varnish and acrylic paint are chemically close enough that removing the varnish later can lift the paint with it. Choose gloss to deepen darks, matt to kill glare, satin between.

What we stock

Varnishes, sprays and fixatives from Winsor & Newton, Liquitex, Golden, Sennelier and Camel, in brush-on bottles and aerosols.

Related

See oil mediums, acrylic mediums, turpentine and solvents, and charcoal and graphite for the media that need fixing.

Stationerie has sold artists' materials in Kolkata for 25 years and ships across India.