How to Fix Too Much Varnish on a Canvas

Varnish unifies the colors and is the finishing coat on paintings.

Varnish is a liquid that protects the colors on a painted canvas, consolidating the artwork. The varnish gives the painting a gloss or makes it matte, depending on the varnish that you use. To master the varnish application technique, you need to practice and test different types of varnish. Too much varnish on your painting may turn yellow over time and affect the appearance of your painting. If you applied too much varnish on the canvas, you can remove the excess solution before or after the varnish is dry. However, doing this before the varnish dries is easier.

Things You'll Need

• Tissue paper
• Solvent
• Piece of cloth
• Paintbrush
• Damar varnish

Instructions

1. Remove redundant varnish while it's still wet using tissue paper. Place your painting horizontally and put pieces of tissue paper on the puddles of varnish. The tissue paper absorbs the solution. Remove the pieces of tissue paper and if you want to remove more varnish, blot with more tissue paper.

2. Remove the superfluous varnish after it's dry with a solvent. Select a varnish solvent suitable for the type of varnish used on the canvas. For instance, if the canvas is varnished with an oil-based varnish, turpentine works well when you want to remove excess varnish. The solvent dissolves the varnish. Moist a piece of cloth in your solvent and gently clean the surface of your painting. Avoid scrubbing the painting while removing the excess varnish because the solvent may dissolve the paints and you risk removing layers of paint.

3. Allow the painting to dry. Typically, the painting dries within a few minutes, depending on the type of solvent you use.

4. Apply a thin layer of Damar varnish. Dip a paintbrush in varnish and make sure that you don't use an excess of varnish. If you accidentally apply too much varnish, blot the area with tissue paper. You need to apply varnish because the solvent removes all varnish and you need a protective layer of varnish for your colors.

Tips & Warnings

• If the varnish is dry, avoid fixing the canvas and removing the excess solution while the painting is still fresh because you're likely to erase the colors underneath the varnish as well. If the paint dissolves, take your painting to an art restoration expert.

• Avoid using cotton to blot the excess varnish because particles from cotton may stick to your painting.

References

• Art Restorations Inc.: When and How to Remove Varnish
• Golden Artist Paints: Intro to Varnishing