Varnish Test #1

Since I started offering body blushing, I've been worried about varnish strengths because I know that body blushing often rubs off. I don't think it's fair for me to offer a service if I cannot provide customers with something that is as durable as possible. I still don't recommend full body blushing because torso joints are especially prone to rubbing and flaking but I think that chest blushing, manicures and pedicures will last reasonably well.

VARNISHES TESTED:

1. MSC (Mr.Super Clear) UV Cut Matte
2. ZM (Zoukei-Mura) Powder Spray UV Cut
3. Future floor wax. This is high gloss, plain acrylic gloss. Don't freak out.
4. Golden Matte Varnish with UVLS
5. Golden Matte Varnish with UVLS layered on Future
6. Liquitex Matte Varnish
7. Liquitex Matte Varnish layered on Future
8. Liquitex Ultra Gloss Varnish

THEORIES

My theories before testing began was that MSC spray would be one of the strongest varnishes as well as Future floor wax. After all MSC has been used often and is highly rated and trusted. Floor was is floor wax. It is supposed to withstand a lot of scuffing and wear. I didn't have much expectation of either Liquitex or Golden matte varnishes.

COATING PROCESS:

1. Areas sectioned off and labels written on underside of resin cap.
2. Base layers applied: 3 layers of MSC on MSC section, 3 layers of ZM spray on ZM section and 3 layers of matte medium applied on all other sections.
3. Masked off edges and circle in the center to ensure I can see sectioning. Used various methods so ignore the slightly yellowed areas. This was my masking test. All varnishes are perfectly clear and do not have a yellow cast.
4. Applied 2 layers of opaque black acrylic. I chose black to ensure visibility of scratches as well as varnish texture.
5. Paint varnish labels in red.
6. Varnished off all sections with appropriate varnishes. All sections received 3 layers of varnish with the exception of the mixed varnish sections. In those sections I applied 2 layers of Future and 2 layers of either Golden or Liquitex matte varnish. All layers of varnishes applied with appropriate dry time in between according to package instructions.
7. Let all set for 2 weeks.

TESTING PROCESS:

Tools:

• Prismacolor Color Pencil
• Rounded end of metal airbrush needle
• Metal tool with sharp pointy edges
• Magic Eraser
• 360 grit sandpaper
• 220 grit sandpaper
• Timer

Method:

1. Take Color Pencil and with a firm steady pressure as if pressing down and making a normal pencil stroke, I made a line around the the head cap right under the varnish labels through all varnish sections completing a ring.
2. Take rounded metal needle and repeat a third of the way down to section off another ring in the bulls eye.
3. Take pointy metal tool and section off another area so that you will basically have a bulls eye on the cap.
4. Take Magic Eraser, dampen and abrade each section in the outermost third for 3 minutes.
5. Take 360 grit sandpaper, dampen and abrade a section in the middle ring of the bulls eye for 30 seconds. Cut off used section so you have fresh sandpaper for the next varnish section and continue until all varnish sections completed.
6. Take 220 grit sandpaper and repeat step 5 for 15 seconds instead of 30.
7. wash off headcap.

RESULTS:

Finish and Appearance:

Finish wise, MSC, and ZM spray are very similar. MSC has a slightly, hardly noticeable thicker quality and mattness while ZM spray has a slightly, barely noticeable smoother finish than MSC. Golden finish is very similar to both ZM and MSC finish with a nice clear matte finish. Liquitex on the other hand has a noticeably cloudy appearance after three coats. It is the only one with a noticeable texture. As you can see in the first photo, although it is in shadow, it is the lightest section. Liquitex ultra gloss has a very high gloss finish and is crystal clear. Future floor wax has a gloss finish that is similar but not as smooth.

Hardiness:

All varnishes withstood the pencil test fairly well. All that happened was that a color line was drawn on all sections and a slight mar left. Something that can be easily buffed out and resprayed.

All varnishes withstood the rounded metal needle well. Only a slight mar was left that could be buffed down and resprayed as well. No paint chipping or color loss.

Varnishes did not do as well with sharp metal tool. Due to inconsistent surfaces on the tool, I could not ensure I approached each surface at the same angle with the same edge of the tool. However cuts, grooves and chips were noticed in all sections. Liquitex matt varnish performed rather well however and only had scratches. Golden performed well and had a scratch as well though a tiny bit less well as liquitex.

The wet Magic Sponge is a very fine abrasive that could be compared to heavy abrasion from rough cloth. It's a cleaning tool that is designed to wear away a little at surfaces to buff out dirt. In this case, ZM spray did amazingly well and only suffered buffing. There was little to no color loss.

Liquitex matte varnish also did well with only a small patch of color abraded away. MSC and liquitex ultra gloss varnish performed similarly to each other but did not do as well as Liquitex matte. Future floor wax failed very quickly and Golden varnish was not much better. Varnishes layered with Future did not do very well either.

As for the sandpaper, Future pretty much failed again. Liquitex matte varnish was a surprising winner and Golden holds it's own along with ZM spray. MSC was not as strong as ZM spray.

CONCLUSION:

As you can all see, Liquitex matte varnish is surprisingly durable. It came away with some marring but clearly did better than the other varnishes. The one downside is that on dark colors, it is very frosty looking. I will be doing further testing to see how it looks on darker resin. There may be another alternative varnish that can be tested that does not have this frosted look

If you were choosing between MSC or ZM spray, I would say ZM spray. MSC is toothier and thus better for intense pastel application but you are more likely to get a smoother gradation with ZM in my experience.

All in all, I'm not sure how valid my test is because although I tried to apply the same pressure throughout the abrasion tests, I am only human. I will be repeating this tests with darker resins and other brands in the future so we will see if this test was a fluke or if Liquitex matte varnish does indeed hold up better against other varnishes.

As for durability on dolls,

I would say that Liquitex matte is pretty durable against cloth abrasions. However, elastics in your doll can exert a very strong pressure on resin pieces so even though you aren't using sharp metal objects on your doll, I would still be wary of blushing torsos. Joints like shoulders, hips and necks can be protected to a certain extent with sueding but due to construction torso joints can't be protected no matter how you suede them. I generally keep colors away from joints that will rub but even the matte finish can rub and chip off. So pls keep this in mind when you guys decide on body blushing. I recommend blushing chest, arms shoulders and mani/pedis for beauty and durability but I do not recommend full body blushing.