This is something I've struggled with for awhile. Some articles have said you should wait as long as 6 months to a year before varnishing an oil painting. :surprise: That won't work for me because I like to sell my paintings.
What I do is give the paintings a week or two to dry. How long really depends on the thickness of the paint and whether or not I used a medium that helps it to dry faster (which I usually do). Then I use spray varnish. It's easy and for me looks better than when I try to brush on a varnish. The spray varnish will dry in a matter of minutes and I usually put the painting up for sale the next day.
I don't recommend what I do if you are producing masterpieces that you expect to last for centuries. But it works for me and I have had no problems with it at all.
What I do is give the paintings a week or two to dry. How long really depends on the thickness of the paint and whether or not I used a medium that helps it to dry faster (which I usually do). Then I use spray varnish. It's easy and for me looks better than when I try to brush on a varnish. The spray varnish will dry in a matter of minutes and I usually put the painting up for sale the next day.
I don't recommend what I do if you are producing masterpieces that you expect to last for centuries. But it works for me and I have had no problems with it at all.
