Varnish reviews for Decoart Triple Thick Brush-on Gloss Glaze and Liquitex Gloss Varnish
Here's a short review of varnishes I've used. You can also view this at my blog at www.paching.net/meg/decoindex.html. Sorry for any typos, bad grammar, etc.
I've only used two types of varnish so far - Decoart Triple Thick Brush-On Gloss Glaze and Liquitex Gloss. I have used both on air dry Fuwa clay and Delight air dry clay (a US version of Hearty) because air dry clay is a particularly weak medium and absolutely *must* be varnished lest any moisture soften and destroy your air dry clay creations! Below is a picture of the Triple Thick.
Both of them are quite different mediums. The Decoart really lives up to its name - it's very thick. Check out a picture of the consistency below.
I applied it to a yellow macaron and came out very shiny and very glassy, the type of shine I was looking for. This varnish is particularly STICKY. While applying, you really have to careful to apply it evenly. When letting it dry, big globs of varnish tend to drip down the sides of your pieces and may run onto the bottom. I varnish pieces one side at a time so that every part of it is varnished but not at the same time. The Liquitex gloss is a much thinner medium and thus it really tries to get into every pore that it can get into, whereas the Triple Thick stays on the surface of the clay. The Triple Thick's stickiness stays for quite some time; I think I have to wait more than 24 hours for it to to dry because it really likes to stick to things like other clay pieces.
The bottle does not state that it's waterproof. However, the Liquitex Gloss states that it is water resistant, something I have not personally tested out yet. At some point I will try leaving them both in bags of water to test out how water resistant the varnishes are. Here's another picture of a pair of heart shaped macaron earrings I made.
Below is a picture of the Liquitex varnish I used.
It's a bit harder to see where you're varnishing because this one is more watery and thin. It also tends to try to fill in any cracks you have. It really attaches well though. I've heard that it also has a "melting" effect on your clay, so think twice before using on air dry clay with a lot of fine color detail. Personally I've never experienced this. Below is a comparison picture of a couple biscuits I made. The left one is with the Liquitex, the right with Triple Thick. Click the thumbnail to enlarge.
As you can see, the left one isn't as shiny but the details come out better; the details on the hearts are a bit muddied by the thickness of the glaze but the piece is shinier. Note that even after Triple Thick is dry it's still kind of sticky. I think I'll have to wait it out to see when it's completely not sticky.
So which one to use? Depends on how shiny you want it and how thickly you want to varnish your piece. The Triple Thick is really good at protecting the clay surface by virtue of how thick it is. The Liquitex is good too and has the added bonus of being water resistant but is not as shiny as Triple Thick.
I've only used two types of varnish so far - Decoart Triple Thick Brush-On Gloss Glaze and Liquitex Gloss. I have used both on air dry Fuwa clay and Delight air dry clay (a US version of Hearty) because air dry clay is a particularly weak medium and absolutely *must* be varnished lest any moisture soften and destroy your air dry clay creations! Below is a picture of the Triple Thick.
Both of them are quite different mediums. The Decoart really lives up to its name - it's very thick. Check out a picture of the consistency below.
I applied it to a yellow macaron and came out very shiny and very glassy, the type of shine I was looking for. This varnish is particularly STICKY. While applying, you really have to careful to apply it evenly. When letting it dry, big globs of varnish tend to drip down the sides of your pieces and may run onto the bottom. I varnish pieces one side at a time so that every part of it is varnished but not at the same time. The Liquitex gloss is a much thinner medium and thus it really tries to get into every pore that it can get into, whereas the Triple Thick stays on the surface of the clay. The Triple Thick's stickiness stays for quite some time; I think I have to wait more than 24 hours for it to to dry because it really likes to stick to things like other clay pieces.
The bottle does not state that it's waterproof. However, the Liquitex Gloss states that it is water resistant, something I have not personally tested out yet. At some point I will try leaving them both in bags of water to test out how water resistant the varnishes are. Here's another picture of a pair of heart shaped macaron earrings I made.
Below is a picture of the Liquitex varnish I used.
It's a bit harder to see where you're varnishing because this one is more watery and thin. It also tends to try to fill in any cracks you have. It really attaches well though. I've heard that it also has a "melting" effect on your clay, so think twice before using on air dry clay with a lot of fine color detail. Personally I've never experienced this. Below is a comparison picture of a couple biscuits I made. The left one is with the Liquitex, the right with Triple Thick. Click the thumbnail to enlarge.
As you can see, the left one isn't as shiny but the details come out better; the details on the hearts are a bit muddied by the thickness of the glaze but the piece is shinier. Note that even after Triple Thick is dry it's still kind of sticky. I think I'll have to wait it out to see when it's completely not sticky.
So which one to use? Depends on how shiny you want it and how thickly you want to varnish your piece. The Triple Thick is really good at protecting the clay surface by virtue of how thick it is. The Liquitex is good too and has the added bonus of being water resistant but is not as shiny as Triple Thick.