I'm confused and I need help

An enamel or oil wash can be used straight onto acrylic paint. But these washes are generally best used on a gloss surface. Also, if you are doing the wash after decals, these should be sealed in before the wash. A gloss coat and matt coat are both varnish, which is simply a clear coat.

If you were to look at a micro cross section of a panel from a model which is painted in a matte or flat finish you would see many inclusion in the paint.  These inclusions break up the light reflection and result in a matte/flat finish.    Back in the olden days [geez alert] when only paint we had was the little square bottles of gloss Testors or Pactra we used to add some talc to make the colors flat.  Satin paint is same process, just fewer particle inclusions.

Now when you add a wash over top of the matte/flat paint some of the wash pigment gets trapped among the flattening particles.  It is more difficult to remove the pigment from the flat coat.    The resulting surface has a shadowy or cloudy appearance where the wash was applied.

Using a gloss coat before washing allows you to remove more of the wash pigments without them getting trapped.

Bryant Dunbar of Grex Airbrushes had a good set of handouts at his hands-on seminar at last year's IPMS Nat show that showed this.  He also demonstrated why you should use gloss for your pre-shade panel lines -- again its a pigment inclusion thing.  If you're going to Chattanooga try to find him.   I think his seminars ar already sold out.

MikeTheMediocreModeller

But will the paint be removed if I use enamel thinner to remove excess?

 

If the gloss acrylic paint or the gloss acrylic basecoat is properly cured,then the enamel wash will have no effect on it.

Paint mules are the best tool in the box for learning.

MikeTheMediocreModeller

Gloss acrylic paint?

 

Yes,for example,Tamiya's X colors are gloss as opposed to their XF line

Tickmagnet

Paint mules are the best tool in the box for learning.

 

I too use acrylics as a base color and i have ran into this problem before as well.  It should go in this order.

1. Acrylic base color

2. Acrylic gloss clear coat (Something like Future or tamiya clear)

3. Decals

4. Acrylic gloss clear coat (Something like Future or tamiya clear)

5. Oil based washes using a mild thinner for the oils (NOT Turpentine!)

6. Acrylic Matte Coat

Trust me, I learned the hard way to not use turpintine for my oil based washes. 

Good luck!

MikeTheMediocreModeller

 

I'm super confused , please help me clear things out Also what's the difference between a gloss coat, a varnish and a Matt coat

 

There are several meanings of the term varnish.  It can mean any transparent glossy coating for wood.  Or, it can mean a specific mixture like when you buy varnish from a paint or hardware store (resin dissolved in a solvent).

So by the first meaning, any glosscoat is a varnish, while by the second it may not be.  A matt coat is any transparent coat over anything that is flat or matt in sheen.  Note that by the first definition, flat varnish is an oxymoron :-)

MikeTheMediocreModeller

Can I use vallejo gloss varnish as a clear coat?

 

Yes,provided you are washing with enamels,oils,or lacquers.Do not use if your wash is acrylic.Also do not attempt to thin with alcohol