Mineral Spirit Acrylic
Golden MSA Varnish is very hard and durable, especially excellent for outdoor murals as well as regular paintings. It arrives needing to be diluted with solvent 3:1 (3 parts varnish to 1 part solvent) so that the mix is fresh. Not all solvents are compatible, some make the mixture go gloopy or solid. We tested 12 solvents to see which are compatible so we now know how to advise our artists as to the solvent to choose.
MSA stands for Mineral Spirit Acrylic, it is made with acrylic resin but is not water-soluble. MSA Varnish forms a tougher, less permeable film than waterborne acrylic emulsion varnishes. It reduces dirt penetration and surface marring, offering an extremely level film with less foam and fewer pinholes. It is removable with turpentine after drying. Available in Gloss, Satin and Matte. Recommended for either interior or exterior use. For use on acrylics, oils, temperas, watercolours and various other media.
Read the complete technical information on the very helpful Golden Paints website.
Golden Archival MSA Varnish at Jackson’s
Dilution Test Results
Twelve solvents tested.
7 mixed well, creating a clear, smooth, fluid mixture.
5 mixed poorly, making the varnish cloudy, and gloopy or even solid.
Some solvents thinned the MSA well, creating a clear, smooth, fluid mixture.
Yes- you can use these to dilute Golden MSA Varnish:
Jackson’s Pure Turpentine
Jackson’s English Distilled Turpentine
Roberson’s Rectified Spirit of Turpentine
Winsor & Newton White Spirit
Winsor & Newton Distilled Turpentine
Daler-Rowney Turpentine
Some solvents thinned the MSA poorly, creating a cloudy, thickened or solid mixture.
No- you cannot use these to dilute Golden MSA Varnish
Jackson’s Low-Odour Solvent
Wallace Seymour Shellsol T
Zest-it Dilutant
Zest-it Solvent
Daler-Rowney Low Odour Thinners
Opening the Tin
The tin is sealed to prevent leakage in shipping and needs a one-time puncture opening. This video shows the opening method clearly as well as the dilution procedure:
Customer Reviews of Golden MSA Varnish
– “its all I use for my work that how good this product is”
– “brilliant. wouldn’t use anything else”
– “excellent levelling properties leaving a very smooth glass like finish”
– “I’ve used this product before and it is top quality finish for my paintings and helps to save any damage during storage etc.”
Click on the underlined link to go to the Golden MSA Varnish on the Jackson’s Art Supplies website.
Postage on orders shipped standard to mainland UK addresses is free for orders of £39 or more.
[…] can be grouped with the citrus solvents for some uses – for example neither can be used to dilute Golden MSA Varnishes, the varnish turns cloudy or hardens – but genuine turpentine or white spirit works […]
[…] MSA Varnish Dilution Test Results Casting A Spell: Image Making with Screenprint, Linocut and Gold Leaf by Colin Blanchard Inspired by Gold: How Alison Woolley uses traditional water gilding techniques in her work Metallic Oil Paints with Oil Bronzes […]
[…] MSA Varnish Dilution Test Results […]
Hi.
Ive just tried mixing MSA satin varnish with
tthe recommended solvent, Winsor and
Newton Distilled turpentine at the ratio of 3-
1 and my mixture is cloudy? I’m working
indoors where its neither cold or warm, in
fact ideal conditions. Could you explain
please, why after allowing your advice this
has occurred.
Thanks
Hi Adrian
I can’t think why it would happen so I have asked Golden and am awaiting their email.
Hi again Adrian
Golden were very quick in responding.
They realised something I didn’t think of. The cloudiness is not the one you get in clear gloss varnish from a poor mixture, but rather the matting agent because you’re using Satin. My tests were done using clear gloss, so the cloudiness I got from the incompatible diluents was bad. But so long as your mixture is smooth and flowing with no clumps you are fine.
They say:
“MSA Satin is quite matte, but over a painting the cloudiness should not be noticeable. The easiest way to asses that would be to paint out some varnish on a sacrificial surface. As long as the varnish is a homogeneous fluid mixture it should be fine to use.”
Although Golden’s video was done using Gloss as well you might find it helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoBQhscidgA
Thank you for the article! I used Golden MSA
Varnish with UVLs to varnish an imitation
gold leaf on printmaking paper. It worked
great! However, I am wondering how long
should I let the varnish dry before rolling up
a print to send to someone. Thanks in
advance for your answer
Hi Lindsay
Give it a couple of days to be sure it’s fully dry.
If rolling up a gilded print is something new that you are doing I would suggest that you roll one up and put it in the tube and leave it for 2 weeks. Then unroll it as your customer would and see if anything has cracked or got sticky.
Hello. I’m varnishing for the first time and
have applied the isolation coats to my
acrylic painting and I have Golden MSA
matte varnish (not keen on the gloss
effect) Will the solution still be
transparent once dry and which solvent is
best – I assume normal (from diy dtore)
white spirit isn’t good enough? Thanks
Rani
Hi Rani
White Spirit from the DIY shop is best used only for cleaning brushes.
In the tests you will see which solvents work and which do not.
If you are trying a different solvent to one I tested then you will want to do a test yourself.
If the mixture is thick or gels up then it is not a suitable solvent.
Matt will be cloudy in the mixture and will clarify when it dries. Many layers or a too thick layer of matt may show the matting agent on the painting as a hazy film. So I recommend if you want a matt finish to do the first layers of varnish in gloss to seal the painting and then only do the last coat in matt, so you don’t build up a cloudy finish.
Hi,
I’m making jewellery made with gold
leaf detailing. Will this be suitable for
daily use with oils on skin etc
Hi Jamie
Gold leaf is very, very thin and can scratch off. I asked our gold leaf expert and she is worried far more about the wear and tear on the jewellery than about body oils. A good varnish should help. Golden MSA is a great choice. Body oils shouldn’t be a problem for the varnish, it is tough.
Hi I have mixed up some satin msa and
wondered how long does it keep for please?
many thanks
If it is well sealed it should keep for years.
Hi
I varnished a large oil painting with msa
matte varnish and the the recommended
3:1 with the msa solvent. If I was to use
a pin I could lift the varnish and it peels.
Is this normal? I thought it would get
very hard. This was after drying around a
month. Thanks
Hi Alayne
That doesn’t sound right.
I can’t tell what might have gone wrong. I think it would be best to ask the experts at Golden.
Golden Acrylics email
I am using water based adhesive and varnish
with my metal leaf. I have just painted one
piece with acrylic over unsealed variegated
copper leaf and have just varnish it with two
lthin layers of water based varnish. What say
you?
Hi Valerie
There are lots of ingredients in acrylics, like defoaming agents, anti-fungal agents, and the plastic resin, pigment and more. One of these is sometimes ammonia. This may make the copper turn green. I’m not sure how quickly it will happen. Or if your acrylic even contains ammonia. If the copper is left unsealed it may also turn green. So you should be able to see if things worked ok. If it still looks good a few weeks or months later then you are fine.