Old Holland Retouching Varnish is a painting varnish thinned with white spirit and contains approx. 20% synthetic ketone resin. Retouching varnish is used as a temporary protective layer for your painting - filling up the porous film of oil paint, to protect it against dust and moisture. A retouching varnish ensures that the painting can still ‘breathe’. The paint must be left to dry for at least a month before application.

Retouching varnish can also be used for retrieving matt ‘sunken-in’ areas (when fast-drying paints become matt, while other colours are still glossy and the unity of the glossy tone of the painting is lost). By applying retouching varnish to the matt areas, you restore the gloss to the matt colours.

Applying retouching varnish: During varnishing, make sure that neither the space nor the work is damp. The ideal temperature in your working space is best kept at 22 degrees centigrade. Apply the varnish with a 5cm wide hog bristle spalter brush, crosswise in four directions. You do not need to remove retouching varnish before you apply the final varnish.

4 sizes available.