10 Responses to Oil Painting Clear Coat

1. FawneMine
   July 27th, 2007 at 4:27 am

   Can you varnish with Polyurethane clear coat over oil paints after dry?
   If the oil paints are dry can you put varnish over them?
   Yes or no?
   No lectures please.

2. Z
   October 9th, 2008 at 8:03 am

   Can i paint an oil painting on a car?
   i would like to paint a painting on my car. not sure if there is a specific kind of paint i need to use. I thought of using regular oil paint plus cover finished painting with clear coat.

3. savehumanity
   April 30th, 2009 at 3:37 pm

   Is it recommended to finish a oil painting with a clear finish?
   Im relatively new to oil painting and was wondering if people usually finish them with a coat, does this extend the life of the painting, change the color, or would the shine ruin some paintings? I guess for some paintings it would look fine, but Im guessing depending on the style it might not.

4. Ahmad
   June 13th, 2009 at 12:54 am

   Could I clear coat an oil-based paint?
   I found this topic on a forum with a $50 paint job for a car. So far it’s worked perfectly and there’s no talk about a clear coat since the oil-based paint has a glossy finish. The thing is that the paint is solid, no metallic or pearl effects, just glossy.

   Sherwin Williams Automotive injects their paint into spray cans so I wouldn’t have a problem getting clear coat mixed with a pearl or metallic flake, or I assume they do this but I do know that those two can be mixed with the clear coat. Just not sure what type of clear coat to use.

   I just wanted to know if it’d be a good idea to apply a clear coat to an oil-based paint or to just stick with how it is now.

   My main idea was to just mix the metallic flake in with the paint and buff it but I don’t know about that now.

5. jolly
   July 9th, 2009 at 7:23 pm

   Best paint for a skateboard? Clear coat oil paint?
   I want to paint a skateboard with some wood grain showing through the final product…. and I’m thinking either using oil pencils, traditional oil paint, acrylic, and/or paint markers. Its going to be fairly detailed. I’m a self-taught artist so I learn as I go and experiment often, but I REALLY don’t want to mess this one up, especially clear coating.

   Does anyone have any experience using oil pencils? Can it look a lot like paint or is it more like pencils?

   I want to basically finish it with a clear coat, and some of the wood grain will show through with the finished painting. What is the best clear coat to use?

6. Anonymous
   November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am

   what you should do is make test blocks where you try out all your ideas on a piece of scrap then figure out which one works best that you like. great ideas by the way. i hope one of them works out well for you.

7. Anonymous
   November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am

   Retired paint contractor.Not a good idea.It will tend to “yellow” with time.It also doesn’t bond well to finish paint.Better to repaint using a good quality high-gloss paint

8. Anonymous
   November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am

   Regardless of claims spraying a car with a spraycan will produce a dull finish. The reason is that the spray is not refined. The guns used to paint cars cost more than any spraycan available. The spray is too course and inconsistent to achieve the mirror/glassy smooth surface a car needs to have. Instead you will be spraying course atomized paint that will dry on the surface like tiny specks of dirt instead of lying flat and smooth. At best it will look like “overspray” which is an undesirable result. It will be shinny but not smooth. It will look like a rough surface that shines…….a huge difference from the anticipated look of a polished car. The paint will be too hard to buff into a smooth shine. Lacquer buffs smoother if you know what you are doing. Clearcoat will not fill in every peak, pit and blemish.

   If you do not believe me buy a can and try it on a practice surface matching a car’s.

9. Anonymous
   November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am

   Use automotive paints.

10. Anonymous
    November 30th, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Varnishing the painting can be ultimately helpful to extending the life of your painting, but is not necessary. It can be quite a tricky thing as well. For example, if you do not let the paint completely dry before applying varnish, the paint will crack as the varnish will dry quicker. You can get glossy (shiny) or matte finish varnish depending on the look you want. Nonetheless, if you aren’t too attached to the piece, it doesn’t hurt to experiment with varnish (and painting).

    If you choose to varnish the painting, here’s how:
    http://painting.about.com/cs/paintingknowhow/ht/Howto_Varnish.htm

    Here are a few things to consider when deciding about varnishing:
    http://paintings.name/varnishing-an-oil-painting.php

    Another how to varnish an oil painting site:
    http://www.learn-to-draw-and-paint.com/varnish-oil-paintings.html

    and here are some oil painting tips for beginners:
    http://painting.about.com/cs/oils/a/tips_oils.htm

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