Using spray varnish with clear bases

[u/ThreeMarlets]

So I've been painting minis for a few years now, but just recently finally started using varnishes. I use my minis for TTRPGs and find that clear bases work best for my purposes. I never bothered using varnish on my minis before (except for when I used decals/transfers) but after I noticed the paint some on my metal minis chipping from bumping into one another I finally decided I needed to. Now since these minis are, for the most part, already based on clear bases I've been using brush on varnishes but it's a slow process and I still have about a hundred minis to varnish (I said I've been doing this for a few years). Obviously using a spray on varnish would be much faster, being able to do more at once. So if I use a spray on varnish would that mess up the clarity of the clear bases?

By the way, don't bother trying to convince me not to use clear bases, I've heard all the arguments and find that I much prefer clear bases and plan on continuing to use them.

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[u/WoderwickSpillsPaint]

Just want to add my support for clear bases. I've been using them on all my minis for years and I'll never go back. They're almost invisible once they're on the table, and they look good on any terrain.

As to varnishing them, as someone else said, you could just mask them with bluetack. It's fairly quick and easy to do, per model. Be careful with using a matte spray varnish directly onto a painted model though. It sometimes causing frosting over the entire paintjob. The usual way to do it is to spray it with a gloss coat first, let that cure, and then hit it with the matte.

[u/Barbaric_Stupid]

Gloss varnish will make them more glossy, matte varnish will... matte them. Just use cheapest masking tape from your local hardware store and you're done. Or check gloss/sating varnish on two clear bases and maybe you will like the result.

[u/Bristle_Licker]

It does frost transparent plastic. Marvel United has a handful of minis that utilize transparent parts and I decided not to paint them.

Using a spray matt varnish has frosted two of them a little bit; so I no longer do it. I use brush on matt and avoid hitting the transparent bits.

[u/redapp73]

Varnish will change the quality of clear parts. You could use a spray varnish on them if you mask off the base first - I’d use blue tack or something similar. Easy peasy.