Because of it’s make-up, red is a finicky colour. Depending on the pigment/s, it might fade as time goes by. This is even harsher under the African sun. Single colour pigments will hold up better than mixed pigments.
With this in mind, I got all the reds in my arsenal and made a spray sample. I also wanted to test the bunch of clears and varnishes that I have to see if they help with preserving colours. With the mediums I did not expect any protection.
I sprayed the various section until I thought I had enough coverage. With some brands it meant a few more coats and others one or two was enough. I’m sure this did play a part in the results.
The paints I used are Dala Drawing Ink Red, Com-Art Opaque Deep Red, Com-Art Transparent Bright Red, Createx Illustration Scarlet, E’tac EFX Pyrole Red, E’tac EFX, Napthole Red, Schmincke Aerocolour Brilliant Red and Schmincke Aerocolour Candy Poppy Red.
The list of varnishes and clears are Montana Matt Varnish Spray, Vallejo Matt Acrylic Varnish, Schmincke Aerolak Medium, Ghiant Matt Varnish H20, Com-Art Medium, Rust-Oleum Gloss Clear and Grumbacher Gloss Acrylic Varnish.
On my sample, the first column were left uncoated and then split into two. Half was covered and protected from the sun and the other half exposed like the rest of the samples.
Then I taped it to the inside of my sun room’s window and waited a year. It is a north facing window with no obstructions. If the sun was up, the sample was exposed to its rays. But like all household windows, it also offers a bit of UV protection.
PAINTS
Looking at the colours, I was very surprised with the results. The cheapest one, the Dala Drawing Ink held up really well. I did not expect that. And the one I really thought would be good, the Createx Illustration Scarlet, was the worst. But that can be because, like I mentioned earlier, it gave good coverage and I did not spray as many layers as some of the others. But generally you only spray until you achieve the coverage required, you don’t keep on spraying. Or am I wrong with that?
Another colour that surprised me was the Schmincke Aerocolour Candy Red. Normally candies fade in the sun, even under a good clear coat. But that is with dye based candies. This lable states it is pigment based.
CLEARS AND VARNISHES
This was another eye opener. Except for the more saturated colours, I could not see if it helped or not. Even on the Createx Illustration Scarlet it looks like it is just a darker but still faded red.
CONCLUSION
The best way to protect your artwork is to keep it out of direct sunlight. Just like they always recommend. And varnish is just to protect against dust and fingerprints.
AVW AirbrushWorks 