NightWorks Acrylic Varnish and Hard Coat

A varnish coat is what turns a painted model into a finished one: it locks down decals, evens out the patchy sheen you get from mixing brush and airbrush work, and protects the paint from handling. This NightWorks range is water-based acrylic, so it thins and cleans with water and does not attack the underlying acrylic layers.

Brush or Airbrush

Every bottle in the range sprays straight from the bottle through an airbrush and also lays down cleanly with a soft brush. Thin lightly with water if you want a finer mist. Because it is water-based, cleanup is a rinse rather than a solvent bath, which matters if you varnish often.

Choosing a Finish

Gloss is the coat to lay down before decals: a smooth surface kills silvering. Semi-matt is the natural stopping point for a lot of civilian subjects and gunpla. Matt is the standard flat coat for military and scale subjects. Top Matt pushes further into dead flat for weathered armor and dioramas, and Flat Matt sits between the two for a soft, even sheen with no shine at all.

Super Hard Coat

NR009 is a different product from the varnishes: a gloss coat formulated to cure hard and resist scratching. Use it on parts that get handled, on clear canopies, or as a durable base under polishing and buffing work.

Sizes

The five varnishes come in 60ml bottles. Super Hard Coat comes in a 35ml bottle. Recommended for ages 14 and up.