Varnish on top of acrylic paint?

[Rolle]

Hi, I have some walls in my house just painted with acrylics. Do you guys normally use some sort of varnish on top of this? I noticed it is really easy to get the walls dirty in other cases, and when I try to remove the dirt it also dilutes the paint a bit. My original thought is that it should not be needed, as you normally don't do it in a real house. Thanks!

Edited June 26, 2018 by Rolle

[stickyfingers]

I usually use regular house paint, so it's scrubable. Most hardware stores sell sample pots for a few dollars, and it's better quality paint than craft acrylics.

 

[havanaholly]

What Linda said.  I have some of the craft acrylics, but I don't think I've ever used any of them;  I usually paint with acrylics from the tubes, and you can use them to tint flat interior latex house paint to get custom colors.

[Dalesq]

I use craft acrylics. I prefer Americana  and LiquiTex brands. Americana also sells a matte varnish that can be painted over dried acrylic paint or stain. So far I haven’t had any issues with it and I use it a lot.

Another option for you would be to spray finished walls with a matte fixative. I use Blair brand. It can leave a very slight texture to the touch that you don’t see. I use this on wallpapers I've printed and it preserves the color and adds a light protective layer.