Transparent varnish: this varnish gives the wood surface a colored finish while the transparent finish still remains visible and the wood can breathe.
Opaque varnish: this varnish covers the wood surface, so the wood structure is no longer visible and the surface is protected. As well as transparent, this varnish is also available in numerous different colors. It can also be mixed in a mixing machine. Transparent varnish is also available in a choice of specific wood finishes such as Teak, Pterocarpus and Shorea (Meranti). This allows you to combine a decorative effect with protection of the wood. Varnish can be used directly as 1st coat, but should then be diluted after 10% thinning. Sand lightly between the coats.
Transparent finish over acrylic paint
Was the online advice given that you should use clear gesso for this? I would agree with Virginia that there would already be sufficient tooth for pencils over acrylic. Not sure sanding would have the clearing effect you’re after, we usually recommend sanding for later painting over. One option you might try is glazing to cover the milkiness of the gesso …. glazes are thin, transparent layers of colour…….. they might restore your work enough to use the C Ps Your images did not load, if you used the Uploader, please wait until the image code shows in the little box, and then click the tick mark …. it can take a minute or so for that.
Cheers, Maureen
Forum projects: Plant Parade projects in the Florals/Botanicals forum , WDE in the All Media Art Events , Different Strokes in Acrylics forum .
August 31, 2021 at 8:46 am #1431730
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Putting gesso over the paint seems like an odd thing to do, especially the Liquitex clear which is quite gritty. Is that the same brand they used in class? Try waiting a while, as Virginia said, maybe it just needs to finish curing. Or you might have to paint over as Maureen said. Also, you can’t attach images in the first post of a thread. Not sure why. The insert should work though.
C&C always welcome. Michelle
mkmcreations.com
Every painting is a new adventure.
August 31, 2021 at 10:49 am #1431775
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Thank you to everyone for the responses. I really appreciate your advice. The Liquitex Clear Gesso is indeed quite gritty. But, it does make a much better tooth for the colored pencil layer than the acrylic alone. I tested it on a scrap and the difference is striking on casein, heavy body acrylic and on the Golden High Flow Acrylic paint used in the painting itself. In our first lesson, the teacher was adding the Liquitex clear gesso to her heavy body acrylic paint as she painted. From the colorful tubes it appears that she is using Amsterdam Acrylics. I chose not to do this approach. I’n using Golden High Flow Acrylic which tends to be very transparent. Adding gesso to the paint dilutes the pigment too much and lightens it in the process. The High Flow Acrylics have an extremely hard acrylic finish and very little tooth for colored pencils. I did not add colored pencil to the first painting, just paint and some stencil work. The painting I had trouble with, I decided to try the coat of gesso over the entire painting rather than mixing it in the paint. This is the one I ran into trouble with. Being very new to acrylics, I had never used gesso before. Lesson learned, I put it on a little too thick on the first coat, got some ridges when it dried. Then in my total ignorance, I thought adding a second thicker coat would smooth out the ridges. Bad idea! Here’s the painting after the second coat of gesso: 
After googling yesterday, I tried sanding but had only a tiny scrap of sand paper. It didn’t work much by itself. Then I tried rubbing alcohol to remove some of the gesso, mostly on the dress where it was very hazy. 70% didn’t do much rubbing with a paper towel and even followed by a little sanding. Switched to 90% rubbing alcohol rubbing and sanding a bit started softening the gesso. A little too much in some spots, so I stopped. The colored pencils saved it from being a total train wreck. The very gritty gesso, holds on to CP like a magnet. Used Koh-i-noor 3.8 mm Polycolor lead refills like crayons as well as the Blick Studio Colored Pencils from the Portrait set (appear to be identical to Koh-I-Noor). You can even smudge the CP’s with your finger on the gritty surface. 
The image insert works for me today. I tried to use the upload attachments yesterday but nothing happened.
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August 31, 2021 at 12:56 pm #1431815
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Here’s the sample tests with 3 kinds of paint both without and with Liquitex Clear Gesso. Paint is Shiva Casein on the left, Golden High Flow Acrylics in the middle and Liquitex Basics Heavy Body Acrylic on the right. Top row are the 3 samples without Gesso. I was also testing using the High Flow Acrylics (in transparent Diox Violet) over the casein and the heavy body paints. Colored pencil is Caran d’Ache Luminance in white on top of each sample. While the CP does show up very lightly without using any Gesso, the color is much heavier/brighter on the samples with the Gesso. Tried both mixing the gesso in the paint and as a separate layer of clear gesso on top of the paint. Either way seems to work well.
August 31, 2021 at 2:51 pm #1431839
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Well, you seem to have solved your problem, so good result!
Cheers, Maureen
Forum projects: Plant Parade projects in the Florals/Botanicals forum , WDE in the All Media Art Events , Different Strokes in Acrylics forum .
September 2, 2021 at 8:00 am #1432228
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Frustrating for sure. I’ve used colored pencil over acrylics before but only over matte finished acrylic. It can be achieved by mixing acrylic matte medium in with your colored paints or by using the matte medium over the painting. I have also learned from my mistakes.
Undercoat – the basis
For better adhesion and coverage, you should first use an undercoat or primer. This has special characteristics which differ from the top coat, and it is vitally important for a good result. Most important, the primer reduces the absorption of the underlying material for better adhesion. The primer also prevents any dirt from reaching the finishing coat. On a metal surface you should use a special undercoat or rust-resistant primer.
Special primer for walls
If you want to paint a wall, untreated masonry or concrete followed immediately by a finishing coat, the paint is absorbed strongly by the wall. This is because the wall is porous. The final result will not look very good, because it will not have enough coverage and overlap or the roller. It’s best to first apply a primer. You can use a primer for plasterwork, plaster panels and brickwork. The primer also prevents penetration of nicotine, cooking fat, surface soiling, dried water stains or marks from children’s felt-tip pens on the wall. You won’t see any of these undesired effects if you use a primer.
Alkyd paint
Alkyd paint or synthetic paint can be used both indoors and outdoors, has a 40-50% turpentine basis and can be thinned with turpentine. It won’t adhere to acrylic paint, and is available in satin or gloss finish. Alkyd paint can be overpainted after 16 hours.
Professional painters often use alkyd paint for a good final result. The next-to-last coat is often painted with a mixture of 50% undercoat and 50% finishing coat. Satin-finish paint has a less glossy appearance. Clean you tools after use with turpentine. Fading
Alkyd resin which is used in this kind of paint will gradually suffer from fading. The binder that it contains suffers from discoloring through UV or lack of light. You can recognize this by the darker and lighter sides, for example on your furniture and on the inside of cupboards and door frames. High-solid paint has a very high pigment content, which gives it a more solid composition and good covering power.
