For many years I have heard the name Testors Dullcote splattered all over painting forums and website claiming that it’s every painter’s varnish of choice – but is it actually as good as everyone says?

Regular readers will know I’ve only recently started painting “properly” again, rather than painting armies good enough for the tabletop, but nothing special. I have always struggled to find a method of protecting my minis that I was happy with, but every varnish I tried seemed to leave some sort of shiny finish – no matter how many times “Matt” was displayed on the can.

When deciding to get back into painting things for display again I had a mooch around to pick up some new brushes, paints and other gubbins and came across Testors Dullcote available from a number of UK stockists. Back in the day it was very hard to get in this country, and for only a few quid a can I thought let’s give it a go.

So when it came to varnishing my most recent mini, out it came for its first try. I have to say I am impressed. For the first time in my life I’ve used a spray matt varnish that is exactly that – MATT VARNISH. The finish it leaves is top notch and I would recommend it to anyone.

The only down sides I can see is that it only comes in small cans and when working out a price comparison with say Army Painter’s Anti Shine it loses out on price, but I’m more than prepared to spend the extra couple of quid!