Durable and safe varnish - lightsabers

[chronomariner]

I have been trying to find a good varnish to protect the weathering paint on my Obi Wan lightsaber.
I am going to use it on the thin neck portion.
I have tested a few but it comes off pretty easy, so no spinning with this saber yet.

I am looking for something that is durable, something that could resist hand friction for some time. But it will probably need to be re-applied of course.

And something that is safe in it’s dried form. I see many types of varnish is not good for the skin so you need to wear gloves while applying it, but it’s difficult to find information about the safety after it has dried for a few days.

 

[yaris]

If you're talking about 'clear coat' when you refer to 'varnish' it's a mixed bag dependent on what you're adding the clear coat/varnish too.

Plastic, metal, rubber, you can technically clear coat them all, but it may not be a one stop shop that works across all materials. Plastics, metals sure, but rubber doesn't take paint like other materials

If the 'varnish' you say you've used 'comes off pretty easy' then that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Paint films will wear, but not 'rub off'

There are some really good rattle can clear coats that are very durable and you can run them an airbrush, but it depends on what material you're trying to protect.

Use gloves to apply for sure, but once dry all clear coatings are usually touch friendly.

 

[Canobi]

Try 10H nano ceramic liquid. It's an excellent protective coating as it's anti scratch, and hydrophobic.

Only comes in gloss though, so there is that to consider.

 

[chronomariner]

Thanks guys, yeah I should have used a clear coat, I just thought varnish was just as durable but these names are different in my language.

So what I ended up doing was weather the thin neck with some washers and tamiya black, then a matte varnish, and the just some clear coat that is used on cars.

So it’s glossy but it still looks like it has some texture to it. And it is durable.