Directions for use
Recently completed paintings should be rubbed with a brush dipped in soapy water. Rinse with fresh water and allow to dry. The oil has been removed when the water spreads uniformly without streaking or forming drops. To prepare old paintings for amber varnish, first remove the old varnish, then clean with a liquid composed of one part of alcohol (90°), one part turpentine, and two parts of water. Continue until the surface has become soft enough to permit the amber varnish to adhere and penetrate. After the painting has been prepared, pick up a drop or two of disolved amber at the end of a short narrow stiff-haired brush and apply, making sure to run the brush to achieve a thin coat. Varnish each section until the whole painting has been covered, then smooth with a wide, long haired brush in both directions. This can be repeated several times to even out or to thin the coat. The wide brush will have to be cleaned with turpentine and then dried several times. Six to eight grams of dissolved varnish will cover one square yard.

Medium
Depending on the technique used, one will use either pure dissolved amber or amber solution (In poppy seed oil solutions for lighter areas, linseed oil solutions for darker ones). Solutions enable the artist to readily adapt the consistency of his colors and to regulate the amber as the work progresses. Should the painter be using weak solutions, he might consider finishing his work with a coat of varnish.

Touch-Up
In order to restore a painting to its original value and to inhibit the new color from soaking, apply a slight scumble of amber varnish, diluted with a drop of turpentine with your finger or a hard brush.

Drying
Because it contains no drying agents, amber varnish will not harden faster than the oils. To keep colors wet, the work can be put in a cool place out of the light. Conversely, drying can be speeded up by placing the work in a lighted, dry, airy room.

Solvents
Dissolved amber that has thickened to varnish, can be diluted with a few drops of rectified turpentine. Too much turpentine used in the layers will have a harmful effect on both the fastness and the future cleaning of the painting and should for this reasone, be avoided.