Yea, you can get varnish at a home improvement store that will get you similar results. Not sure which one. I have a can of quick shade that I have been using for about a year and a half. I do not dip my models in it though, I brush it on.
i have a bottle of quick shade and its pretty good. its pretty expensive though, and it takes more than a day to dry. i also have a bottle of valejo wash (the big tub) http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=cat&cre=hob-val-wsh that costs about one fourth of the quickshade, it dries much faster and i like the results much better. i ban truly recommend it to everyone who wants to try dipping (or just heavy washing)
Nifty, do you use the Sepia wash? I'd be interested in a great big tub of wash given the rate that I go through Games Workshop washes, pretty much all the armies I'm painting at the moment involve large amounts of heavy washes.
i have only tried the black wash (i am currently starting a VC army), but im sure the other colors will be fine too.