This feels a bit too obvious to be a tip, but I never see anyone doing it, so maybe I should write this little reminder.
Mix matte paint with a gloss medium…
…and the result is a satin finish. By adding a drop or two of a compatible gloss medium to matte paint, you can replace a two-step painting task — paint and varnish — with your own satin paint.
This brings the obvious and very welcome advantages of quicker painting and less cleanup, while still having access to the full range of colours.
The only minor caveat is that you're reducing opacity a little, so you have to allow for that in the application.
Compatibility?
As you can guess from the photo, I use this method with Vallejo Model Air and Premium Gloss varnish, but it works equally well with just about any paint range and a compatible varnish or medium. I prefer to use a polyurethane varnish because it adds durability to the satin finish, but gloss medium also works (this being one of its intended uses). And yes, properly applied Model Air already produces a smooth and semi-matte finish, but that's not the same as a true satin look.
Here's an example of this method used on a motorcycle swing arm which called for two shades of not-quite-black satin.
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