paint seal

[stardust]

going to make customs soon with acrylic paints what seal should i use after

 

[CharmsPonies]

Oh, there is a lot of discussion about this! I ran a poll about this once because some people Don’t use seals at all, while other people do!
Some people don’t even use a seal at all because after a few years, some seals can become cloudy and yellow. And if you aren’t good at applying them they can look streaky.
However, if you don’t use a seal you do risk your acrylic paint being chipped if you play with your pony too hard!
For the record I currently have a few customs and haven’t put any sealant on them, but because I use several layers of paint and handle them gently they’re still in nice condition with no paint chipping.
For people who do use seals, Mod Podge is pretty readily available but I have also heard people discuss Duraclear Matte Varnish. I’m sure other people here who seal their customs might have some better advice haha

 

[stardust]

Oh, there is a lot of discussion about this! I ran a poll about this once because some people Don’t use seals at all, while other people do!
Some people don’t even use a seal at all because after a few years, some seals can become cloudy and yellow. And if you aren’t good at applying them they can look streaky.
However, if you don’t use a seal you do risk your acrylic paint being chipped if you play with your pony too hard!
For the record I currently have a few customs and haven’t put any sealant on them, but because I use several layers of paint and handle them gently they’re still in nice condition with no paint chipping.
For people who do use seals, Mod Podge is pretty readily available but I have also heard people discuss Duraclear Matte Varnish. I’m sure other people here who seal their customs might have some better advice haha

thank you so much this is alot of help

 

[Neelah]

I used Liquitex varnish on mine, however I did it only on symbols, probably not the most efficient way if you're painting the whole body

 

[Kaelynn]

I use either Mr Super Clear or Testor’s Dullcote to seal. They protect the paint and leave a nice matte finish and I haven’t had any stickiness or yellowing after 13 years

 

[AzaleaArt]

I think that Mr Super Clear uv flat is the best for most projects but it’s a little more expensive. And if you’d prefer a sealant that you paint on (mr super clear is a spray) I’ve had good results with DecoArt’s dura clear gloss varnish on littlest pet shop customs, it stays nice and clear even after a few years, but haven’t tried it on a pony

 

[flutterbubble]

I had the same problem applying an expensive model gloss varnish (which worked months previously) over a mirror chrome paint finish which ended up very flat, murky and dulled but over a different paint worked ok. My only advice is to get many test swatches beforehand to see how it looks over your different paints and see how UV affects it. Some people use bait (completely ripped up damaged beyond repair) ponies to test on as the vinyl can act significantly different compared to paper, card and other plastic swatch tests. Even if it is marketed as a good varnish some of the model varnish suppliers do have varying quality and varnish that has been around for a year can change so always good to do a test run batch before you use it (I thought since it was alright months before it would still be ok but in my case it was not).

Sealing does help as even light rubbing can cause paint loss and many people will need to gently clean ponies or lightly dust them over time.

 

[ChocolateStarfire]

I've used DuraClear and ModPodge over the years, and I have some Liquitex too. All work well with my acrylics. I tend to use it on the eyes and symbols vs the whole body repaints. My oldest custom ponies from 2006 don't have clear coat seals and are doing just fine (they're stored/displayed vs played with).

If I use GITD paint, glitter/metallic paint, or anything like that on a base coat of acrylics, I don't seal it, because those layers act like a sealant anyway (they're usually tacky if sealed afterward too!).