What's your sealant?

Luminary

Glow 'n Getting There Pony
MLPTP Supporter
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
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330
So a while ago I bought Angelus sealant in matte and thought everything was working out, it also dried super fast so I could wait about a minute between coats.

Then I made a custom (the one that is my new profile pic) and a few days later I went to cut and style his hair, but the symbol was partly rubbed off! This must have happened from a lot of contact while I was rinsing his hair in hot water, wrapping it around his neck, and laying him down on his side.

But why didn't the varnish protect it? I reapplied the Angelus varnish and noticed that it "puddled." It would form pools rather than laying as a solid layer, and it only did this on one side, the other symbol was fine. Every other time I had seen this pooling effect I just thought it was drying very quickly, but apparently it is drawing away from the vinyl. I don't know if it worked for my other customs, or why this custom only had the effect on one side (this part of the vinyl also wouldn't let go of the symbol completely).

So I busted out the Liquitex Professional Varnish and redid both sides. But one has to wait three hours before applying the next layer, and there should be 2-3 layers. Also, it is a high gloss varnish. Regardless, I'm going to have to go over all my customs since I've been using Angelus (for leather but should also work on vinyl) and give them high gloss symbols with the Liquitex Professional High Gloss Varnish.

@DracoKat I'm tagging you since I suggested the Angelus brand on your "First G1 Custom" thread, Liquitiex takes three hours to dry between layers, and it says to use 2-3 layers, but at least it works, lol.

Shiny butts are no big deal in MLP, it's a special feature.:Primrose: :unsure::PSB: Maybe I can find the matte version next month, I'm kinda broke right now....
 
Oh this is a good thread to follow. I still need to purchase my own sealer. I used my dad's sealant and I wish I had taken a look at what brand it was. I'll see this weekend. We did one light coat, and it made the symbol splotchy (I didn't like how it came out, so I redid in glitter)

Good feedback on Angelus! I hope others chime in
 
Well I’m not sure why your sealant did that, but I can suggest a relatively easy and cheap fix for the glossiness :) if you wait for the gloss to dry fully then you can spray over it (cover the hair though) with any matte spray sealant. I got Testors dullcote for $4.99 and use it over anything I use my gloss varnish on except eyes. It’s not the best sealant on its own, but in combination with the glossy coat underneath it works great! It takes about 25 mins for that to dry
 
This is the one I’ve been using on my customs:
F351DF2D-FA61-4225-A728-378AB21F4767.jpeg
I find it brightens and flattens out the colours just a little more as well as sealing it all. For Atmos (right), I did start off with using this one before I ran out but I have gone over with that one there when fixing up some bits. I take my ponies out for pictures sometimes so they do get a little damaged

With both sealants I just haven’t figured out to stop this dust problem I have. It’s not that I don’t dust my ponies because I do, it’s just dust gets stuck to them even if the sealant isn’t tacky. Bits of their mane and tails get stuck too. In some lights, you can see slight lines from where the tail has been wrapped around the leg or against it. I don’t know if I’ve just sprayed wrong somehow or it’s just the way it is
25AD8EFA-2E94-47DB-BD17-1F86A12E3154.jpegE2EA6A4F-5F54-426B-8683-0360A963EF1D.jpeg
Atmos Lazuli and Cranberry Sauce’s dust problems
 
I personally have not used it, but I hear a lot of customizers use Mr. Super Clear, hopefully someone can back me up on this because I've never used it before, but have heard it mentioned many times
My best friend customizes dolls and says its amazing! However you definitely have to use it outside with a mask on for safety.

However Mr. Super Clear isnt the end all be all, its kinda expensive and theres lots of different kinds out there that also work fine. Its definitely best to test some out and find one that suits your needs. Paint an object of similar plasic, paint it, and test spray. Also worth noting that Mr. Super Clear is so popular because it allows doll customizers to draw and color on top of it smoothy and seal colors in each layer. Its main feature is how wonderful it is at aiding drawing/coloring in layers on dolls(probably other toys too) Otherwise its just a good sealer but expensive. You could probably get cheaper to suit your needs of thats not what youre using it for.

The reason why symbols mess up depends on the paint and way the spray is used. If you were to use acrylic then an acrylic spray may reactivate it so you have to be careful not to smudge it. This is why when doll customizers use water color pencils and oil pastels to color their dolls it doesnt run because acrylics dont reactivate it.

Think of it as if you put a top coat onto nail polish, it reactivates/rewets the color layer, if you bump it, itll all smudge off to the bare nail. So remember not to bump it, and also not to spray the sealant too close as the preassure from the can, can make the paint splotchy almost like you power washed a spot clean. Also good to note dont over spray. A light quick spray, then let it dry, then another light quick spray. Dont soak the pony, that can also lead to splotches.

Its all about the way sealants interact with the paint and the technique in which its applied! :winkpony:
(I have used matte mod podge on my customs because I dont mind painting on sealer. So if you just wanted to seal in a symbol or eyes but didnt paint the body you could just get a brush on sealant in the finish you want! For ease. Its up to you. As always I would definitely do tests first on how they interact
 
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I used Mr. Super Clear UV Matte spray. The first time I sprayed too much and the acrylic paint I had used ran. Second time I did three lighter coatings of the spray and it was excellent.
 
I personally have not used it, but I hear a lot of customizers use Mr. Super Clear, hopefully someone can back me up on this because I've never used it before, but have heard it mentioned many times
Mr Super Clear is definitely the best, but since it’s so expensive on smaller toys or things I make with clay I use the paint on gloss and dull it with a cheaper spray method lol. The best part of MSC is that it seals in the pastels and glitter so I don’t accidentally smudge them while working on details :)
 
My best friend customizes dolls and says its amazing! However you definitely have to use it outside with a mask on for safety.

However Mr. Super Clear isnt the end all be all, its kinda expensive and theres lots of different kinds out there that also work fine. Its definitely best to test some out and find one that suits your needs. Paint an object of similar plasic, paint it, and test spray. Also worth noting that Mr. Super Clear is so popular because it allows doll customizers to draw and color on top of it smoothy and seal colors in each layer. Its main feature is how wonderful it is at aiding drawing/coloring in layers on dolls(probably other toys too) Otherwise its just a good sealer but expensive. You could probably get cheaper to suit your needs of thats not what youre using it for.
I second allllll this. MSC is good for building up layers of color with pencils or pastels or pigment powder. But if you aren't doing that then a different matte sealant is fine. I also don't mind a shiny pony on occasion and I use a lot of matte mod podge. It won't give you a perfect matte coat, more of a satin finish, but I never end up with a tacky pony after. I had a pretty good experience with Krylon chalkboard matte. It did go cloudy on me after a couple layers (I was trying to use it like MSC) but that might have been more to do with the humidity than the spray itself. I live in an area where it's always humid so waiting for better weather isn't really a workable option unless I only want to paint 3 days a year, lol.
 
I found it! A pic I took back in 2018 of what my friend used on one of my ponies and my pony is 100% still amazing to this day!

Example of how it looks dry is included too (don’t mind her head, she wasn’t fully done yet with the hair lol)

22958045-47A4-4753-89E3-1ED54467947F.jpeg

0E7B9A75-1EF3-4078-9147-2F4A943D477A.jpeg
 
@StormMaeker @Sassarazzmadazzles you guys do impressive paint jobs! My G4 Luminary is a dye job, so I only had to seal his symbol and eyes. Also, I cannot see the dust problems, probably because my screen is dustier, lol.

Do you use a special kind of exacto to remove the neck plug? Like is it extra thick and strong? Mine was lightweight and I had a lot of issues. Making my G4 was like a math test: It's over and if I get a "B" then I'm going out to dinner and celebrating. I think if I turn "troll hair" Shining Armor into Luminary that I will sculpt a lion's tail- since he is a unicorn it should work.

For now the shiny sealant works for me, since I only do eyes and symbols, but if I ever take FBRs very seriously I should get Testor's Dullcoat Spray Lacquer unless I am layering, in which case I should invest in Mister Super Clear.

Now HOW do you keep the hair out of the way?? Do you do the tinfoil thing and then shampoo the roots? Reroot after? How long do you have to shampoo it out before the stuff is permanent, whilst avoiding leaving fingerprints in the sealant on your pony?
 
@StormMaeker @Sassarazzmadazzles you guys do impressive paint jobs! My G4 Luminary is a dye job, so I only had to seal his symbol and eyes. Also, I cannot see the dust problems, probably because my screen is dustier, lol.

Do you use a special kind of exacto to remove the neck plug? Like is it extra thick and strong? Mine was lightweight and I had a lot of issues. Making my G4 was like a math test: It's over and if I get a "B" then I'm going out to dinner and celebrating. I think if I turn "troll hair" Shining Armor into Luminary that I will sculpt a lion's tail- since he is a unicorn it should work.

For now the shiny sealant works for me, since I only do eyes and symbols, but if I ever take FBRs very seriously I should get Testor's Dullcoat Spray Lacquer unless I am layering, in which case I should invest in Mister Super Clear.

Now HOW do you keep the hair out of the way?? Do you do the tinfoil thing and then shampoo the roots? Reroot after? How long do you have to shampoo it out before the stuff is permanent, whilst avoiding leaving fingerprints in the sealant on your pony?
The pony I posted want made by me :) I had her commissioned
 
I cannot see the dust problems, probably because my screen is dustier, lol.
Ah, I didn’t think it showed well in the pictures. The dust is mainly stuck in Atmos’ back and Cranberry’s on her head
Do you use a special kind of exacto to remove the neck plug? Like is it extra thick and strong? Mine was lightweight and I had a lot of issues.
If you mean for removing the G4 ones, oh, yeah I had a lot of problems. I don’t use anything special because everything I do, it’s usually a bit of DIY and faffing around because I don’t buy anything major unless I really need it… in fact, I don’t even have reroot tools because I keep thinking I won’t do more (even though I have a lot of hair to use) and afford much. I just use a small knife and try to be careful as possible. The smallest knife I had broke after Cadance though. Cranberry Sauce (my pink pony) has a makeshift neck plug because her original snapped
Now HOW do you keep the hair out of the way?? Do you do the tinfoil thing and then shampoo the roots? Reroot after? How long do you have to shampoo it out before the stuff is permanent, whilst avoiding leaving fingerprints in the sealant on your pony?
I cover it with tissue and tape it so it stays as covered as possible. Sometimes it covers where I want to spray I think. If any hair ends up being visible, I give it a wash if I normally can’t tell if it’s out or not. With fingerprints, that’s been a problem for me. Even worse when I accidentally drop the pony while spraying and dirt gets stuck to it! I try to keep ponies on some sort of sticks to spray but even that sometimes can be dropped. Now, fingerprints happen if I’m trying to see if my pony is dry or not

For my G3 style customs, I use the normal sealant and use nail varnish the eyes for a little bit of shine but you can’t really see it though so it could’ve been a bit of a waste but still nice though
 
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