Sealant types? Advice needed!

Has anyone tried a matte clear enamel on a vinyl doll? I don't have access to many sealant options, including MSC, so all I have is 'Rust-Oleum' brand matte clear enamel, and before trying it out (and risking ruining a doll) I wanted to see if anyone had experience with it or anything similar. Thanks!

You can get MSC through Amazon.com. Sorry if that isn't helpful, but I thought I would mention it.

Personally I would not use an enamel spray on a doll, because if you want to remove it in the future, enamel may require a stronger solvent. Also, I have used that type of spray to seal painted ceramics, and the spray itself can yellow over time. 

19 minutes ago, Jezrah said:

[...] and the spray itself can yellow over time. 

Exactly.

Another issue with the more chemically active sprays like this is a new coat softening and interacting with previous coats, which can be an issue in doing faceups with the typical process of multiple coats being used to seal the various steps.

Note the specific instructions on most of these sprays that tell you to either complete multiple coats within X hours or wait Y days between coats. The latter is what it takes to, theoretically, not have a new coat soften or dissolve a previous coat. And that's what you'd need to do with a faceup not only to not mess it up, but to have a coating that won't crack.

I tried Testors Dullcoat (which I believe is similar?) on a Barbie head once.  Not the same, but still vinyl.  Anyway, it never really dried, it stayed kind of tacky even after a week of waiting, and when I tried to remove it, part of the vinyl itself became sticky.  

I've tried three sealants on vinyl. MSC, which as others have pointed out you can get on Amazon. MSC is the best to me so far. I've also tried Army Painter matte, which works pretty well, but is a little finicky in humid or cold temperatures. I got mine at a hobby gaming store that sells tabletop gaming supplies. There's Testor's Dullcote, which you can get at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, and I've had 50/50 success with it. Half the time it's okay, the other half it dries okay but ends up tacky/sticky after a little while and shiny. I've not had it ruin any vinyl luckily.

The last thing I can suggest if you really can't find any spray sealants is Liquitex Matte Varnish (any art store/craft store should have this), some makeup sponges, and patience. You can use a sponge to lightly dab the varnish onto the face in thin layers and go from there. My only warning is that if it gets really hot/humid it might get a little sticky for a little bit, but other than that I've had success with it.

MSC are resin based (the one i use), testor dullcote and army painter are pretty picky with humidity so you might need a dry booth for them. 

On 9/22/2022 at 12:23 PM, F-15alice said:

MSC are resin based (the one i use), testor dullcote and army painter are pretty picky with humidity so you might need a dry booth for them. 

What is a dry booth and where can I find it ? 

I would stay away from enamel sealants and paints, as they tend to seriously yellow over time* and can react badly with other types of paint and possibly the vinyl too.

* The Macross Valkyrie model kits I build two decades ago and sealed with Tamiya acrylic varnish are still as white as they were two decades ago. The older kits where I used enamel to seal, OTOH, have this borderline piss yellow colour on anything that is white.

 

I'm looking to get supplies for painting a Tinyfox head and MSC and Zoukeimura are extremely hard to find here, does anyone know of any current alternatives? Any help is much appreciated 🥹

I've been using TAMIYA COLOR Plastic Model Acrylics on my Hunnies for Lip Detailing and such.

i seal the paintwork in with TAMIYA's X-22 Gloss Clearcoat. on all of my girls, it seems to work Beautifully,

Drying quite solidly to the Touch, yet easily and readily soluble with IPL (90%+) on a Q-Tip or paper towel,

and leaving no trace of stain or damage on the vinyl.

My Most Recent job was on my Very First 1/3 Girl;

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited February 28 by Tasuke