MSC alternatives?

[SpiralPrince]

Does anyone know of any good MSC alternatives for sealing a face up? I tried Testors dullcote but for some reason it ended up really shiny.

[WhiteDove01s]

I've heard good things about Liquitex Professional Soluvar Matte Varnish, but haven't tried any of the spray sealants myself. I'm not likely to be using powders/pastels when I do mine and will probably stick to brush-on sealants. I did have that one flagged to try if I ended up needing a spray sealant though, as it would be really hard and expensive to get MSC here. Maybe someone here has actually tried it? I'd love to know if it's a good alternative.

[PopularFizzyDrink]

Citadel's Purity Seal (a Games Workshop product) is excellent! If you live in the UK it's easy enough to get hold of, no nasty import fees!

[magkelly]

I've heard good things about Liquitex Professional Soluvar Matte Varnish, but haven't tried any of the spray sealants myself. I'm not likely to be using powders/pastels when I do mine and will probably stick to brush-on sealants. I did have that one flagged to try if I ended up needing a spray sealant though, as it would be really hard and expensive to get MSC here. Maybe someone here has actually tried it? I'd love to know if it's a good alternative.

FYI, there are two versions of this. One is the Soluvar and that one is toxic to use. Need a mask for that one, definitely. The other is a silver can just says Professional, is supposedly safer (It's marked as school safe, but I'd still use a mask personally.) and works well from what I've seen. I'm about to try that myself. I have a can sitting but it's just been too humid, rainy and hot for me to go there yet. Nothing dries in this weather.

[K2!]

Doesn't matter what it is. If it comes in an aerosol can it is toxic. Once it dries as a film on a surface, it might be a different story. But the propellants used to get it out of the can are nasty. Wear a respirator with organic vapor cartridges.

[Pleasesaveheart]

Piggybacking off of this, how do you use brush on sealers? Before and after?

[magkelly]

A lot of people that are using jar sealers are using them with an airbrush from what I've seen. Mixing them with water like the paint and just spraying them on. I have used Modge Podge as a base and outer sealer on dolls and never had an issue so long as I was using acrylics. I just make sure it's nice and thin and do several coats with a flat brush before and after. I do find it's not that great as an outer sealer for water color pencils and pastels though because it tends to smear and move the pigments around a bit. My water color pencils did okay so long as I was careful to brush in the right direction but the pastels it got blotchy though it did settle a lot in a few days and I did not have to redo it. I tend to think the pastels just need to sink in a bit before you go there, sealing it up with MP. It's not good to just seal it up anyway. If you're doing actual paint and it has time to dry it's great as a top coat but I like spray for a finish coating when I have powder pigments involved.

[Trethowan]

I have switched to Vallejo. I don't like it quite as much as MSC but it still does a good job and it hasn't caused any discoloration on the dolls I've used it on. It also doesn't seem to cloud as much, but I've yet to try it in the summer months and Tennessee humidity.

I need to get some rubber gloves and a better respirator since I'm pregnant, I certainly don't want any of it on my skin.

[SoapBubbles]

I used the Liquitex Professional Soluvar Matte Varnish, and it's worked great for me. It's been a little over a month since I did a face up with it, and it's still completely intact without any signs of discoloration. It also comes off with little to no effort using the Newton & Windsor brush cleaner (tested it out on a headcap before use).

Like the people said above though, be sure to use a proper mask when using it.

[Pleasesaveheart]

Thank you guys! I just want to start working on my obitsu!