Is a sealant necessary on a canvas painting done with acrylic paint?

I have never used a sealer before, but all of my paintings have been decorative pieces for myself and friends. I'm thining of selling them now, should I seal them with something for longevity?Is a sealant necessary on a canvas painting done with acrylic paint?
Not necessarily.


but to give an allover even finish to your piece a sealant of some type would be in order.Is a sealant necessary on a canvas painting done with acrylic paint?
photo to canvas art


http://www.photoartomation.com


http://www.photoartomation.com/Print_Finishing/Canvas%20Stretched.htm


http://www.photoartomation.com/Print_Finishing/Canvas%20Unstretched.htm

Report Abuse

Acrylic paintings should be varnished. It does protect their surface in the long run.





There should be several options for acrylic varnish (spray-on or brush-on) available in art supply stores or websites.
There are all kinds of sealants on the market for artists but the best one is glass.


Varnishes and such were used to protect the old oil paintings because many of them were quite large and were placed in conditions not conducive to quality maintenance. It was not uncommon for a painting to be covered in soot within a year of it's hanging. The main light and heat in those times were derived from fire, flames. The soot would travel through the air and settle on everything. Not just the furniture. You can't polish a painting like you can a chair, nor can you clean a painting like a table so a varnish was utilized.


The impressionists who put an end to the Renaissance, did not varnish their oils. They framed the work in glass most of the time. Rarely varnished thier work.


Today? Well we have a cheap glass in abundance and quality and it would render varnishes obsolete if it weren't for the ignorant. I don't mean stupid by that....I mean that they follow tradition to a fault. Varnish yellows and will soon have to be removed to maintain the work. Glass does not yellow or tarnish and is a protection against thrown objects as well as splashed foodstuff or whatever gets in the way.


Now then, with that bit of information .....Acrylic is a plastic. It does not have to be protected and cleaning it is like cleaning the mouse pad you use. It will not have an adverse affect on the work or the colour. It is a plastic.


If you want it to shine go ahead and use a sealant, but it really doesn't need one. If you want to protect it? Then frame it with a glass cover, that's better than varnish.


Frankly if you want it to glow then a thin film of polished beeswax will do a better job than anything else.
If you were keeping it I would say that it doesn't matter, but you should probably do something to protect them if you are selling, even if it is just framing, because if any water gets on it if will leave a mark, being acryilic and all.


Or just tell the buyer to be as careful with it as you are to the ones you keep.
When I paint in acrylics I use Krylon spray on finishes. You can buy it in the matte, gloss or satin finish. I think you will be surprised at how much better your painting will look if you always use a finish.
I have sold many paintings and I always use a sealer. Krylon is great, mainly because it doesn't yellow over time. I started using sealers because when I had kids and they had food fights, my paintings got splatterd and ruined. Once sealed, I could run a clothe over the spills and my paintings were saved. Whoopie!


Crickette.
The proper way to finish an acrylic painting is this: step one varnish with an acrylic Palomar medium. ( Liquitex makes a matt or high gloss. To avoid streaks use a similar brush to the one you painted the picture with and follow the brush strokes of the art work. If you just go all one direction like vertical and then horizontal, you get glare.) Use two coats, with a 3 hour drying time between them.


Use a dry brush, with no water on it, go slowly so you do not get bubbles and white foggy areas. do not go over what you have done as you will get a foggy film on the darker areas.





After 3 days you can then spray with a an oil based varnish or use an acrylic and oil painting varnish like solvar which is brushed on. The three day wait is very important.


I usually just use the glossy Palomar varnish medium and do three coats instead of two. waiting a day after the second coat. I buy it in the large sizes and then pour some of it into a jar with a lid for easy handling of smaller amounts.


For a demonstation of this tecnique, see my bonus feature on my Acrylic Secrets DVD which was released this summer.