I'm adding my question here as a topic. I've got acrylic artwork on top of an oil based poyurethane wood finish. What are my options as far as protecting the water based acrylic artwork??? Can I use the very same oil based polyurethane without destroying the artwork?
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I was going to suggest a coat of Minwax "Polycryl"or equivalant. Of course if in doubt always test on a sample piece.
One thing I have found that helps is to spray a very light coat on and let it set, sort of as a primer coat reduces or eliminates any "bleeding" effect.
Thanks for the post, and post a pic of your artwork, love to see it!
I bought some Minwax oil based polyurethane last night and have two coats on the CBG so far with good results. I had outlined some of the artwork with a thin magic marker and a few of those lines bled a little, but nothing very dramatic. There appeared to be no signs that the acrylic artwork is crinkling.
It's funny, the magic marker lines didn't bleed where they were on top of the acrylic. They bled where the lines touched the underlying poly coat.
I rubbed the artwork pretty briskly with my finger before applying the poly, and it seemed to have adhered to the underlying poly coat pretty strongly. I may put a third coat on it to keep the bridge from wearing through the poly and into the artwork over time.
I think I'm going to be very happy with the results.
It should work but do a test piece first. If the solvents are the same and the paint is not fully cured you could get bleeding out of the pigment, unlikely as modern paints dry very fast. what you might get is a craqeluer effect on the paint work. If the paint and the polyurethane are only partially compatible then it might dry like crazy paving.... instant antique!
Basic rule of thumb is that oil can go on acrylic but not the reverse. If your acrylic is thoroughly dry you should be able to cover it with the oil poly and preserve it without problems. Acrylic will do ok on oil if you use a scrub pad or 800 grit or higher sandpaper, but still needs to be sealed afterwards.
White glue makes a good caoating for acrylics. A few years ago now, we made a couple of cut out chickens from MDF and got the kids to paint them with acrylics (it was Easter). We varnished them with white glue and stuck them on the front of the kid's tree house.
The chickens are still there,, the paint is still good, we' get highs of 25 degrees in summer (faces due south) and we had minus 17 last November, and it is Ireland: we get plenty of rain.
So will it work on a CBG? Probably... the wood may be less stable than MDF chickens, and the varnish you get is a fairly soft top coat,so it will scratch and scuff. In Ireland/UK it is called PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) and I thinks it's Elmers in the USA the formulations are maybe a little different, PVA does make an acceptable finish and if you are prepared to put work in with 600 grit wet and dry you can get some nice shimmering results, but it wont be high gloss.
Replies
Bill,
I was going to suggest a coat of Minwax "Polycryl"or equivalant. Of course if in doubt always test on a sample piece.
One thing I have found that helps is to spray a very light coat on and let it set, sort of as a primer coat reduces or eliminates any "bleeding" effect.
Thanks for the post, and post a pic of your artwork, love to see it!
Mark
I bought some Minwax oil based polyurethane last night and have two coats on the CBG so far with good results. I had outlined some of the artwork with a thin magic marker and a few of those lines bled a little, but nothing very dramatic. There appeared to be no signs that the acrylic artwork is crinkling.
It's funny, the magic marker lines didn't bleed where they were on top of the acrylic. They bled where the lines touched the underlying poly coat.
I rubbed the artwork pretty briskly with my finger before applying the poly, and it seemed to have adhered to the underlying poly coat pretty strongly. I may put a third coat on it to keep the bridge from wearing through the poly and into the artwork over time.
I think I'm going to be very happy with the results.
It should work but do a test piece first. If the solvents are the same and the paint is not fully cured you could get bleeding out of the pigment, unlikely as modern paints dry very fast. what you might get is a craqeluer effect on the paint work. If the paint and the polyurethane are only partially compatible then it might dry like crazy paving.... instant antique!
Sean L.
White glue makes a good caoating for acrylics. A few years ago now, we made a couple of cut out chickens from MDF and got the kids to paint them with acrylics (it was Easter). We varnished them with white glue and stuck them on the front of the kid's tree house.
The chickens are still there,, the paint is still good, we' get highs of 25 degrees in summer (faces due south) and we had minus 17 last November, and it is Ireland: we get plenty of rain.
So will it work on a CBG? Probably... the wood may be less stable than MDF chickens, and the varnish you get is a fairly soft top coat,so it will scratch and scuff. In Ireland/UK it is called PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) and I thinks it's Elmers in the USA the formulations are maybe a little different, PVA does make an acceptable finish and if you are prepared to put work in with 600 grit wet and dry you can get some nice shimmering results, but it wont be high gloss.