Seal Alcohol Ink Artwork

How I seal my Alcohol Ink Paintings

12/15/2016

This process works for paintings on Yupo paper, ceramic tiles, or canvas.

One of the most common questions I get from my workshop students is, "How do you seal your alcohol ink paintings?" There are two aspects of sealing that are necessary to fully protect your AI paintings. 1) Smudge prevention, and 2) UV protection.

I went through a lot of trial and error to find an effective and acceptable way to seal my paintings. I started by asking my AI painting friends online what they used. People use a lot of different products. Most people are sealing with acrylic UV varnishes and sealers commonly used on acrylic artwork. But every single one of these I tried caused spotting or running of my inks. I'm not sure why it's working for them, but it certainly didn't work for me.

Sealing Stage 1: Smudge Protection

Finally I came across one product that protects with a beautiful glossy coat, and doesn't spot my inks at all: Krylon "Short Cuts". Another happy side effect is that this coating enhances the color of the alcohol inks even more!

This product creates a beautiful protective surface, but it doesn't provide UV protection. UV protection is provided by various acrylic sealers, the very ones which spotted my inks. Therefore sealing my paintings is a 2-step process. Once the painting has been sealed with the Krylon Short Cuts, it has an enamel finish to which any UV protective medium can be applied with no problem.

Sealing Stage 2:
UV Protection

The options for UV protection are many, and they come in two flavors: spray on, or brush on. Both Krylon and Golden make spray-on versions of acrylic UV protection, and you can find these easily by searching online. Try Googling "painting uv protection", for example.

I really dislike sprays (the Krylon Short Cuts being a necessary evil), so I choose to use this brush-on product by Golden. "Golden Polymer Varnish with UVLS (Gloss)". You dilute it with 1 part water to 4 parts varnish (it says this on the bottle so you don't have to remember that I wrote it here), and it goes on easily with a wide paintbrush. Dries in less than an hour, and a little goes a long way.

One last word of advice: Dust particles love to get stuck in your paintings when these sealers are drying. A very effective way I've found to minimize this is to create a little cover to place over your painting immediately after spraying, and while it dries. I use two small shoeboxes, with a spare piece of mat board over them. This builds a little "bridge" for the artwork to sit under. It lets air circulate, but most of the dust stays out. Good luck!

Where to Buy:
Both the Krylon and the Golden products are widely available. I buy mine at Joann's, Michael's, or on Amazon.com

I hope this is helpful. I would love to hear your comments on what works for you. Happy painting!

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Migration. Alcohol Ink on Ceramic Tile. 8x8 inches

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31 Comments

Wil link

5/17/2017 10:49:50 pm

Thans you for the information

Karen

6/23/2017 06:16:33 pm

You're welcome! Thanks for reading!

Gayle

1/13/2018 12:31:57 pm

Thank you for this information.
Gayle

Rafaela Landron

6/23/2017 10:43:02 am

I tried your method of ink painting over canvas that was sealed with two coats. I could not get the look you get but a beautiful flower that looks like a carnation. The problem is that sealing it after finishing and I wonder if with Krylon short cuts it will seal on canvas. I know that even water or polyurethane dilutes the ink. Thank you. and by the way how beautiful is your work...

6/23/2017 06:17:53 pm

Hi Rafaela, I've been sealing my paintings on canvas the same way I seal on Yupo, as described in this post. It seems to work exactly the same way, no issues.

Janet Regan

9/9/2017 01:13:45 pm

I really appreciate what you shared here. I am doing my first real AI project - two mirrors for office bathrooms - and was planning on sealing with hair spray first before the UV coating, like you would with charcoal. Instead I will definitely get Short Cuts. Now I am confident the finished product will be exactly as I envision! Thank you!

10/13/2017 11:03:32 am

Hi Janet,

I've never worked on glass, but look forward to trying it sometime. Let me know how it works out!

Karen

Rita Gjefle

10/13/2017 10:15:51 am

Thank you for sharing this.

Do you use anything to prep your canvases before
you paint on them with alcohol inks?

10/13/2017 11:01:51 am

Hi Rita,

I have a blog post about canvas prep here: http://www.karenwysopal.com/blog/alcohol-ink-painting-on-canvas
Let me know how it works out for you. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Karen

Donna

5/8/2018 06:42:58 pm

Could you please give me step by step on how to do on canvas try to make coasters how do you seal them and will be water proof

5/15/2018 06:10:50 pm

Hi Donna,

I haven't made coasters myself so I can't recommend a sealer. I suggest asking at the hardware store where you'd purchase a sealer. They can give you a good recommendation on what will work best for coasters.

Karen

Sue

10/13/2017 02:15:18 pm

Hi Karen. I have just one question...does the Golden varnish leave it as shiny as the raw ink on ceramic tile? Thanks!

10/13/2017 02:40:43 pm

Hi Sue!

In my experience, yes, the Golden liquid varnish does dry to a very shiny finish. I did experience some subtle brush strokes after drying though, so I prefer the look of the spray. Best bet is to experiment on your own and see what you like best. Good luck!

Karen

Lish link

12/23/2017 03:06:20 pm

Hello, as a newbie I really needed this and just want to thank you so much for this information! I was wondering how long it takes for Step 1 before applying Step 2?

Karen link

12/23/2017 03:14:04 pm

I usually wait 2 hours between steps 1 and 2. That's based on the Short Cuts instructions to repeat coats either within 30 minutes, or after 2 hours. Something about the curing time I guess. Glad the post was helpful!
Karen

Deann Rex

4/7/2018 06:31:12 am

Hi Karen thank you for your help!. I bought the Short Cuts and the directions on the can are add light coats up to 2 hours or after 48 hours.
Thought this might be helpful to all..

4/7/2018 10:38:48 pm

Hi Deann, Thanks for the clarification on time between coats!

Deena Valentine

1/6/2018 05:39:28 pm

I do AI on tile. The product I use isn't as shiny as I would like, so I am interested in what you use. I am curious, my art is used as coasters so I need to test with hot water and then an ice cube to make sure either won't damage the tile. do you paint on tile and have you tested them? thanks for any input you have....deena

1/6/2018 07:25:46 pm

Hi Deena,

I do quite a bit of alcohol ink on tile, and I use the same sealing technique on my tiles as described here. However, I market my tiles for wall or table art, but don't recommend using them for coasters. I haven't tried the hot/cold water technique you're describing so I can't tell you whether my sealing method holds up for coasters. Have you ever tried using resin? That's a very hard seal that would be appropriate for coasters. A lot of artists are using it now to seal alcohol ink art and it looks beautiful. There's a nice demo of how to use resin at www.artresin.com

Best of luck!

Jessica

1/27/2018 07:40:24 am

I have alcohol ink on Claybord, which isn’t as shiny as ink on yupo. This looks a bit more matte, which is what I want. Would this combination make it look glossy? I’m struggling to find information. I’m new to dealing and I’m nervous about it.

1/28/2018 03:53:03 pm

Hi Jessica!

Whatever you use as your final coat will determine the finish of the piece. The final coat UV sealers I use are very glossy because I like the glossy look. If you want to have less gloss on your finished product, you're fine with still using the Short Cuts as the 2nd-to-last stage. Once the painting is sealed with Short Cuts, you can use any finish you want. Even though the Short Cuts itself is glossy, the final layer will dictate the end result. There are UV varnishes and sprays available in Satin, and Matte which will give you the less glossy result. Always best to test some finishes on a test piece to see how it looks and figure out what you like before applying to your favorite work. Best of luck!

Carol Rossi link

4/15/2018 08:43:40 am

Can I spray “Short Cuts” on metal washers to seal ink?

4/15/2018 09:15:40 am

Hi Carol,

I've never tried that! I suggest you do a test with a piece you're not attached to, and see what happens. Let me know it goes!

rashmi suthar

4/21/2018 10:21:05 am

Hey is it possible to use it on ceramic mugs or plates ? Is it washable ?

4/21/2018 02:54:18 pm

Hey Rashmi,

I'm not sure if you're asking about the inks themselves, or the sealers. Alcohol ink works great on ceramics. I use it on ceramic tiles a lot and it's a very fun surface to ink on. I haven't tried the sealers on mugs or plates, but they work fine for sealing my tiles. Good luck!

Mitzi

3/10/2019 04:03:42 am

Hi Karen, would it ruin a alcohol painting (on canvas) to use just an acrylic gloss spray only? I have one by Plaid & one by Aileen's. I hand painted birds on top of my alcohol background with acrylic paint. I'm afraid to spray it with the acrylic gloss spray & ruin it. I can't find anything online about it either.

3/10/2019 02:08:39 pm

Hi Mitzi,

I haven't tried using only the acrylic UV spray on a canvas alcohol ink painting. I had trouble doing this on tile and yupo, as the acrylic UV spray caused my painting to spot or run on those surfaces. So I never bothered to try it on canvas. I always start with a layer of the "Short Cuts". I also have not tried the "Short Cuts" product on acrylic paintings so I can't advise as to the results there. My best suggestion is for you to try these things out on a sample piece, something you don't care about getting ruined. Then if you like the results, you'll feel safer using it on the painting you don't want to ruin. Let me know how it turns out!

Karen

3/10/2019 02:07:51 pm

3/10/2019 04:48:44 pm

Karen I can't thank you enough for taking the time to reply. It really is appreciated. I think I'll test and maybe try a uv sealer I read about online too for alcohol on canvas. Ty again!

3/10/2019 05:45:13 pm

My pleasure! Let me know how it goes :)

Angie

8/8/2020 09:37:02 am

Help! There is a hair underneath my varnish on my alcohol painting. Do you know of any way to remove it without damaging the painting? It’s on canvas.

How I seal my Alcohol Ink Paintings

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Migration. Alcohol Ink on Ceramic Tile. 8x8 inches

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﻿How I seal my Alcohol Ink Paintings

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Migration. Alcohol Ink on Ceramic Tile. 8x8 inches

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How I seal my Alcohol Ink Paintings