Friday, August 18, 2017

UPDATE: Testing Air Dry Sealers Again

Good Friday morning! It has been 3 days now since I applied the DuraClear Ultra Matte Varnish so today is follow-up day.  I have found that with most all the air dry varnishes I have used, 3 days (in GA humidity) is the cure time it takes to know how the varnish finish will look.  Pretty much all matte varnishes I have used will take on some sheen after the cure time and I find the 3 day test to be pretty accurate as to how much sheen the final finish will be.

My DuraClear Ultra Matte Varnish has dried to a matte finish with a slightly dewy look.  The dewy look is noticed when you turn the leg and the light hits it on the bony prominences, toes etc.  It does not have an appearance of shine.  It is a nice healthy glow.  I would like to point out that this leg is a Dolldreams Euro vinyl.  I find that this type Euro vinyl always holds a bit of sheen/dewy look that seems to come through pretty much any sealer I have used, including Genesis.  It is possible that this sealer might look a bit more flat matte on a China vinyl but I have not tried that to say for sure.  Here is the 3 day cured leg at 2 slightly different angles of light.



For comparison's sake,  here is a leg that I sealed over a week ago using a mix of DecoArt Media Soft Touch Varnish and corn starch following the formula I gave you in my last post.  It too has a very slight dewy reflection when the light hits the bony prominences.  It may overall be a tad more matte in finish.  It is a China vinyl though and I think that makes a difference.   Photos are the same leg at 2 slightly different angles of light. 




My analysis at this point is that the 2 finishes are very similar.  The DuraClear Ultra Matte Varnish requires no mixing so it seems to be a great option for ease of use.  The Soft Touch corn starch mix is more versatile in that you can decrease or slightly increase the amount of corn starch to the mix to alter your final finish results.  I suggest trying that on a test limb to find the mix that suits your preferences first.  

Both air dry sealing methods are nice to the touch, pass the squeezing test with no cracking and look good!  I find them both to be a win win! 

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