Welcome to the first installment of “Ask Jeff”! This is an idea I’ve been tossing around for awhile. People come into the gallery and call me or text me asking all sorts of art related questions, so I figured there is a demand for knowledge out there. Why should the person asking reap all the benefits when there are others out there that could be seeking similar answers. So, let the fun begin!

Christian from Paint This City asks: “When I tried to resin coat a poster, the paper soaked the resin and bled the ink all over the place. The pretty pattern turned into a blob. Any tips?”

Damn! I hate when that happens. I’ve had the same mishap with resin coating a few things and I finally figured something out that works. First off, you never really know what kind of an effect the resin will have on certain materials. It’s good practice to make test pieces first and try the resin on it. For example: Dab a little of your poster ink on a scratch piece of paper and glue that to a scrap piece of wood. I’m assuming you were mounting your poster on a piece of wood. Anyway, doing the test obviously takes up time, but it’s worth not ruining the final product.

Now, here is what’s worked for me.

Mod Podge is great! I prefer this matte finish one to the other finishes they offer. I use this to glue my paper/prints to wood. What makes it great is that it dries clear so you can also use it as a sealer. If you put a coat of this over your poster before you pour the resin coat there is a good chance you won’t get the bleeding of ink again. Of course, test this out on a sample first to be sure. One coat usually works for me, but you can also do a second coat to play it safe. You can also try a clear coat spray, such as the Krylon Matte Finish or Crystal Clear.

Again, I like the matte finish better for sealing purposes. I’ve used the glue and the spray on finishes and I’d say it’s a matter of personal preference. They’ve both worked for me, but I still prefer the glue.

Try it out and let me know if that works for you.

* Enviro-Tex Pour On Resin, Mod Podge Matte Finish and Krylon clear coats are all available at The Claassen Gallery.

Thanks for sending the question!
– Jeff

If you have an artsy type question you’d like to ask feel free to visit the contact page and send it my way. If I feel qualified to answer it I’ll make a blog post out of it.