What’s your favorite way to seal your dolls?

I’m in the UK so choices are limited. At the moment I use MSC but I’ve purchased liquitex matte medium and varnish to use with an airbrush when I get one.
I’ve tried two other sprays, one I cannot remember the name of and Testors (old formula).
The one I can’t remember was too shiny with little tooth and, to put it mildly, as much use as a chocolate teapot!
Testors I found ok, a bit unpredictable and yellowed over time which was fairly noticeable on WS dolls. I cannot comment on the newer formula as it’s banned in the UK.

MSC I’ve been using for years but yes it is temperamental and can suddenly decide to throw a hissy fit days after it has been applied as there was something on the surface it objected to. I’d say MSC can sometimes behave like that certain type of social media user that seems to go out of their way to find things to be offended at.

 

I started off using MSC but it is pretty pricey and I can only get little bottles online, so I switched to Citadel which can be quite finicky when drying, because the sealant peels for me when semi-dry. Personally, I think the finish and tooth after drying is pretty comparable to that of MSC, and it is sold in much bigger containers and it is way more affordable.

 

I've been using Vallejo Premium Airbrush Varnish the past few weeks for faceup practice and unfortunately it's not working for me. Pastels won't adhere to the face much at all, so I guess there isn't enough tooth. I'm also finding that if I use even a tiny amount of water on the doll to dab away something, layers of my faceup just melt off. Not sure if it's the sealant's fault, or if I'm not giving it enough time to dry (2 hours).

A few people are recommending Citadel Munitorium and Zoukeimura Finishing Powder. How 'toxic' are these options? Do they have a persistent smell long after drying? I do have proper respiratory protection for doing the faceup, but I am sensitive to strong smells and wouldn't want anything too strong lingering on my doll if possible.

 

In my experience with Citadel, it's toxic as any other spray sealant, of course. But as for lingering smells, no. I have no idea what Citadel smells like, thank goodness! I let it dry for 20 minutes between coats, and I spray/dry outside on my balcony, so there's plenty of airflow there. By the time I retrieve the doll parts, there isn't a smell that I've noticed at all. I'd be concerned if there was, honestly.

 

That's good to know! When people mention MSC, it sounded like there's a lot of smell so it made me think that other spray sealants would be the same, unless I've misinterpreted and the smell would only be present during use?

 

MSC really only has a smell when you're actively spraying it, but if your respirator is working correctly, you shouldn't smell it then either. When it's dry, there's really not much of a smell.

 

Ah I see! Thank you for clearing that up for me

On another note, I just watched the video on brush on sealant @the_sleepwalkers_ mentioned and it occurred to me that maybe the reason the Vallejo sealant isn't working for me is because I'm not applying enough layers. I will try using it as a brush on sealant like @Ara mentioned and see if that helps me with my issues.

 

I personally use MSC uv cut flat, I prefer to stick with what most people so if anything changes in the components I would know immediately (like when they changed the original matt one and it started to crack very fast)
Also, it works well and I can apply it outside so the smell doesn’t stick.

It might be, I don’t know about this sealant, but with MSC it’s recommanded to apply at least three layers before starting the faceup so maybe you should try that.

 

I'm also in team sponge-on Liquitex matte varnish - aside from having to deal with dust bits that stick into it I'm really happy with this option (or having an option at all for space/access/health reasons). Also, there's the extra perk of sealing smaller sections if needed/not having to unstring the whole doll to add one small tattoo. I feel like it is pretty okay to work with in humid weather, too? I haven't noticed any difference in drying when painting on rainy days vs dry days, but then again I don't have a good comparison with MSC or similar.