Plaid Patricia Nimocks Sealer

Durable, clear coating that seals prints, also for use over paint, lacquer, and varnish. Use as a sealer on bisque and stain-finished ceramics. Preserve maps, documents, prints, etc. This clear, waterproof sealer produces a non-yellowing finish. May be used as a pastel fixative or over antiquing glazes and stains. An ideal quick finish for wood, glass, metal, cast resin or plaster. Available in gloss or matte finish. Comes in 6 or 12-ounce aerosols spray.

I tried this on my paintings. It has a very strong and lingering odor so use it outdoors. I use it outside or in my garage with the door open and a painters' respirator. It is extremely flammable and toxic but seems to have a better odor than most sealers I've used.  A second coat can be applied in 5-10 minutes. The can does not say non-yellowing however  that's what is said in the description of the item on Plaid's website. https://plaidonline.com/products/plaid-patricia-nimocks-clear-acrylic-sealer-glo

My can says Matte. To me matte means no sheen or gloss but after sealing a couple of paintings there seems to have a semi-gloss look to them I did not wait several hours to see if the gloss goes away. I will see tomorrow. No it did not! But the odor had dissipated down to a level where I was able to take my paintings back indoors. I'll just deal with the sheen for now.

Just like other acrylic sealers, it brings out the colors and clarity of the paint in my art. We all know that most paints darken as they dry so it's a good idea to seal your paintings for a fresh brighter look.

If you don't care whether the finished product comes out matte or glossy then I would say go for it, it's a good product that goes on easily.

Apple Barrel Paint Review

I do a lot of painting and most of it is done with acrylics. Unless I'm doing a commissioned painting, I will only use either Apple Barrel or Folk Art acrylic paints by Plaid.

I've had a lot of good luck using them, I like them and best of all they won't cost me an arm and a leg. As a matter of fact I pay 50¢ for Apple Barrel matte colors and 97¢ for the gloss paints at my local Walmart. I use the 2oz bottles although some come in 8oz bottles for a bit more than I would pay for 4-2oz bottles. There is a satin finish paint in the 2oz bottles which cost me about $1.29 a bottle. Prices vary from location to location so what you might pay for a 2oz bottle might vary.

Paints are rated on a light-fastness scale that runs from 1 to 5.

1=Excellent
2=Very good
3=Good
4=Fair
5=Poor
All of the Apple Barrel Acrylic Colors and Apple Barrel Gloss paints are rated Excellent or Very Good (1 or 2). These paints are made from some of the purest pigment available, which results in its superior quality.

I currently have at least 75 bottles and half of them are unopened. Since I paint daily, I go through a lot of paints and don't want to take the time out to run out and buy more if I run out during a painting. Whenever I'm in a Walmart, I'll just go ahead and buy a few bottles that I use more often. The problem with Walmart is that the paints seem to be out of stock often, that's why I stock up in advance. I know buying them on the internet will cost me  a lot more.

I've used them on just about every kind of painting from landscapes to portraits. The Apple Barrel paints are thinner than the traditional acrylic paints but work just as well for what I do. I've even used them on crafts and as long as I seal the paint with an acrylic sealer or varnish, they will last me a life time and then some.

I did have a problem about a year ago with the paint. They would smell like rotted flesh in the bottle and after I applied the paint. I contacted Plaid and received 50 new bottles for replacement. Fortunately I had a receipt for them all. Their answer for the smell was that someone had exposed the paints to extreme temps but I doubt that was the case. Never the less I have not had that problem since.

Here are a few paintings I did using just the Apple Barrel Matte acrylic paints.

squirrel in my backyard

Luna our dog

a bright fall day

a walk thru the forest preserve

melting ice on the lake

mountain side brook

sunrise at fall