Non-Modeling Painting Question

Any Polycryl I ever used was basically odorless, certainly not like acetone. Any artist oil paints straight from the original tube needs 6 months to cure till top coating. there are varnishes made for that. An exception might be alkyd oils in terms of cure time. The liquitex needs a few days till top coat.. Any brushing till fully cured will cause bleed with either product if done too soon..

The real mistake here is all the crossed product lines and not waiting for the cure time of the longest curing one.. Craft paints might have been ideal for the art work, very fast cure rate. But that product not being the case I'd opt for spray sealer top coat. You just need two fast wet coats to seal it all in. And yes they will likely stink for a couple of hours, at least anything I'd use would. But with spray you aren't brushing your colors together causing bleed, or less likely.

Your conundrum is satisfying the needs of all the types of products used, each is handled differently. But spray cuts out at least one abrasive factor, the literal rubbing.

Hello Aggieman,

Testing before spraying the final piece was very smart. You have a mixture of different artwork there. I think you are seeing the acrylic clear coat reacting with the acrylic that was already applied. Whatever you spray make sure you wear a quality respirator.

I've done some professional woodworking and finishing in the past, I'm not an expert. Looks like you guys are considering products that are avilable at home depot which I am familar with. They are typically used finishing floors (read hand applied, and because the surface is level they self level and no one cares about a show car finish). Others which are sprayed smell a lot and require several coats to build up a protective film.

Cheapest, best looking option withoout disassembly -> Its all dependent on how "understanding" the higher-ups are regarding the fumes. If everyone clears out on a friday afternoon I think you could get this done with lacquer. It smells bad but if everyone brings their air purifier from covid/bathroon in, set them up, you could spray three coats in 90 minutes and the smell will be gone by monday AM. Do the office windows open?

I do not recommend the enamel clear coats as they take longer to dry and have same level of smell as lacquer.

Cheapest best looking option -> disassemble and have someone spray outside or in their garage. Lacquer is much more forgiving with colder temps. Having everything flat will make the process much easier. Again because lacquer flashes so fast there will be less time for bugs to land and dust to settle.


The next options are for a superior finish, read expensive.

Disassemble -> Take to an autoshop. Automotive clear coats are the most durable and look amazing. However they are pretty nasty compounds. Talk to the shop about what you want to acheive, they could probable spray it in less than an hour. Tack, three light coats of gloss clear and it's be ready for re-assembly next day. They might be able to piggy back the spray with another door or panel that is in the schedule. You never have to deal with fumes, you get the best finish possible in a climate/dust controlled setting. You'll just have to be flexible and call around. Be sure to tell them you don't need any post spray sanding, i.e. cut and buff (unless you want a perfect gloss).

Product cant be moved -> consider hiring someone to tent and spray inside the office and duct the fumes to nearest window/door. Typically interior painters have HVLP systems that they can spray a variety of products.

If the boss isn't on board, consider just leaving it as is, not to be a downer, but if the cabinet is seeing much movement/use it will likely not see much wear.

Good Luck!