Tool Thursday: Gloss, Glossy Gloss

Pictured: Fall leaves encased in coats of three different products, in various shades of yellow, orange, and brown.

Autumn, while beautiful- and often cooler, without the muddiness of Spring- is only my second choice of season. Winter is my favorite, but Autumn does have one thing over all the rest… the leaves. I love picking up leaves that catch my eye walking, and press them in wax paper stuffed into books.

Months later, I take them out, look at them, and wonder what to do with them. They are often too fragile to use in any crafts, besides perhaps gluing them to flat surfaces and making cards. Regardless, I collect them and press them year after year… often only to bring them back outside to decompose after I’ve somehow mangled them.

An artist I watch occasionally on Instagram showed jewelry she created based around leaves captured in resin. I have resin that I should use, but have still shied away from doing so. Mixing it seems a hazardous and possibly easily ruined prospect. With that in mind, I had collected over the years various products that are similar to resin… and it is about time I tested them out in a comparative fashion.

What better project than last year’s fall leaves?

Each performed differently, and I’m going to go over things I liked, didn’t like, and some more general points. Mind you, I have not used all of these products extensively, and you should always do your own tests when it is not almost identical to someone else’s test.

I’m going to go in order from least used to most used, and thusly, Martha Stewart Crafts(TM) High Gloss Finish is first. I purchased this earlier this week and this was the first time I have used it.

Obviously, this kept the brilliant color of the leaves best– hands down. I cannot compare how it would do on other surfaces at this point, but I would assume based on this it does great.

This was the runniest/thinnest of the three, and so far seems it is not meant for thick applications. The one spot where it pooled a bit on the leaf, I could easily dent it with my fingernail. Considering I did this project last night, it MIGHT get harder- the bottle does mention 3 hours between recoats and with the thin consistency of the product, this area got… a lot of “coats.”

It did make the leaf feel more flexible and almost plastic, so I could see using it in applications where it will get some light “use” as opposed to something only meant to be looked at, but it is certainly not a substitute for resin.

The price point seems fair, at about $1/oz. It might be getting discontinued, as I picked it up on clearance, and it doesn’t seem to be carried any more some places. Overall, a decent product I would purchase if I wanted a paint-on sealant for paintings in the future.

Next up, Ranger Glossy Accents(TM), one of the originally introduced resin sealant substitutes on the market. I’ve had my bottle for years and very rarely used it… because it costs a whopping $4/oz!!

It did darken the color of the leaf somewhat, but left a finished product that seems much more durable than the first project and is definitely stiffer than the last I’ll review. The bottle applicator is the most convenient application method and means no clean up if you are careful while you work.

It seems to have bonded differently than the other two products- more sticking to itself than the leaf, and I find I can peel it away if I find an edge to stick my nail underneath. It also bubbled away when I tested out bending the leaves, as you can see from the spot in the pictures of that leaf.

Still, it feels the least tacky of the three tested (though most of the MSHG doesn’t feel tacky either, only the spot that pooled) and could be a good substitute for filling pendant pieces if you don’t feel like using resin– and have the money.

Last we have Americana(R) Triple Thick Gloss Glaze. This is the product I have used the most, as I used to create bottle cap pendants with it. I know from that use it can cause certain products to run and you should ALWAYS test with it. I have heard complaints of it turning yellow, and considering it turned the leaf almost brown in my latest test, I can believe it.

This is the hardest product to apply of the three, but also the lowest price point. Buying the 8oz container, you can find it for about $0.90/oz, and it is often sold places that have weekly percentage off coupons. The finish it leaves can be damaged with a fingernail, so it can’t be used as a resin substitute for large pieces, but it does work for small ones quite well.

You can not use it to cover large surface areas at once, as it starts to set up quickly and WILL show brush marks, but it can be poured into containers to set like resin, or be used on smaller scale paintings to leave a thick, dimensional surface.

So there you have it. Three very different products, all with unique pluses and minuses. The world of resin substitutes is growing all the time, and there are even types of resin now that don’t require mixing. As with anything, a test in your own environment is going to be best, but hopefully if you’ve run across this, it helps with your own research into the decision making process.

We’ll see you Monday for a recap of the Summer and what I’m doing going into the rest of the year!

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