Plasti-kote 1138 400ml Super Clear

I use this lacquer to coat my painted pebbles. They retain the colour, don’t run and give a nice sheen. It does take a good 24 hours to set properly but once it does it’s nice and durable. Easy to spray and does the job I intended it for.

I painted an old vice with the Paragon roundel blue enamel. It had been just over a week drying but the enamel paint would easily rub off the vice so I decided to look into coating it with a lacquer. The paragon own brand lacquer spray can would have cost £20 for the same amount including delivery so I took a punt with this one for under £5. Tested the lacquer on the vice inspection cover which was also painted with the enamel. I sprayed it generously and noticed tiny little specks/bubbles but nothing horrendous. Anyway I found out these bubbles were from the solvent in the enamel paint trying to escape (off-gassing) and getting trapped in the lacquer. I decided to dry the vice next to a heater for a few hours to try and get the solvents out if the enamel before spraying the lacquer. I also found out online that an initial light coat can help stopping bubbles coming up. So that's what I did. No bubbles at all came up on the vice. After the initial thin lacquer coat dried and cured I followed up with more liberal coats and no noticeable bubbles came up. Overall very happy with the finish but I don't know how hardwearing it truly is, so will wait a few days for the lacquer to fully cure before installing into my workbench. To summarize, 1) to avoid bubbles you want to let your paint job dry for long enough for the most volatile solvents to escape. Let the paint dry for MUCH longer than on the paint can. 2) Test on a small item before covering your main work to check the bubbles. 3) start with a light misting and then once that's cured you can apply heavier coats.

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I love this stuff, it's coated a lot of my art and craft projects. This magnet was coated last year, I've had to wipe it a few times and still performs great! I find it gives a really nice shine but not too glossy, It hasn't smudged my art or changed it's colour. I've also had this for over a year, it hasn't clogged up when following instructions, the quality is amazing and so I'm about to buy some more!

This is an excellent clear varnish. It has a very slight odour when first sprayed on but not to bad indoors and not as bad as some I’ve used. I use it on stone painting and other outdoor items and it stands up well to the weather. I would recommend it to anyone.

I used this on a small piece of furniture which I had made from MDF and already coated with white matt paint. I wanted to finish it off with a hardwearing subtle shine. I found this spray very easy to apply - the trick was to have the piece positioned perfectly beforehand, then to work quickly and smoothly, no stopping and starting, just keep going until the whole coat was completed. It gave a smooth, shiny finish - not glossy, more of a quiet, subtle shine, as I wanted. Mind you, it had a very strong smell while I was applying it, a bit like nail polish, but ten times worse, very heady indeed, and it took a few days for the smell to disappear. How long did the tin last? Well, I'm not sure if I was a bit over-generous with the coats - I probably didn't need to use quite as much on each one, but it didn't run or drip, so I figured it was ok. Anyway, the tin was good for 3 generous coats of about 1 square metre per coat. Six months later, the finish is just as good - no peeling or yellowing, and quite hardwearing too. The piece has been in constant use, with ornaments, cups, books, etc being taken on and off, and there are no breaks in the surface. EDIT: (September 2024) The finish is still as good as the day I applied it, no peeling, yellowing or cracking. It was definitely worth it.

Shinier than I wanted. It went on very evenly with no problems but I would say this was very glossy. It definitely took 24 hours to dry properly.

This is exactly what I needed and, as a spray, is so easy to apply. I have so far used to seal rock painting, wooden peg doll painting, to finish upcycling a plain wooden IKEA stool and sealing chalk designs on children's items... So easy to use, dries pretty quickly and gives a nice finish. Not too glossy or shiny so that it looks tacky