Whether you use a brush on sealer, spray sealer, or even resin. Protecting your painted rocks is so important! We have talked about our favorite sealers and tips on how to seal your painted rocks before. However, I didn’t go too much into details and tips on using a polyurethane coating for rocks.
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You may be asking yourself… what is a polyurethane coating for rocks? There are a few different brands out there, but it is a brush on style of sealant. I highly recommend sealing painted rocks with the DecoArts DuraClear. That is the brush on sealer I am using in my examples below.
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Do you have a different kind of sealer you are working with? We have posts sharing tips for those as well!
- How to Seal Rocks with Resin
- How to Seal Rocks with UV Resin
- How to Seal Rocks with Spray Sealants
Pros and Cons of a Brush on Sealer
There are quite a few benefits to using a brush on sealer like DuraClear. First, you can use it all year round. No need for good weather. Just brush on from the comfort of your craft desk. There is no odor to this product (other brands of polyurethane may have a smell). It gives a really nice shine! I purchase the gloss finish, but they have high gloss, satin, and matte varnish too. Finally, it is easy to clean up! Just wash in warm water with a little touch of soap if you need.
There aren’t too many cons that I can think of. However, it does take more time to seal a lot of rocks. With a spray on you can cover a lot more rocks in less time. Another drawback is that sometimes you can smear your paint, especially paint pens, when applying your brush on sealer. We are going to give you some tips to keep that from happening below!
How to Keep your Sealer from Smearing your Paint
When sealing painted rocks you need to be careful to not ruin your hard work. The smearing mainly happens with paint pens. The problem is most paint pens are water based. So once they are hit with something wet before they are sealed they can loosen back up and then smear.
How to Use a Brush on Sealer Step-by-Step
These tips and the video below are specific to a polyurethane (brush on) style of sealer. For tips on using spray style sealers, like Rustoleum or Krylon, head to this how to seal painted rocks post.
Once your rock design has had a chance to dry you will be applying your first coat of sealer. Do this in a dabbing motion. Be extra careful not to touch the same area twice. This will cause the paint to smear. Once the first layer is dry repeat with a dabbing motion one more time. This is more of a better safe than sorry coat.
Once that second layer is dry you can brush on your next coat like you would with standard paint. You can add as many layers of sealer as you like. Just allow time to dry between each coat! (don’t forget to seal the backs!)
Full Video Tutorial
Below you will see just how fast this process works in our Facebook Live replay!
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I hope you have a chance to try this painting tutorial! Take a minute and pin it to share and save it for later!
