Question (more for Crafts?) - will spray acrylic sealer work safely on fabric/ribbon?

[UTUSN]

Last edited Wed Sep 30, 2020, 12:23 AM - Edit history (1)

My few and non-heroic military medals/ribbons in my Shadow Box are 50 years old and starting to disintegrate. (ON EDIT: Talking only about the RIBBON/fabric/material, NOT the metal/MEDALS.)

It occurred to me to spray the ribbons with some kind of clear something to encase them protectively.

Found an “acrylic SEALER” in the Crafts store, then went to the regular PAINT department in a hardware store and found clear spray.

Called both companies and the hardware told me NOT to ruin my ribbons with their product because it’s lacquer or varnish and will be brittle and crack or break eventually.

The crafts company recommended their STIFFENER instead of the SEALER. I got both of these and tried them on ribbons (not my medals). The STIFFENER dried harder but is water based and the instructions said fabrics could be washed completely removing the stiffener. The SEALER dried more pliably. Both let the colors shine through without damage.

I guess you Artists who work with canvas would know.

The ribbons below are from Wikipedia, not mine (I only have seven) because my Shadow Box contains doxing, just showing what the deal is:

[GReedDiamond]

1. I am pretty sure that exposure to UV Light is what is causing the disintegration...

...not being an expert, but I do have a substantial art collection, for which I have similar concerns.

I would first and most importantly remove them from the direct exposure to UV Light.

Spraying/coating them with chemicals will do more harm than good, IMO.

Get UV blocking glass if you want to display them.

Consider a professional framer to properly mount them in a shadowbox type of display.

[UTUSN]

3. The hardware 800# brought up UV, told me to look for a UV blocking product.

Well, the display is inside, not exposed to sun?

Depending on what I glean, am probably going to go ahead with the sealer. After all, I'm deteriorating at a faster rate, haha!1

The only thing is that when I said the sealer sample dried more "pliably," just made me think the end goal of "encasing" was not being done enough?

[GReedDiamond]

5. "Acrylic Sealer" is NOT acrylic...it is for sealing...

...acrylic paints onto canvas/wood/paper/etc...

(And, when I do spray a painting on any of those substrates, I use a removable varnish which does not damage the painting.)

PLEASE...DO NOT SPRAY YOUR MEDALS/AND ESPECIALLY YOUR RIBBONS WITH ACRYLIC SEALER!!!

[UTUSN]

6. Am confused. O.K., am getting that it seals PAINTS.

But from my uninformed position, why wouldn't a coat of the stuff "seal" the fabric?

And as I said, the sample ribbon I sprayed it on (not my medal's ribbon), doesn't appear to be damaged.

Am not "arguing," am sincerely appreciative of your input, just reporting back on what I'm trying/seeing.

It's not the medals I'd be spraying, just the ribbons on the medals.

********ON EDIT, oh am getting that "acrylic sealer" is NOT ACRYLIC, is for SEALING acrylic. I'm learning, am grateful!

[GReedDiamond]

7. I am saying, DO NOT SPRAY THE RIBBONS...

...the metal parts of the medals, not a big concern, but no point in spraying them!

JUST USE UV PROTECTING GLASS!!!

And keep them out of the way of direct UV i.e. SUNLIGHT or other UV light sources.

Trust me on this.

[UTUSN]

8. I *do* trust you and am sincerely grateful. Just reporting: No sunlight in the room.

I've edited the O.P. to clarify I'm not talking about the metal/medal parts, just the ribbons.

[GReedDiamond]

9. Cool! Just don't spray nuthin!!

[lunatica]

2. I've never used sealer on cloth, but

I would use it on something else that you don’t care about and see if it works. But it’s probably best if you keep researching what you can do for the ribbons.

[UTUSN]

4. "can't erase what's under it" - sounds on the right track.