SpectraFix Degas Spray Fixative SF-31270 (12 oz Spray Bottle)

Spectrafix is completely non-toxic, and I have very serious health issues that cause me to be extremely sensitivities to all chemicals. So I was excited to purchase this as a fixative for my charcoal and pastel drawings. After much trail and error, I realized that the best way to use this is in many very light layers, letting each layer dry about 10 - 15 minutes between each one. This works best with thin drawings, but if you keep building and building layers of this spray it will eventually work. At least for me, with my type of artwork. I usually do mixed media with lots of texture and such. I have not noticed large droplet marks (spray the art piece on the wall, not laying flat down, and you will get fewer droplet marks) but again, I tend to have lots of texture to begin with. I use this over graphite drawings as well when I do not want to them to smudge.This has never changed the color of my artwork, like the chemical sprays do!!! BIG huge bonus there as a professional and finicky artist. This takes more time than the heavy duty chemical-filled sprays, but this will not make you ill from using it! This is natural and has actually been used for hundreds of years. I don't think that any charcoal / pastel adhesives actually make charcoal / pastel completely smudge free without intense layers.Another great tip with this is to use it AS you create your art layers, not just on top of the final art piece! That helps a TON!! ...Good luck friends. Be patient, and use the best products for your beautiful creations!!

Non-toxic and perfect for studio use... this fixative spray can be used over and over while you are working on your pastel painting. (I use only soft pastels...never oil pastels.) Not an "end result spray fixative"... this is used while the work is in progress. No need to worry about ventilation in the studio... beyond what you'd normally be utilizing for pastel work. Sure beats running downstairs and out into the garage to use the standard fixatives between layers... over and over... leaving each one out there to dry for 10 or 15 minutes! Especially in the winter!! I'm too old for that!Because it's not an aerosol spray ... and is more like a pump spray similar to your Lysol or "409" sprayers... it can scare you when you first use it. By that I mean, it can come out much more unevenly than an aerosol spray. And when you first see it hit your painting, you're afraid that it's gonna' dry "gloppy" or with circles of varying sizes showing! It won't!! Relax, it'll be fine. Give it time to dry thoroughly (doesn't need more than 2 or 3 minutes, unless you've been really heavy handed)... and you'll be pleased. It says on the label that you can use it over and over on the same painting... "indefinitely"... and that's true! Don't know how it works... but magically, you keep gaining more and more tooth... and can layer and layer and layer. Guess if it's the recipe that Degas used... that's why it's so darn good!

although it didn’t say it on the bottle, I had seen a recommendation about fixatives that said best to use outside or highly ventilated area. I can certainly see why after trying this. But it dries within minute and no odor remains on the painting. Would be ideal if they could solve that issue. I used on my mixed media art - graphite, pen, and watercolor. Worked very well, including between layers rather than just on finished pieces.

I’ve been experimenting with absorbent ground on 6x6 inch canvases lately and this is probably #6 or 7 in the batch. Brush on isolation layers worked on all the previous pictures til I reached the first one with gouache, ruined it! So, if I was to continue to be able to do pieces like this one, more delicate placed pigments, more nuanced with such small spaces, I needed a spray application. I didn’t want anything toxic or requiring masks or having to be done outside. My online info search kept taking me to Spectrafix’s fixative spray, so I tried it, and am extremely pleased it works so close to description! As my before (on the right) and after image (on the left) show, very little change, esp in regard to the tiny speckling of pigment and the wash gradations created by the watercolors (I feel I can only help that happen, the quality of watercolors does all the major work). My sig did get faded out some, so it’s the only major addition, one I was able to do with a permanent ink pen on top of the fixative coating (as advertised). I also added two tiny highlights I just wanted to add, not that were re-dos of work messed up. Highly recommend! Now I just need a non-toxic spray varnish 😊

I love this because I am not breathing in a toxic mist. I sprayed it in thin layers while layering the pastels. It may have darkened them a little, but not much. I sprayed at least seven light layers over the finished piece and it did not rub off on my finger when I tested it.