Y&C Gel Xtreme Pens with Fixatives or Galkyd?

[Redbone]

Hello,

New to the site, with a question I am hoping someone can help me to answer.

I have a couple of 30" x 20" matboard pieces composed of nothing but very small, handwritten text, using Silver and Gold Y&C Gel Xtreme pens. If you have ever used these pens, you know that as gels they produce a very particular luster, which unfortunately seems to never totally dry. I can go back to a piece I finished months ago, and were I to dare to run my fingernail over the text/ink, I will be scratching directly into the surface.

So, what to do?

Will a fixative such as Krylon's Conservation matte do the job, or do I need to get busy figuring out how to apply galkyd to these pieces, trying amazingly hard to produce a true matte?

Check out the image below, and please, if you can think of a solution to this problem, I will be especially grateful.

Aaron

[Redbone]

And oh, here is the image...

[Cyndi L]

That's a beautiful piece. I'm afraid I don't know quite what to tell you...never worked with galkyd. But one thing is confusing me: you mentioned the luster of the pens, but you want the piece to end up with a matte finish?

[Redbone]

Hi Cyndi,

Thank you very much.

Great question. Not exactly. I'd like a matte over a lustre. If I can preserve the lustre of the ink, without adding a gloss finish, this would be optimum.

It's been suggested that I just get them behind glass as soon as possible, but I am concerned about transportation...

Thanks very much; below are the two parts of the whole piece.

[Cyndi L]

OK, I get it! You might want to look into the newer "satin" finishes in sprays and coatings. They are neither matte nor gloss, but somewhere in between. Maybe they would allow the lustre of the ink to remain but without adding shine to the rest. Not sure, but it seems like something to inquire about...I wonder if someone over in the Pen & Ink forum would know.

[Redbone]

Thanks!

I'll take a look at them along with everything else.

I've posted in a couple of spots, and am getting some good suggestions. Something's got to work!

Thanks again.