Which decoupage glue and sealer should I use?

A decoupage glue and sealer is only right for the surface it was mixed for. Here is how we match a bottle to a project.

Start with where the piece will live

Almost every wrong-bottle story comes down to the same thing: the formula was chosen for the surface and not for the life the piece will have. A decoupaged mug and a decoupaged photo frame can be the same wood, the same paper and the same technique — but one goes through a dishwasher and the other sits on a shelf, and that decides the bottle.

So ask the questions in this order. Will it be washed? Will it be rained on? Will it be handled every day? Does it need to stay soft? Only once those are answered does the surface matter.

Then match the surface

We keep a chart of which formula we have tested on which surface, and the short version is that the original matte, gloss and satin cover almost everything porous: wood, paper, canvas, paper mache, plaster, terra cotta, card, foam, fabric appliques and most plastics. Hard Coat, Super Matte and the water resistant gloss cover the same ground with a tougher film.

The narrow ones are narrow on purpose. Dishwasher safe is for ceramics, glass and metal. Puzzle Saver is for puzzles and nothing else. Stiffy is for fabric, lace and trim. Diamond Top Coat is for diamond dot art. Using a narrow formula off its list is not dangerous, it is just worse than the right one.

If you can only own one bottle

Buy matte or gloss in 8 oz. Between them they handle the overwhelming majority of what people bring to us, they are the cheapest way to learn how a thin coat behaves, and neither will be wasted once you add a specialist bottle later. Matte if you photograph your work, gloss if you want printed colour to look deeper.

Decoupage glue and sealer at a glance

Indoors, dry

• matte
• gloss
• satin
• super matte
• antique matte

Outdoors

• outdoor
• hard coat
• clear acrylic spray

Gets washed

• dishwasher safe gloss
• dishwasher safe matte
• dishwasher safe glitter

Paper, tissue

• paper
• puzzle saver
• matte

Fabric, clothing

• fabric
• furniture
• satin

Printed photos

• photo transfer
• photo transfer medium

Effects

• glitter
• extreme glitter
• crackle
• antique
• sparkle

Poured finish

• dimensional magic
• resin
• clear

If you take one thing from this: a Mod Podge decoupage glue is a glue, a sealant and a finish doing three jobs at once, and the variety of formulas exists because those three jobs change with the surface. The matte and gloss bottles cover most crafting at home. The rest of the line is there for the projects where one of the three jobs gets harder — a mug that gets washed, a planter that gets rained on, a tote bag that has to keep moving.

That versatility is also why we would rather you read a chart than guess. A crafter who picks the right bottle gets a smooth, durable finish that dries clear and stays put for years. One who picks the wrong bottle gets a project that looks right for a fortnight. The bottles above are the ones this guide is about; every one of them has its own page with the sizes we fill and what we have tested it on.