Although Mod Podge is an extremely budget friendly PVA glue that offers a ton of versatility for its price point in the market, many people apply it incorrectly resulting in easily avoidable streaks in the glue once dry. Due to this, we have decided to publish this article on how to apply Mod Podge without streaks to try and help our readers apply their glue correctly.
Thankfully, the various steps that are required to apply your Mod Podge without it having streaks are very simple and straight forward. Even a beginner in the arts and crafts space should easily be able to tweak their application process of their Mod Podge to help ensure that their work is free from streaks.
Although there are a number of Mod Podge application processes that you are able to use to prevent streaks in the glue once dry, some of them are difficult and expensive. Due to this, we have decided to only focus on the easiest application method that the majority of people in the arts and crafts space will be able to use for free.
How To Prepare Your Surface For Streak Free Mod Podge!
Although an in prepared surface can cause stealing in your Mod Podge, it is a different type of streaking that the majority of people usually have issues with. Thankfully though, you are able to quickly and easily avoid this secondary speaking case with ease and within minutes.
All you need is to make sure that the surface that you are about to apply your Mod Podge to is clean and free from both dirty and grease. The majority of use cases for Mod Podge are on paper or card so the surface is usually clean anyway. If you are using wood or non-washable fabric with your Mod Podge then make sure that it is clean.
With a wood surface, you can usually just use a cloth with warm water on it and if you are using a non-washable fabric then you are able to just wash the clothes. Just be sure that you leave the surface to dry fully prior to actually applying your Mod Podge to it as applying Mod Podge to a wet surface can cause a whole different set of surfaces.
Should You Use A Sponge Or Bristle Brush With Your Mod Podge?
Using a bristle based brush to apply your Mod Podge to your surface of choice is without a doubt the most common problem that we see people make time and time again. The smudging is due to the bristles not applying the glue in an even layer or due to the bristles leaving marks on the surface of the applied glue.
Thankfully, switching over to a cheap sponge brush avoids all of this and is without a doubt the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to avoid any potential issues with your Mod Podge streaking during application. The sponge head of the brush removes the issues of the bristles on other brush types and allows you to evenly apply your glue and prevent streaks.
One draw back of using a sponge brush is that they need to be cleaned as soon as your activity is complete else the glue will ruin the sponge. Due to the brushes being so cheap this is usually not an issue and you are able to purchase sponge brushes in bulk without any problems.
How To Apply Mod Podge Without Streaks!
To actually apply your Mod Podge glue to your surface of choice without it having streaks, be sure that it has fully dried after the initial cleaning process. Then take your sponge brush and dip it into your Mod Podge before gently brushing it over your surface.
Another trick to avoid streaking even when using a sponge brush is to apply your Mod Podge in thin coats. This makes it so much easier to keep your layers of Mod Podge as even as possible to help ensure that it avoids streaking. If you do require a thick layer of Mod Podge then you can simply apply multiple thin coats to build it up until it is thick enough.
If you are taking the multiple layers approach to build up the thickness of your Mod Podge, just be sure to let each layer dry fully prior to applying your next layer. This is another common mistake that is easy to avoid that can potentially cause your Mod Podge to streak due to the base layer not quiet being dry when you apply your next coat.
Do You Need To Seal Mod Podge To Keep It Steak Free?
Due to Mod Podge having some sealing agent in its formula, the majority of the time it will be fine once dry, especially if your artwork will only be kept indoors and never left outdoors and exposed to the elements. This allows you to apply your Mod Podge as explained above, leave it to dry without it having any streaks in it and simply leave it as is.
If you are using your Mod Podge to seal or glue a surface that will be left outdoors then adding another sealant on top of the Mod Podge can be recommended if you live in an area with heavy wind and rain. This will help to ensure that everything is protected from the elements and be able to last for as long as possible.
Please note that adding another sealant on top of your Mod Podge to protect it for outdoor use may cause streaking on the outer sealant. You can reduce the chances of the outer sealant streaking during application by using a sponge brush and thin layers for that too just like you did for your Mod Podge.
How Do You Fix Streaky Mod Podge?
If your Mod Podge has already dried streaky then the easiest option to fix the streaks is to apply additional layers of Mod Podge to build it up using the methods above to hide the streaks. You will usually need to apply at least five coats of the Mod Podge to be able to hide any streaks so you will have to put the time and effort in.
Some people to try to remove the streaked layer of Mod Podge and there are some guides online going over how you are able do this. That said though, it is a high risk, high reward process and there is a chance that you can make it worse if you do attempt to remove the Mod Podge currently applied, especially if you have applied it to ceramics.
This is why we recommend that you just build up additional layers of Mod Podge above the streaks to hide them. It is not perfect and in certainty lights you may still be able to see the streaks but for the most part, it will be able to hide the mistakes.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over how you can apply mod podge without streaks with ease and without having to purchase expensive tools to an end. Mod Podge really is a great product that is able perform very well in most cases without you having to spend much. Beginners can commonly cause it to streak when applying it but sticking to the method above should easily be able to help you avoid it and get you a streak free finish.
