Sealing draft board keychains

Hi all,
Still very new to all of this and have been making little draft board keychains that I am coloring in with permanent markers but I’m not entirely sure what to seal them with. I’m super sensitive to smells so was trying to find something that I could tolerate. I was reading that mod podge works fairly well so I’m trying that but I don’t know how well it will hold up. I also have water based polycrylic and spray acrylic (which I would have to make my husband do). Has anyone else been using MDF to make keychains and what has worked to seal them if so?
Thanks so much!

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For the last two years, I have produced the Bag Tags for my Disc Golf Club Tag Challenge out of Med and Thick proofgrade draftboard… The tags hang on the exterior of disc golf bags in all kinds of weather and temperature. I have had no issues so far with them not holding up to this treatment. To seal them I use three coats of Rust-Oleum 2x ultra cover Matte Clear it comes in a spray can and is readily available at Walmart and other major chains. There is a slight darkening and texture change but it creates a weathered /aged look I use it for all my interior signs as well. hope this helps

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Thanks so much. Maybe I will give that a try. We have some spray stuff but I’m not sure which brand. I’ll see if it’s the same thing. Appreciate the help!

Just take into account that anything you spray on MDF is likely going to get sucked up by the material. MDF loves to soak stuff up. So you will need more and thinner coats so it doesn’t distort. At least that’s been my experience.

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Thanks for the advice. We did try using the one spray we had bought and I did notice that too. It was one of the reasons I had decided to try the Mod Podge.

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There is an outdoor Mod Podge if you wanted to stick with the low VOCs vs the spray paint. I empathize with your struggle, as both kinds of puzzles I make have very stinky processes!

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Thanks. I almost bought the outdoor stuff the other day. I will have to pick some up and give that a try. Might be the best option for me.

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