Comments about Winsor & Newton Artists' Fixative Spray:

When the product was new/fresh from the store, it worked as it should. But after several months,(9?), I had extensive leakage problems also.

Comments about Winsor & Newton Artists' Fixative Spray:

I have not ordered other fixatives before, but this seems like it does the job well. I have had this for a few months, and even took it to Malawi for an internship this summer (encountered heat), and have not had any of problems previously listed by other reviews. Erasing isn't bad, maybe a bit of effort sometimes, but the graphite and charcoal renderings have stayed in tact nicely since I used the spray. I would definitely recommend a fume hood or spraying outside, it is pretty potent. Overall I'd say try it, but again I haven't compared it with something different.

Comments about Winsor & Newton Artists' Fixative Spray:

Note: This review has to do with the product's can and its quality control issues.

My cans of "Winsor & Newton Artists' Workable Fixative for Pastel, Charcoal & Pencil" arrived from Dick Blick about 14 months ago and have been stored standing up correctly on level, smooth shelves in a temperature controlled room that's 72 to 78 degrees F all year round. When I finally decided to use this fixative, the can wouldn't come off the shelf. It was stuck fast to the shelf along with 6 other cans. There are only several brands of cans of fixative on this shelf. There's nothing that could have leaked onto the shelf from above. It had to be one of these cans that leaked. (The room is used for drawing, painting and sculpting in polymer clay so I'm sure none of my activities could have caused this.)

When I finally pried the 7 cans off my wooden shelves by brute force, I realized that one can was nearly empty. The cans had been packaged beautifully and all seemed fine the day I unboxed them and put them directly on the shelf. After close examination now, all I could find was a thick layer of mostly dried, partially still sticky fixative material on the bottom of that can and others, and on the shelf they sat on of course. The leak didn't originate from the tops or sides of the can as those were completely clean and free of any fixative. All I can figure is that the fixative somehow slowly leaked out of this one can's bottom, thus gluing it along with the others to the shelf.

My greater dismay was that I inherited these shelves from my parents and it was my father who made them. I'm sure they're not worth a fortune or anything like that; it's more a sentimental value issue.

I had never heard of a can of fixative leaking like this. Had I known that this could be a problem, I would have protected the shelves accordingly.

I can't fault Dick Blick in this at all, they've been absolutely wonderful, but I do hope Winsor & Newton takes care of their can quality control issues. Until I know that they've done that, I can't recommend this product, sorry. A can of fixative should be able to sit on a shelf for a bit over a year without doing this. In fact, I have another brand of fixative that still works (!) and that's from some 14 or more years ago, so I know fixative cans can be done right.

Comments about Winsor & Newton Artists' Fixative Spray:

This product doesn't work in the heat of summer. If you have this fixative in your studio that is Air Conditioned, then you step outside in the Heat or in a Garage to spray fixative on a pastel painting or drawing of some kind, the spray cap will pop off of the top of the can and will not go back on rendering the product unusable. Even if you let the can of fixative sit in the garage or outside for several hours, the spray cap on the top of the can will still pop off when it is very hot outside. This product is not good to take on location when pasteling in plein air when the temperature rises. If the need to use this Fixative arises when drawing or pasteling on location, you are guaranteed to have the spray cap pop off the top of the can and you will not be able to get it back on the can. You can only use this product in Later Fall, Winter, and Early Spring. I would not recommend this product to anyone.