<p>There are a few ways you can do this.</p>

<p>You didn't say whether you wanted to maintain the natural colours within the coal or not, but if you do, you can use a clear spray lacquer, coat it in clear furniture varnish or any other coating that will seal the coal.</p>

<p>The suggestion by @BellaSwan of using  clear acrylic spray or nail paint will do the trick too but it will take a lot of nail paint bottles to coat a reasonable size chunk of coal.</p>

<p>If you wish to colour the coal lump, then you can use whatever kind of paint you choose; emulsion, eggshell, chalk-based, even gloss.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-23T10:03:43.800Z
2019-03-23T10:03:43.800Z
Chris Rogers
<p>Another approach to coating the coal is to submerge it in a liquid so you can be sure to seal every crack and surface imperfection. The amount of weight it needs to bear might be a factor in choosing a sealant too (you said it was a stand). </p>

<p>If I were really worried about the weight, or the strength of the sealant I'd be using a 2 pack clear epoxy finish. </p>

<p><strong>Budget approach to high strength sealant</strong></p>

<p>As a cheaper way out, my next choice would be to dunk it in a tin of slate-and-tile sealer, as this is designed for heavy foot traffic. Then I'd give it a second or even a third coat (dunking).</p>

<p>I'd give a link for slate sealer to a local Australian hardware, but I'm not sure which country you're in.  Just check it is non-yellowing, and do the dunking in the open air. The products I have used stink of nasty toxic chemicals when wet.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-24T02:48:51.013Z
2019-03-24T02:48:51.013Z
Stefan
<p>I thought about using a charcoal lump (you know, the regular stove coal) as a stand. </p>

<p>Is it possible to make it stop leaving black marks on anything it touches? Like, sealing it, or something else? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-21T05:14:36.480Z
You could try clear acrylic spray or nail paint.
Bella Swan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-22T04:52:02.553Z
I added it as a comment because I am not sure if it's a correct answer or not.
Bella Swan
<charcoal>
Is it possible to make a charcoal lump stop leaving marks?
HeyJude
# Is it possible to make a charcoal lump stop leaving marks?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-03-20)

I thought about using a charcoal lump (you know, the regular stove coal) as a stand.

Is it possible to make it stop leaving black marks on anything it touches? Like, sealing it, or something else?

**Tags:** charcoal

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You could try clear acrylic spray or nail paint.  
> **username_1**: I added it as a comment because I am not sure if it's a correct answer or not.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-03-23. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

There are a few ways you can do this.

You didn't say whether you wanted to maintain the natural colours within the coal or not, but if you do, you can use a clear spray lacquer, coat it in clear furniture varnish or any other coating that will seal the coal.

The suggestion by @username_1 of using clear acrylic spray or nail paint will do the trick too but it will take a lot of nail paint bottles to coat a reasonable size chunk of coal.

If you wish to colour the coal lump, then you can use whatever kind of paint you choose; emulsion, eggshell, chalk-based, even gloss.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-03-24. Score: 2

Another approach to coating the coal is to submerge it in a liquid so you can be sure to seal every crack and surface imperfection. The amount of weight it needs to bear might be a factor in choosing a sealant too (you said it was a stand).

If I were really worried about the weight, or the strength of the sealant I'd be using a 2 pack clear epoxy finish.

**Budget approach to high strength sealant**

As a cheaper way out, my next choice would be to dunk it in a tin of slate-and-tile sealer, as this is designed for heavy foot traffic. Then I'd give it a second or even a third coat (dunking).

I'd give a link for slate sealer to a local Australian hardware, but I'm not sure which country you're in. Just check it is non-yellowing, and do the dunking in the open air. The products I have used stink of nasty toxic chemicals when wet.


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