Collage help - Ink + acrylic

Hi! I'm pretty new to collage, and finding myself a little stuck when it comes to combining media. If I already have layers down that include acrylic paint (craft acrylics, in case that matters), and I want to be able to use inks on top (I have dye inks, like Simon Hurley and Distress Inks, and Distress Oxides), what options do I have for sealing in between? I'm assuming the water-based inks are just going to smear if I put them directly onto the acrylic. I know this information is "out there" somewhere, but I'm not finding it by searching.

I would try clear gesso. That should let you put other media on top of the acrylics. Keep in mind those inks are all water active so they will move with moisture from anything and would not dry on the non porous surface of a dry acrylic. If the clear gesso doesn't work, try a fixative, like Krylon workable fixative. I will try some different things tomorrow and let you know if I figure something out for you.

Stamping on top of acrylic paint is a little tricky as most inks will just smear or fade into the acrylic. Using a solvent-based ink should work great BUT they don't blend very well (as far as I've tried). A great (and really the only easy-to-find) brand I use is StazOn and it comes in a lot of colors. The other option is to use your inks to tint your white acrylic paint, water the paint down a little (you'll need to experiment with ration - shouldn't be drippy but also not thickly creamy), then brush a thin layer on your stamp, stamp then wash your stamp. BUT…you're mixing a color into white, which means it's going to be a lighter version of whatever color. BUT if you have the ink drinkers, you can add that more concentrated ink into the white. There is clear gesso you could use - same as what I just said but colors say pretty true. But StazOn is really the best. That ink stamps on pretty much anything. I've been able to sort of blend colors but you need a damp/wet watercolor brush (as long as the ink is wet, it's still movable). Dye and Oxides won't work as well though you could try and set it with a spray sealer made for that.