Okay, so I bought some plain old black laquered chopsticks, and I'm painting floral designs on the ends of them with acrylic paint (pics come later). Problem is, I'll need to laquer the tips of them again, just, maybe, 1-2 inches of the upper wide end of the sticks, to keep the acrylic from chipping off with use/washing. I tried using a clear satin acrylic spray, but it coated the stick in a white film instead of clear, so that won't do... Also, since then I've decided these sticks are probably something along the lines of a semi-gloss.

I prefer a laquer or polyurethane coat that I could, maybe, dip the end of the sticks into (if I coated the whole stick, it'd have to be food-safe, obviously. :/ ) Most call for sanding the item that you're glazing lightly to make the glaze adhere to it. Would I absolutely HAVE to sand the part of the stick I wanted to coat before dipping it or brushing the laquer on? Would it just run off if I didn't?
Also, is there any risk of certain types of polyurethane causing problems with the acrylic paint (smearing the design, etc.)? sweatdrop