Comments on: Buffing Polymer Clay Beads with a Dremel Multipro Rotary Tool

By: Cindy Lietz@Tips for Buffing Beads with a Dremel Rotary Tool

Cindy Lietz@Tips for Buffing Beads with a Dremel Rotary Tool — Sat, 28 May 2011 22:26:40 +0000

@Marion K: Sounds like you are well on your way with learning about some polymer clay finishing techniques. Just a few tweaks here and there will get the results you desire.

When buffing your beads with the Dremel, it is important to use a very low speed (setting 3 or less), press very lightly (think butterfly kisses) and to only use the outside edges of the wheel (not the top), otherwise you will take gouges out of your beads as you seem to have discovered.

I don’t know which type of beeswax you are using, but that could be the problem with you not being able to get a really high shine. Since you are in the Netherlands, you may need to test a few different brands of paste wax, or see if you can get Renaissance Wax if you are having trouble finding the Minwax.

If you do find a wax that works well for you, do make sure to come back and share it with everyone. I am sure there are others in your part of the world that would really appreciate that!

Good luck!

By: Marion K

Marion K — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:15:59 +0000

Hi Cindy,

Ive gritted with these little pads you used in your videos, 4 different ones. Than put beeswax on it and tried polishing with the minitool, but it took out bits of the beads. Buffing by hand gives a satin look but doesnt make it real shiny, but at least the bead stays nice and smooth. Is beeswax maybe not the right thing to use. I cant find the floorpolish you use anyware overhere. It doesnt make it easy when most of the products that are used by you are not available, hahaha.
Thanks,
Marion

By: Cindy Lietz@Wax Polishing your Polymer Clay Beads

Cindy Lietz@Wax Polishing your Polymer Clay Beads — Fri, 27 May 2011 00:42:11 +0000

@Marion K: Hi Marion, The final finish you will get with the waxing technique, depends on how smooth the surface is before you wax it.

If you wax an unsanded bead, the best that you can expect is a nice satin sheen. If you have sanded your bead through several different grits and the surface is very smooth before you wax it, you can get a high gloss with the waxing process.

It shouldn’t take as long as 15 min per bead to wax your beads. It should only take a few seconds and certainly no more than a minute or two. Hope that helps!

By: Marion K

Marion K — Sun, 22 May 2011 17:03:51 +0000

I get pieces off my beads as well, trying to polish them at the 1st-lowest setting of my mini tool. Maybe because my hands are not very steady?

And i tried bee-wax on them, but my beads-polished by hand now for ages, dont really get the shine i would like, no more than a satingloss. How long should i polish a bead by hand? I did 15 minutes per bead…..

By: Phaedrakat

Phaedrakat — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 08:46:16 +0000

What a coincidence, indeed! Cindy’s new video tute really is about using Finishing Wax such as Minwax or Renaissance Wax to add a nice sheen to beads. (The Dremel works nicely for this task, as well!) Another fabulous video by Cindy…

Not only is this site worth every penny. It’s worth MORE than the pennies we spend! Luckily, Cindy’s not greedy…she makes membership ridiculously inexpensive, so that anyone can join. The only thing I’ve ever regretted was waiting to join (missed out on those tutes!) Of course, I went back and bought the videos I missed anyway (had to have ‘em — so good!) but at the library price. If I’d joined right away, I could’ve had them for the even cheaper membership price of $3.32 per month! OK, I’ll be quiet now… ;D

By: Rebecca Chisenhall

Rebecca Chisenhall — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:31:17 +0000

@Karonkay: Wow, isn’t Cindy a bargain, lol? I simply love, love, love the fact that we keep all these videos in our libraries and can simply pull them up to watch at any time! I could never remember all the steps to do some of these effects and styles without going back to look at the videos again. I truly am still so thrilled I found Cindy’s site and subscribed. Worth every penny and then some.

By: Linda K.

Linda K. — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:42:53 +0000

@Cindy Lietz from Dremel Tool Safety Tips: Cindy, I'm really looking forward to this tutorial. I always buff with my Dremel, but never with a wax. This should be very interesting!

By: Sandra J

Sandra J — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 23:34:34 +0000

Just wanted to share that I gave my Mum a pendant and ear-ring set with the mica shift technique, buffed to a high shine then coated in floor polish. A high compliment (I thought) came back to me is that a doctor at her work (she’s an ER nurse) asked what kind of “stone” it was. I must have done a good job on it.

By: Cindy Lietz@Dremel Tool Safety Tips

Cindy Lietz@Dremel Tool Safety Tips — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 23:04:08 +0000

@Karonkay: Thank you so much for saying that Karon! I know exactly what you are talking about in regards to the type of polymer clay classes that are often available out there. It is one of the reasons I decided to create my classes online, in a very accessible format that allows anyone to create stunning projects very easily. Maybe your sister will join in on the fun with us? We would love to have her! Glad to hear you are enjoying the buffing process. I don't use a buffing compound per se... but quite coincidently, the upcoming Friday tutorial for this week, will be about using your Dremel for buffing with polishing wax... so it is interesting that you should ask about this. There are a couple of new tricks in the video that will help to hold onto your beads when polishing them so that you can avoid having them fly around too much. Remember to wear glasses to protect your eyes though. It is much easier to make beads when you can see!

By: Karonkay

Karonkay — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 05:54:16 +0000

Cindy, I finally decided to buff my beads, two things… one do you use a buffing compound with the buffer? and yes they sparkle and are very pretty ( some of them- it takes some getting used to knowing how much pressure and all) And yes I sent three of them flying acorss the room- did not think I would find them ever again. They went pinging all over before settling to the floor. But I enjoyed it and they shine like glass and you are right I do not need to use the glaze anymore. It certainly added a depth that I would not have gotten with the glaze.
I seem to be in a chatty mood tonight so I will share a short story with all of you about how lucky we are to have Cindy as our teacher ( I know you already know that ) but… My sister- lives in D.C. we have many interests in common, she does mostly wire work, decided to take a clay class last weekend. She wanted to see what I was raving about when I told her about Cindy and the tutorials. And The class was on making Calla Lilies- which I had told her I was doing as one of our classes. She paid three times what we pay for three months of classes for a single afternoon! she went to the class, and was very disappointed with it as they did not learn how to make a skinner blend or anything that Cindy teaches and we tend to take for granted, they painted their clay to get color. So, Cindy I want you to know how grateful I am for all your teaching skills and how blessed we are thay you take your time to teach us and help make our creations great. And for holding my hand through my fears of using the buffer.