Sanding Polymer Clay Beads – How to Make 'em Shine
Vid #41: Learn How To Sand Your Polymer Clay Properly If You Want Professional Looking Beads:
Sanding is probably THE most important step for getting your beads to look professional. My best advice here is to put as much time into getting a great finish on your polymer clay beads as you did making them in the first place.
Do this and the quality of your work will quickly surpass those of the lazy beaders… guaranteed!
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The full version of the "Basic Sanding Techniques" preview video shown above, is included in my Polymer Clay Bead Making Fundamentals Course [SEE Video #38 of 39]. As far as I'm concerned, sanding is one of the most important final steps to making your beads look elegant and classy. This video is the first part of a series where I demonstrate how to use all of the different kinds of wet-dry sandpapers and polishing grits on your polymer clay pendant and bead projects.
Filed Under: 03: Supplies, 10: Finishing by Comment. 
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Comments on Sanding Polymer Clay Beads – How to Make 'em Shine
2:54 pm
Fight the temptation to be lazy. Don't skip over this crucial last step of sanding your work. I have seen incredibly intricate cane works of art spoiled by a few ugly fingerprints that did not get sanded out after the baking process.
If you really hate to sand, then try very hard to avoid leaving fingerprints before you get to the baking stage.
If you find that your baked beads have a very uneven surface and that starting with the 320 grit would take too long to get a smooth surface, start the sanding process with some drywall mesh: Sanding Polymer Clay with Drywall Sandpaper Means Less Gouging
9:39 am
I just had to see what a polymer bead was…..
3:36 pm
Well Tim, I hope it's opened up a whole new world for ya!
8:23 am
I make polymer pendant jewelry and would love to purchase your videos, however my husband gets mad when I clog up the computer. Can you burn them to a DVD?
Thanks,
Sarah
10:39 am
Hi Sarah – Thanks for your interest in my videos. They will be available very soon now in web video format. If there is enough demand for DVD's, I guess I'll have to look into that too.
BTW, the web videos stream on your computer which means they won't clog up your hard drive. The big advantage in using the web to deliver my polymer clay bead making videos is that I can upload new clips on regular basis.
Once I get all the "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed with the web publishing platform I'm using, the plan is to provide you with weekly video updates. This would be tough to do as frequently on DVD.
Now that this topic has been brought up, would anyone else like to share some thoughts about Web Video vs DVD preferences?
Cindy's last blog post..Polymer Clay Supplies From Unlikely Places
2:09 pm
I personally like the idea of the web videos. I haven't purchased them yet, but I'm ver interested. It's just a matter of saving the money. With the videos I can quickly and easily find what it is I'm looking for, watch it and then get back to my work. With a DVD I have to take the time to put it in the player and fiddle with what I'm looking for.
I think Web videos provide a little bit more ease and flexibility that the DVD doesn't have. Also the fact that you add more videos quite often is a huge bonus and something that cannot be overlooked in my opinion.
3:28 pm
Thank you for your valuable feedback Michelle. I really appreciate it!
7:06 pm
Hi Cindy, I forgot about the soap. How much and if you polish the beads that much will the clear finish stay on the bead?
12:24 pm
Just a drop of soap will do it. You don't want it to get too soapy. The soap is just there to cut the surface tension on the water and keep the sandpaper clean.
As far as the clear finish, do you mean the buffed shine or an added finish like Future Floor Finish?
5:07 pm
Will the sanding of the bead make it shine, or do you still put some kind of varnish on the bead, if so, what? Thanks
6:16 pm
If you do the sanding and buffing properly, you can get a beautiful shine without a finish. If you want an even glossier finish you can use Future Floor Finish or Varathane. Click the link by my name for more info.
9:38 am
Since I just joined last month, it is taking me some time to get "caught up" on my reading here. I was interested in the request for a cd or dvd of your video lessons. It is far easier to carry my portable dvd player than my laptop with wifi on it. I could then watch your tutorials during me commute on the train to and from work. Just as a suggestion you could offer a new collection once a year with that years videos and color formulas. I also could keep the portable dvd player on the workspace with me as I'm crafting (it's a lot smaller than my laptop). Please, please consider offering DVD's of your videos.
10:03 am
Ken – Thanks for chiming in on DVD topic. The Vol-012 (12 month) anniversary for the library is coming up fairly soon. As you suggested, that will be a good time to evaluate the level of interest.
As a way to keep track of things, here is a list of links to comments at other articles here at the blog, where others have discussed the DVD option as well.
Personalized Polymer Clay Tools
Beading Classes
Polymer Clay Survey
Polymer Clay Color Recipes
Clay Cane Leaf Beads
Beads and Beading and Polymer Clay | Podcast Update
More Polymer Clay Recipes
Polymer Clay Pillow Beads Video Tutorial
Polymer Clay Lessons
Hopefully that's all of the links. But if anyone else finds other references that I missed, please do let me know. It's nice to have a central point like this to reference.
1:33 pm
Where do you get your "wet and dry sandpaper"? I am from the Savannah Ga. area and can not find it in any of the stores here. I do see it on the internet. Judy Finch
1:33 pm
@Judy Finch: I found a few of the grits of wet/dry sandpaper in the local auto supply store. I found a few more grits in the auto supply section of Wal-Mart. I live in a rural area, so shopping is very limited here. I'll bet you can find all the grits you need at a large auto supply in or around Savannah.
3:10 pm
@Judy: I buy my wet/dry sandpaper in the automotive department of Canadian Tire or Walmart. But I'm sure you can find it anywhere that sells auto body supplies. For more information on any topic, remember that you can type in your subject into the search box at the top of the page. There are almost 700 articles and over 10,000 comments with just about everything you need to know about polymer clay. Using the blog search function will usually provide you with quicker answers than I am able to provide, since the blog is now such a busy place.
@Linda: Thank you for passing along your info to Judy! I am so grateful to you for helping others here at the blog! :-)