Wet Sanding Polymer Clay Tutorial: Make Clay Jewelry and Beads Shine
8 Sanding Tips for Polishing Polymer Clay to a Beautiful Finish:
If you have read any of the other articles here on my blog, you will know how much importance I feel it is to sand your polymer clay beads. It is probably the most important step if you want your jewelry projects to have that professional look. Here's some tips on how to do it correctly:
1) Use Silicone Carbide wet/dry sandpaper, not the regular woodworking or DIY home improvement sand paper.
2) Sand polymer clay wet and add a drop of dish soap into your water dip to help reduce clogging of the sandpaper.
3) Wash out sand paper when it gets clogged. A soft brush and dish soap works well for this. Clogged paper doesn't do much but give you a sore arm from sanding forever.
4) Start with a low numbered grit like 320 or 400. Then progress through higher grits such as 600, 800, 1200 and 1500. Some artists even go to 2000 grit but it is harder to find.
5) The best industrial grade sanding materials are found in auto supply stores. It is tough and you can often find packs with a variety of grits.
6) Cheap sandpapers tend to curl up and wear out faster, so buy the best brand you can afford. Ask because each store carries different brands. 3M makes a great product so look for it if you can.
7) Change sheets often. Sandpaper doesn't last forever. If you can't feel a bit of a 'tooth' to the paper, it is probably worn out. You might want to always keep a small square of brand new stuff in all the grits so you have something to compare it to.
8) A polymer clay bead or pendant that has been baked hard for at least an hour, will sand way easier and smoother than one that is under baked.
For more information on how to set up your sanding kit here's a couple of other articles to read:
If you have any other sanding tips for making shiny polymer clay beads and jewelry, I'd love to hear them. Or if you have a question, I'm here to help.
Filed Under: 03: Supplies, 10: Finishing by Comment. 
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Comments on Wet Sanding Polymer Clay Tutorial: Make Clay Jewelry and Beads Shine
8:57 pm
This is a good concise list of tips.
Sometimes I find that there are small gouges (like fine lines) or less flat parts on my pieces while I'm sanding them. Do you recommend sanding with dry sandpaper before wet to take out these larger imperfections?
11:44 am
Actually Kimberlee why don't you read the article I wrote called: Sanding Polymer Clay with Drywall Sandpaper Means Less Gouging. (Click the link by my name.)
This will help you with your problem!
11:24 pm
I have a hard time getting my beads really shiny. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. What is the best last step after sanding with the progressively finer grits and buffing with denim to get that gorgeous shine?
2:04 pm
In order to get the gorgeous shine you are talking about Karrah, you are going to need a power tool like a Dremel or a bench buffer to do the job. To learn more about using a Dremel Tool, click the link by my name.
8:35 am
Hello Cindy, I'm having some problems with my beads. I've seen all your course tutorials but can't get to know when my beads are well cooked. I sanded lots of them and then buffed but they don't shine. How can i resolve this? is it that i haven't cooked it enough or is it that i haven't sanded enough? in Chile i haven't found sands smother than 400, but is really soft, cpuol that be my problem? Thank you!
9:23 am
Hi Consuelo,
I posted your email question here at the blog because there is information in the article above, that should be helpful for you.
It is hard to give you exact advice without actually seeing everything that you are doing. But you have identified 2 things that are in fact very important when it comes to getting your beads to shine… proper baking and sanding with high grit wet dry sandpaper.
You will definitely need to find some wet dry sandpaper higher than 400 grit. You may have to go to an automotive supply store to find it in your area. Body shops use this product for finishing the paint on cars.
There is a link by my name will take you to another article that you should read for more info about shiny beads.
For even more info, also be sure to use the search box at the top of the home page of this blog. Use keywords like, shiny, sanding, sandpaper, wet dry, baking… to find lots and lots of helpful information.
If you have specific questions that the blog articles don't answer, then you are welcome to post follow up questions in the comment sections underneath the relevant articles.
Hope this helps.