Comments on: Wet Sanding Polymer Clay Tutorial: Make Clay Jewelry and Beads Shine

By: Polymer Clay Tutor Cindy Lietz

Polymer Clay Tutor Cindy Lietz — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:35:47 +0000

Usually the wet/dry sandpaper grits that are used in working with polymer clay are the ultra fine grits. I look in the auto supply department of big box stores or if you have an auto body shop in your area that is a good place to go. I buy 400, 600, 800, 1200 and 2000 if I can find it. My new favorite is to use Micro-Mesh Abrasives instead though. I feel they do a faster, smoother job than the regular wet/dry papers do. I wrote about it some time ago here: Micro-Mesh Abrasives

By: Reyna Castano

Reyna Castano — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:04:00 +0000

Does it have to be regular wetordry sandpaper or ultrafine wetordry sanpaper?
Also, I have been looking for the pack that contains various grits and I can’t find it anywhere. Where do you guys get yours from? I live in L.A.

By: Cindy Lietz@Polymer Clay Beginners Course

Cindy Lietz@Polymer Clay Beginners Course — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 18:39:15 +0000

@Reyna Castano: A general rule of thumb is… the fewer marks/scratches you leave on your beads prior to baking, the less sanding you will have to do after baking. So really it all comes down to how much you like the sanding process. Most people prefer to sand as little as possible ;-)

By: Reyna Castano

Reyna Castano — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 03:10:02 +0000

In other words, I can leave marks/scratches on my baked polymer clay and feel comfortable, because as soon as I sand the piece they will come off?

By: Cindy Lietz@Micro-Mesh Tutorial Video

Cindy Lietz@Micro-Mesh Tutorial Video — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:34:06 +0000

@Reyna Castano: If you go through all the grits properly, you will remove any marks that the sandpaper/abrasive makes.

By: Reyna Castano

Reyna Castano — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:55:36 +0000

Will sanding leave marks? If so, how do I remove them?

By: Sue F

Sue F — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:36:45 +0000

Speaking of Micro Mesh, while I don’t like their Soft Touch sanding pads at all (i.e. the type Cindy used in her video) , I *LOVE* their regular sanding sheets. These cloth-backed abrasive sheets come in a variety of sizes (I bought 150mm x 300mm), and you can wrap them around sanding supports of whatever shape or stiffness suits each item to be sanded or just use them directly.

I bought mine from the The Sandpaper Man:
thesandpaperman.com.au/sheets-150-mm-x-300-mm/

(If you’re an Aussie and you really want the Soft Touch Pads, The Sandpaper Man has them too.)

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:32:38 +0000

Also, if you investigate a few online shops, you’ll find that places like firemountaingems.com offer both the flat pad system, and two options of all the same grits on stick pads and rolled. With these you can get to almost every fingerprint, lol.

Using the micropad system has entirely changed my view of sanding, and I find I no longer dread it, and dream of sanding assistant fairies.

By: TrudyM

TrudyM — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 17:03:25 +0000

Kat: I am still a newbie and I love that you shared so much. Always appreciated. I do get lost sometimes on this journey. I also wasn’t specific in my question. So thank you!!

By: Phaedrakat

Phaedrakat — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 05:11:37 +0000

@TrudyM: Sorry for all the extra reading! Sometimes I don’t realize (or forget) how much experience someone has…and rattle on WAY too long! ;D Thanks for what you said, too…

Your earrings sound beautiful, and the paint/texture technique seems simple yet really fun! I’ll have to try it myself. It’s no wonder the earrings are favorites, expressing yourself like that is what it’s all about. Enjoy making your lentils, & “throwing caution”…just have fun! :D