Sometimes You Just Need To Be Pointed In The Right Direction:
In my October 18 post I asked all of you to share your biggest challenges when it comes to working with polymer clay, making beads and designing beaded jewelry. I wanted to know what you need the most help with. There were almost 150 responses which tells me I’ve got some educating to do.
A few topics came up that I have already addressed several times here at the blog. So today I’m simply going to point you in the right direction by providing some helpful links to other articles.
Challenge #1: Which Brands of Clay to Use for What:
- Common Polymer Clay Brands in North America
- Best Polymer Clay – Premo Sculpey vs Fimo Clay vs Sculpey III
- Translucent Sculpey Clay, Fimo Clay, Premo, Cernit, Kato
- What Polymer Clay is Best for Millefiori
Challenge #2: Rolling Round Beads:
Challenge #3: What To Do If You Don’t Have A Bead Rack:
- How to Make a Bead Baking Rack with Folded Card Stock
- Baking Beads on a Bed of Cornstarch
- Polymer Clay Baking Instructions
And finally, if you want to learn how to quickly find quick answers to many other topics and questions, then read this post:
I hope these links were helpful. If you have any suggestions on things I could do for you to make the articles more effective, just let me know in the comment section below.
Does every finished piece of Polymer clay have to be varnished, to hold color or texture, etc.? Basically, when do you varnish, when do you not?
I have read where some people use either Varathane or Future floor wax to seal Polymer clay. What do you suggest?
I will eventually want to put some type of sealant on projects where Polymer clay has been adhered to ceramic or metal. Which sealant would you suggest for that?
Thanks Cindy,
DMc
Good questions Debbie!
I don’t always put a finish on the beads. You don’t have to unless there is a finish that could get rubbed off like alcohol ink, mica powder, glitter, metal foils or gold leaf that you need to protect with a sealant.
On any smooth bead, I always carefully sand and then buff the pieces. If you do it right you can get a gorgeous high sheen with a buffing machine such as a Dremel and you don’t need a finish.
If you just do a proper sanding without buffing very long, you can get a nice matte finish.
If you want an even higher shine you can add Future Floor Finish or Varathane. These are nice and thin finishes, not thick and gloppy looking like some of the finishes made for polymer clay.
If you want more info on those finishes, click the link by my name.
Cindy, what great answers to my sealant question, it helps a lot. Now let me take my question one step further:
I would like to use finished Polymer pieces that might have exposure to outside elements, such as wind, water, and sunrays. Wouldn’t I need some type of sealant in this case? If so, would you still suggest Future floor finish? Or do you simply advise me to highly buff these pieces, which you have said would make them even more water resistant?
Now, the other factor is that some of the pieces will be 3-dimensional. So, is it possible to buff dimentional work well enough to have the protection I am seeking?
It is so nice for us to be able to come to you with all our questions! As you can tell, I am still a bit confused. I hope I am not confusing you.
Debbie McLelland
Fire Gems Studio
Hi Debbie, these are great questions!
I’m not sure where I said that, but buffing doesn’t really improve the water resistance. Polymer clay is plastic so it is naturally waterproof.
Buffing can be done to a point where no finish is required for the high shine. Maybe that’s where the confusion came in?
Future Floor Finish is just used to create high shine or to protect a surface from wearing off, like an image transfer, some alcohol ink or some mica powder on the surface of the clay.
Other than protecting a surface treatment from getting rubbed off, there really is no need for a sealant at all.
As far as using something outside, you should test the light-fastness of the clay without a sealant by leaving it exposed outside for awhile. Make sure to have a duplicate you keep inside to see if there is any difference. I’m not sure how Future would work outside, but you could test that as well.
As far as UV protection, I’m sorry but I don’t know of any unless there is a Varathane that has a UV protector but it would have to be water based to be compatible with the clay.
If I come across more info on this I will be sure to pass it on.
Hope that helped.
Good morning ma’am!
I literally *JUST* started a jewelry business and 80% of the material will be in Poly Clay. I am *VERY* excited. =D
My business name is “MewtCrafts”
“Mewt” because I am literally, a mute due to my current fight with throat cancer.
I can either waste the time I have left crying in a ball in the corner of the room, or I can come out swinging and battling this this with humor.
I served in the military for 20 years… which option do you think I took?
lol
Anyways… wow that was off track. I’m so sorry!
I need to make *perfectly* round rods, from end to end, that I will be baking my rings on. I want perfect sizes so I don’t get a bad review…
So, how do I go about doing that may I ask? I’m a bit stumped….
Oh hey! Speaking of b”baking,” I understand I need to leave it in for an hour. Check.
What if I now have two pieces that need to be baked together? Say, I have an arm and torso. I break out my liquid clay, “glue them together” and pop them in the oven.
This means each piece will receive TWO hours of baking while the liquid clay gets one…
Is this ok? if not, what process do you recommend I use?
Thank you VERY MUCH for your time. I appreciate it more than you actually know. :)
Thank you Nathan for sharing your story. You are so brave and inspiring!
In regards to making rods to bake on, I would use a variety of wooden dowels wrapped with parchment paper so that you ring could easily be removed. I would make the hole smaller than the ring size you want, so that you have material to sand, and you can size your ring perfectly with sanding. You will want to buy a ring sizer to slip your rings on so that you can know precisely the size you are making. It is not going to work to make rods the exact size you need up front, because you will be removing clay as you finish the piece.
As far as the baking goes, I usually do my first bakings around 20 mins… so it is hard enough that it won’t be brittle to handle, but not have to sit in the oven for a full hour each time. Then on my final baking, I bake for the full hour. As long as you are using an oven thermometer, you can bake your piece for hours and hours in total.
Good luck with your new venture! Take care!