Tips for Using Inka Gold Metallic Rub on Polymer Clay

Inka Gold Metallic PaintVideo #411: A polymer compatible product that’s part paint, part wax, with the consistency of a mousse.

Topics Covered In This Video:

  • I tested the Inka Gold in Steel Blue on a piece of Baked Premo Clay for compatibility, by just rubbing the product onto the clay sample and buffing with a soft cloth.
  • After buffing, the Inka Gold Metallic Rub comes to a high shine with a metallic gleam.
  • When added to a baked piece of polymer, I found that even though it was dry to the touch and no longer came off onto the cloth when buffing, it was soft enough to scrape off with my fingernail.
  • On baked clay, the finish would not be suited for high wear projects like polymer clay jewelry, but would be just fine for other polymer projects like sculptures and home decor pieces that wouldn’t get a lot of handling.
  • Inka Gold appears to be polymer clay compatible with no reactions after sitting on clay for a few months.
  • I tested the Inka Gold Metallic Rub on raw Premo polymer clay and baked it at 275F for one hour and got much better results.
  • Inka Gold on raw clay and then baked, is very durable and I was unable to scratch it off the surface at all. So I would use this method if I were going to use Inka Gold on a piece of polymer clay jewelry or other high use polymer clay project. Keep in mind that once baked on the clay, it will be removed if sanded, so your piece will need to be designed in such a way that sanding is not required.


Question of the Day:

Have you used Inka Gold on polymer clay? What kind of projects did you use it for? And what did you think of it?

I look forward to hearing from you.

By the way, if you have a polymer clay question or challenge you’d like me to address in an upcoming video vlog, do post it in the comments below. I’d love to help you find quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.

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Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cindy Lietz SignaturePolymer Clay Tutor
  1. Sue F, 08 August, 2013

    I’ve mostly used Inka Gold on textured pieces where I want a whole range of shifting metallic colours for added interest. I bought quite a number of trial size jars from Poly Clay Play a while ago because I wasn’t sure whether I’d like the product or not (I do), and the small jars would also let me try out a bunch of different colours. I love Old Silver, and there are a whole heap of beautiful vibrant pearlescents which you don’t get with Gilders Paste, for example, which is similar in application method and use although quite different in formulation. You only need to use a little, so it’ll be quite some time before I finish even the small jars and need to buy more.

    Two thoughts on the durability of the finish…

    Cindy mentioned applying it to cured clay and just letting it dry, and also applying it to raw clay and curing the two together, with the first approach not being as durable as the second, but you can also apply it to cured clay and then cure again, which should improve the durability while still letting you use it in ways that you can’t on raw clay because it would get deformed. An alternative would be to apply something like PYM II on top of the Inka Gold layer.

  2. Hermine R, 08 August, 2013

    I love coming here each Tuesday afternoon to see what you are sharing with us.

    Something to add to your demo . That product has a little problem it dries. That is the down side of the product for me.You can add water and it’s still usable. I have used on many things allways on raw clay. I prefer the smaller sizes to the big ones because I don’t produce to sell.

    Have you tried their crackling product called Faceten lack. I have and came up with surprising things when using the 000 translucent one. I thought I I had bought white. Mixed with acrylic inks you can get more effects. I prefer the black because it makes smaller cracks . I don’t know why though.

    Here are my links on the subject just to give you an idea :

    The first is with the black.

    The second with the translucent and a metallic blue.

    Its in French.

  3. Sue F, 08 August, 2013

    The Faceten Lack product looks like fun, Hermine! I love the effects you got with the translucent and metallic blue! :)

    I have a heap of different ways of getting crackled effects, but somehow I’ve never got around to trying any product that’s specifically for producing crackles! I’ll have to get some of this to play with! (It looks like it’s called Croco Crackling Colour when packaged for English-speaking markets.)

  4. Cindy Lietz, 09 August, 2013

    I have never tried Faceten Lack before Hermine, looks cool. It’s name sounds so European! I see it is made by Viva products, the same company that makes Pardo clay. Will keep an eye out for it and try it out some time. Thanks for sharing!

  5. Cynthia Ryan, 08 August, 2013

    Hi, I love this product & use it a lot. If you use it on baked clay & re-bake it again, it is very durable & will not scratch off. It’s also great when mixed with a little water & painted on with a paint brush, then baked again. Great product.

  6. Penny Vingoe, 09 August, 2013

    I use Inka Gold a lot – I have even watered it down and used it to cover a wooden frame; Helen Breil recommends that you use your Inka Gold on textured raw clay, then add Gilder’s Paste as an extra decoration – she has done some beautiful stuff with it (see the slide show here). Incidentally, it dries up over time – but by simply using a damp cloth on it it is revived – for it is water based.

  7. Carrie Harvey, 09 August, 2013

    I absolutely love using lnka-Gold – l use it on raw clay, most often to highlight textures, but l’ve also added more after baking to brighten things up.
    I haven’t tried scraping at it with a fingernail but maybe l should, lol – but so far it seems fine for general wear…though l have usually sealed it with Future/Klear.
    I really love the way you can add different colours if you’re not happy with how it looks – it’s so opaque you can keep playing until you get the look you want.
    I was only able to buy the large pots and some have dried out more than others – l’ve added a bit of water which has led to a bit of mould growth, but another time l’ll add a drop of vinegar to the water which might prevent mould.
    I like Penny’s idea of a wet cloth – do you put a small one in the closed jar or do you drape a large cloth over the opened jar, Penny?

  8. Cindy Lietz, 09 August, 2013

    Good question Carrie! I was wondering the same thing?

  9. Helen W, 10 August, 2013

    Thanks for sharing this Cindy. I haven’t used Inka Gold yet and am quite tempted to try it. I am mainly using Gilder’s Paste which you can use on baked and raw clay, but you can’t sand it and have to varnish it. I would like to know what the main difference between the Inka and the Gilder’s paste is? Sounds like both have to be varnished for jewellery items to makes sure the stuff doesn’t rub off. Love the steel blue colour by the way.

  10. Cindy Lietz, 10 August, 2013

    Hi Helen, I don’t have any technical or ingredient info on Inka Gold or Gilders Paste to do a proper comparison, but from using it, the main differences I found were:

    Inka Gold is:
    – water based
    – has a fluffy almost mouse type texture

    Gilders Paste is:
    – solvent based
    – solid, shoe polish type paste

    Other than that their properties are fairly similar at first glance. When I spend more time using the Inka Gold, I’ll let you know if I notice other differences. Hope that helps!

  11. Helen W, 10 August, 2013

    Thanks for your answer Cindy. Maybe another difference is the colour choice – that blue is just very tempting – so beautiful. I am not sure you get get this colour with GP.

  12. Donna L, 12 August, 2013

    I’ve watched Cindy’s free videos on YouTube and learned LOADS. I think the videos are fantastic and I eagerly subscribed. I also credit her personally to fixing a lot of the mistakes I’ve made on this learning curve.

  13. Tante Sherry, 26 October, 2013

    Hi everyone
    I have a question for our lab-coated tester ;)
    Have you used Aleene’s Jewelry Pendant Gel yet?
    heard a lady mention it , on you tube – want to say Pandora ??
    but looking around the net I couldn’t find much else about how one would use with polymer clay
    and knowing that Cindy has Nothing better to do (joking!!) I wanted to add to her growing list

  14. Cindy Lietz, 28 October, 2013

    Hi Sherry, yeah I saw that video too. I haven’t even heard of that product before so I’ll have to look into it. In another video that lady mentioned that Iris Mishly told her the product gets sticky. The Pandora lady said it won’t get sticky if used in thick layers instead of thin, which is strange advice, since usually glazes get sticky if they are done in too thick a layer instead of several thin ones. (Glazes often will dry on the top but not all the way through when they are put on thickly.) Any way, sounds like something to test for myself. I’ll put it on my list.

  15. Tante Sherry, 28 October, 2013

    Thank you a lot Cindy:)
    you know if it works as a clear thick coat that would be great
    I never did get up the courage to try epoxy
    I should work on that:)
    again thank you for taking the time and money to do these tests for us!

  16. Nichole L, 27 December, 2013

    I have been looking for something like this for some small animal charms I’m in the process of making I almost got gilders paste but I’m going to end up giving these a try. Thank you so much for sharing so many awesome videos. I’ve purchased renaissance wax because of your tutorials and I love using it on my small custom pet sculptures it’s really a lovely finish. I do about 3 coats of it.

  17. Rachel Wainwright, 03 June, 2015

    I was just wondering whether for a crackled finish on polymer clay, whether inka gold paint or daler rowney pearlescent acrylic inks would be best? I have only tried the ink so far with good results. Any information would be appreciated!

  18. Cindy Lietz, 05 June, 2015

    Hi Rachel, I have not used either of those products for a crackled technique yet, so I am sorry I can’t tell you what is best. It sounds like a fun thing to add to my test list though…

  19. Nancy Yasuoka, 26 May, 2016

    Hi Cindy,
    Just wondering if you have ever tried the DecoArt Metallic Luster? Came across that at Michaels when looking for the Inka Gold and seems to be very similar. Also some new products are the Art C Luxe paint and Wax paste. Very tempting. Thanks for all you do.

  20. Cindy Lietz, 27 May, 2016

    Hi Nancy those items you mentioned are all on my list of things to get and test. I too am curious on how they would fair with polymer clay.

  21. Darina D, 08 August, 2016

    Hi Cindy,

    I love your videos – you’ve got such a great knack for communicating all these awesome tips and tricks for PC projects. I’ve been trying to find a product that would give a gold lustre look on polymer clay – a few of the ones that i’ve tried haven’t really hit the mark. Thanks for sharing all your info so we can have fun creating!!

  22. amy ocain, 08 January, 2018

    Can inks gold be mixed into translucent or liquid polymer clay to color It? Has anyone tried this?

  23. Cindy Lietz, 08 January, 2018

    Hi Amy, I don’t know whether that would work or not. I have not tested it. If you have both of these products already, why don’t you test it yourself and see what happens?

  24. Marjana Hafner, 05 November, 2019

    Hello.
    I am Marjana 70 years old from Slovenia. My English is bad, sorry.
    Please help.
    I am an amateur polymer jewelry maker and I love Inka Gold.
    How do I protect a product with varnish, paste or how? Im asking for help
    At home I have Fimo lack, Renaissance wax polish ..
    I’ll get what you say.
    Thank you very much
    Marjana Hafner

  25. Cindy Lietz, 07 November, 2019

    Hi Marjana, nice to meet you!

    To be honest I haven’t used Inka Gold that much. I only have a metallic Blue color (which doesn’t work with everything) and the container keeps getting mold in it, even though I have cleaned removed the mold and sterilized the surface with rubbing alcohol several times.

    The pieces I did use it for were in this video and I didn’t use a sealer on them. I do know that Renaissance Wax does not work, it removes it. I did some research and Ginger Davis Allman from Blue Bottle Tree has done some tests using Final Coat a product from Shades Of Clay, and she said so far so good.

    Others have used Fimo Lack with success and since you have some of that, I would start there. I also read that some people use Acrylic Varnishes, but some said hey can smudge a bit. Also, since you do love Inka Gold and are using it, it would probably be a good idea to do some test samples yourself and see what works best for you.

    I am sorry I can’t be of better help than that. Good luck!

  26. Roxanne Parsons, 25 September, 2020

    Cindy, I had several jars of Inka Gold because Helen Breil had recommended it some years back. I found it dried out. I tried using water, glycerin and even alcohol, to no avail. It became unworkable and I had to throw it out. Gilders Paste, on the other hand, I seem to be able to soften. What have you found as you’ve used it over the years?

  27. Cindy Lietz, 01 October, 2020

    Yeah, my Inka Gold went moldy, so I had to scrape off the mold, clean the surface with rubbing alcohol and it was fine… but I just went to check on mine (I haven’t used it in a few years now) and they are hard as a rock! So I guess, although when brand new they were lovely on polymer clay… they aren’t exactly a great return on investment are they?!

    Gilders paste is definitely better but I have found that they dry out too and I have had to keep adding paint thinner to them to get them useable again.

    These days, I think PanPastel are a much better product… they don’t have any of these issues… though I only have three colors and haven’t purchased the metallic ones yet.

  28. Colleen T, 11 October, 2020

    Hi Cindy,

    Do you think it would be possible to make small beads out of clay? I’m thinking of 6/0 or 8/0 seed beads.

    Thanks you and I love all the amazing tutorials you have.

  29. Cindy Lietz, 19 October, 2020

    It would definitely be possible, but it would be a royal pain in the butt! :)

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