Video #661: Mine did! But don’t fret… here’s why it happens… and more importantly… here is what you can do about it.
Topics Covered In This Video:
- Today we are talking about how to fix moldy Inka Gold Metallic Rub.
- A while ago I did a demonstration on how to use Inka Gold Metallic Paints on Polymer Clay.
- We used the Inka Gold on raw and baked polymer clay… and found that it was compatible with polymer, but needed to be added to raw polymer and then baked in order for it to be durable.
- Then a viewer said she was having trouble with their Inka Gold going moldy. I checked mine at the time and it was fine.
- However, a few months later, I opened my blue Inka Gold and found that it had indeed gone moldy too!
- The mold was not on all the jars… just the Blue, so I did some research to figure out what was wrong and how to fix/avoid it.
- Apparently, if you dip your finger into the pot of Inka Gold, you can introduce bacteria from your fingers that you picked up from the environment… and because this product is water based, and has wax and stuff in it, mold can grow on it’s surface… especially in a warm or moist environment.
- But… you don’t have to throw your moldy product away! Simply remove the mold with a scraping tool of some sort, and the clean the surface with an antibacterial wipe, or a cloth with disinfectant on it.
- The next time you use the rub, just remove a small amount (NOT using your finger), or use a clean cloth so that you aren’t reintroducing new bacteria to the container.
- Related Video: Tips for Using Inka Gold On Polymer Clay
- Related Video: Using Gilder’s Paste on Your Polymer Clay
- Related Article: 5 Creative Tips For Using Acrylic Craft Paints
- Related Video: Make Your Own Crackle Paint
Do you have any suggestions for videos on tips, techniques or products you would like to learn more about? Let me know in the comments section below!
My goal is to help you to learn quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.
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Great info. Thank you! These are kind of pricey to have to toss, so glad to know there is a fix if this happens.
Very interesting information Cindy. Kind of like cheese, you can always scrape a little mold off and the rest is still consumable. Of course we are not eating Inka Gold, LOL, also a good idea to keep all of this stuff up and away from little hands as they might look at it as candy or sweets.
Wat is the difference between Gilders Paste and Inca Gold? They look really similar. Gilders paste definitely has a shoe polish smell.
Ok, so call me crazy but I love that waxy shoe polish smell. :-). It reminds me of all the years I saw (and smelled) my dad polish his army boots. I opened up one of my gilders tins one time and closed my eyes and took a deep breath, unaware that my husband was watching me. He goes “are you sniffing your gilders paste again?” I just smiled at him and said “yes……yes I am.” :-)
You’re funny Karen!
Hi Anna, sorry to have missed this… Inca Gold is more like a whipped metallic paint. It is water based rather than solvent based like the Gilder’s Paste is but I do believe it also has wax in it, like the GP. There really isn’t much smell at all. The two are similar but different. Try them both and see what you think.
This happened to me! Good to know how to fix it., and how to prevent it from happening next time. I haven’t opened my jar in forever because I know it’s so moldy on the inside. Will have to use this tip, thanks!
Hi Cindy,
You mentioned to put inka gold on unbaked clay……what about gilders paste do you put it on baked or unbaked clay? Your videos are wonderful I learn so much from them….I just purchased both inka gold and gilders paste and didn’t know how to use them, but thanks to you I know now how to use them…..you’re the best.
Hi Kathay, type the words Gilders Paste into the search box and you will see that I have already done a video on how to use it on polymer clay.
I love the shoe polish smell of Gilders Paste. Inc gold is easier to find locally, I have seen it at Hobby Lobby and I always have to order Gilders paste from a web site. You can use gilder paste on unbaked clay and some people use it in Mokume Gane between sheets of translucent. It does melt during the baking process because it is wax based but that can give you a cool look. Gilders paste does dry out but Cindy has a tut on making it come back to life.
Anna
Cool info Anna!
I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here it goes: I’ve seen a few people saying that you could emulate liquid polymer clay by just using water or olive oil and the clay of your choice. Is that really an option? Because where I live I can’t seem to find tls/liquid policlay anywhere, and an alternative for frosting donuts and that sort of thing would be more than welcome.
I was wondering if you could make a video regarding that subject.
Cheers,
Julia
Hi Julia, this place is just fine for your question, though posting a question like this would be best suited on a post onthe same subject, like ‘liquid clay’ or something. (You can find relevant posts easily by using the search box at the top of the page.)
Any way, as far as making your own liquid clay… I would have to test that, but making a translucent version that was as strong as the real stuff may be more complicated than just diluting clay with oil. For frosting however, there would be such a high ratio of clay to oil, that you can definitely just add a few drops of mineral oil to some clay to make a decent quality of frosting/icing. I just would not expect to get a nice clear shiny replacement for TLS if you planned to use in a lot of other techniques.