Video #752: The makers of this unique sanding tool from Belgium, sent me a demo unit to test out. Here are my initial thoughts…
Testing the Poly-Fast polymer clay sanding tool on polymer clay. This vibratory sander helps you to get rid of fingerprints and other unwanted markings in short order. It’s another sampler clip from our PcT Studio Cam video series.
Soon, I will be doing a full review of this hand-held Poly-fast vibratory sander. So if if there is anything specific that you would like to know about, do let me know in the comment section below.
- Related Resource: PolyFast Sander For Polymer Clay
- Related Video: Sanding and Buffing Your Polymer Clay Is Worth It
- Related Video: Micromesh Sanding Abrasives
- Related Article: Wet Sanding Polymer Clay
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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Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Does the batteries last a long time?
That is a problem I have seen with battery operating tools.
Hi Hermine, I don’t know actually, that is something that I will figure out before I do the full review. I have used the tool for less than an hour and the batteries have been fine so far. I would imagine that you would want recharable ones for something like this. I was kind of surprised that you had to add batteries. I would way rather have it plugged in (or chargeable). Batteries are a pain and expensive.
I think I would like to buy one of those Polyfast Sanding Tools NOW because my achy old hands just do not cope with manual sanding very well. Just as the NeverKnead quickly became a very good friend in my hobby room I can see this “gadget” also making my clay life much happier.
As long as your hands can handle the vibration, I think it is a great little machine. It is easy to hold and the different grits are a nice size… way better than those tiny little tootbrush sanders people were making. It seems like a pretty good option for many folks.
Hope someone can suggest an answer to my question. I am in the market for a color laser printer for transfers. I’m looking for one that would do transfers with regular paper or photo type papers. The printer models are always changing can you recommend a current or new model that would work? Thank you! And PS.. thank you Cindy for directing me here!
Hi Joanne, I have a black and white laser printer and an Epson color ink jet print. I haven’t purchased a color laser printer and therefore am not the best person to give you advice that. Hopefully someone else will pop in here with some good recommendations for you… who can help Joanne out?
I just went through reviewing and purchasing a toner printer. I tried out many at Staples and took the text papers home and used them with my polymer clay. I decided to forgo the color laser printer and go with the Brother MFC 2700 which was $129.00 at Staples. The toner cartage was 39 for 10,000 sheet print, but since amazon had it lower, they honored the price. I was tempted to go with a color laser from HP for $399 but each toner cartridge was $100 (for 10,000 sheet print) each. After trying the toner color on polymer I decided that I’d prefer to use b/w and color w/alcohol pens after baking rather than front the cost and loose the coloring creativity.
Hope this helps.
best,
Lori
Thanks for the info Lori. That was actually a really good idea about going with a black and white and color w/alcohol pens. Wish I had thought of it.
I ended up getting a Samsung Xpress color. Yes the cartridges are way to expensive. I’m in the process of moving so I haven’t and won’t for a while, have a chance to try it out :( Because of the cost I will ONLY use it for color transfers. The black cartridge is less expensive so I will be trying what you suggested. Again Thanks!
JoAnne
I really like the look of this — looking forward to the whole video. I looked (very quickly) at their site, but had no idea what currency it was in (didn’t recognize the symbol). Very interested in the price, and especially shipping from overseas(somewhere;-). You do SUCH a great job with all your videos and I look forward to seeing the new site (I have not been watching very long). Watching the videos is what I do when I need some ‘happy time’. Thanks!
Thank You Barbara for the kind words. The price the Poly-Fast Website was in Euros, which I believe is fairly close to the US dollar right now. When I do the full review I will make sure to look into whether they have distributors in North America or plan to in the future.
Hi, did you do the full review yet? I am thinking of getting this, however, wondering if you’re still liking this tool?! Is it holding up after the use?
Interested.
best,
Lori
Hi Lori, I haven’t done a full review of it actually, because i haven’t had a lot of time to play with it. Other than the fact that the velcro tends to become separated from the foam and the fact that it needs batteries. it seems to be a pretty good little machine. Of course I would need to work with it longer to say whether or not it is the best bang for your buck, but so far it seems like it would be quite useful for people.
Thanks for showing it in action. I didn’t end up buying the Jool tool as shipping cost to Australia was enough to buy another machine plus lots of accessories…..this tool seems reasonable, but like you said batteries are such a pain even rechargeable ones, better to have a plugged in one. I’m interested to see the full review, I want to find out how long the valcro sandpaper will last. I’m also interested to know if they have a buffer too or if it’s just a sanding tool. Love seeing you like always! Excited about the new website! :)
Hi Joyce, there is an Australian distributor 2wardsPolymerClay, which will cut back that shipping issue dramatically. I agree with the battery thing, though if you bought regarables, that would help. The sand paper will last quite a long time and the packages of refills were pretty resonable. I will look into it much further and will have better advice for you when I get around to doing the full review. For now I need to get back to that website… :)
You must have seen it sold there before? Because I just went to their site and looked under ‘sanding and polishing’ and ‘tools’ section, Jools tool is not there. Searched it by name as well and couldn’t find it on their website. :( They do sell other tools that I’m interested though, so I will check them out. :)
Here’s the link Joyce: Poly-Fast Sanding Kit (2 Wards Site)
Oh, I thought you were talking about the Jool tool sold in Australia. Thanks for the link! I plan to get it :)
Thanks for this demonstration Cindy. It’s an interesting tool. I made one of those toothbrush sanders years ago. LOL. I don’t think it ever really worked for me (but it’s still in it’s little plastic pouch in my studio with all the little circles of sandpaper I cut out). I quickly moved on to the tumbler, and now my :heart: Jooltool. :-) I like the fact that the Poly-fast is so portable though. I’m interested in seeing you put it through move of it’s paces. Thanks again!
Yeah the toothbrush sander idea never seemed like a good one to me… the disks are just too small and the work too high to make them. This tool is a little different though, the disks are a decent size and the vibrations work quite well for sanding. My favorite tool by far is the JoolTool (there’sno vibration to deal with) but it is way out of some peoples price range. This tool seems to be a happy medium. Does a decent job at a reasonable price point.
I had the KitchenMaid power scrubber that I converted to a sander a few years ago. It vibrated my hand so much it took hours for the sensation to go away. How is the vibration on the poly-fast sander? I, too, wish there was a corded option. As the batteries wear down (quickly) on my power scrubber, it took much longer to achieve the desired results.
Hi Heather, I can totally relate to the uncomfortable sensation caused by the vibrations. This machine does have a bit of a buffer that displaces some of the vibration but not all of it. If you are sensitive I would try using a different type of machine for sanding. You can use a bench top grinder/buffer fitted with an abrasive wheel or a JoolTool. They are more expensive but there is no vibration so I find them much more comfortable to use for long period of time.
Hi Cindy, After studying everything I could find on Polymer clay for a very long time (I’m old), I just made my first few canes. I find your tutorials so interesting and informative. Thank you so much! I am going to join up too. The Amazon site links don’t work for me as I am in Australia. Any ideas? Also, I couldn’t find the LIKE button :-). I LIKE!!
Hugs, Carol
Hi Carol, thank you for saying such sweet words! I am very pleased that you are getting so much out of what you are learning here. In regards to ‘liking’ the videos… for some reason when we embed a YouTube video is onto the blog, the like button seems to not be there. Unfortunately the only way to actually like the video is to watch it on YouTube (if you click the words YouTube that are just under the video in the bottom right-hand corner then it will take you right there where you can click the thumbs up button.) I wish I knew of an easier way to do it. Also, I don’t have any ideas for how to get these products in Australia, other than just Googling it. Perhaps someone else here from Australia has a suggestion for you? There are many others in this group from there that may have the resources you are looking for. Hugs to you as well!
Hi, I’m from Sydney. Not sure which Amazon link you are referring to as there
is no Amazon link in this current thread that I can see. What Cindy said is
what I would do too. Sometimes products available on Amazon cannot be
shipped to Australia, is this what you mean? If so, then this is to do with
the seller putting a restriction on where they want to ship to, otherwise
everythingbis easily searchable through google. The only link i can see in
this thread is the handheld sander. I just googled the name of the store and
what I’m looking for and here is the URL: 2 Wards Polymer Clay
Hope this helps ;)
Thank you Cindy and Joyce for your help. I did try the link and it worked fine. Now I have to save up for it :). It is so nice to communicate with you and see your happy face so I know who I’m talking to. Thanks for your prompt reply. Hugs, Carol
Update from a Poly-Fast Sander user. I love this tool. I have been using it for over a month now & it works beautifully. The batteries lasted for a month for me, so it doesn’t appear to use then up too quickly. The only thing I would suggest for US users is to research the differences in the grit designations. A number of the grits that are supplied are a little course for polymer. You will want to put those pads to the side & add some of the other higher grits that are available. I did have to re-attach the velcro to the unit with some E6000, but I forgot to use my card for removing sanding discs several times. All in all, very pleased.
DixieMarieDesigns
Thank you so much Dixie Marie for the Polyfast update! You results are pretty much what I expected them to be, but just hadn’t had the time to prove it. Thanks for letting everyone know! :)
Hi Cindy, I just wondered if you had done a full review on the Poly Fast Hand Sanding tool?
Hi Tracey I have not done a full review of the PolyFast tool actually. I haven’t had enough time to play with it. But if you look at Dixie Marie’s comment above, you will see that she has been using hers for awhile now and loves it!
Cindy, love your tutorials, I learn alot from you and am loving Polymer Clay a little too much. I wanted to tell you the poly-fast sander works great on resin pieces too. Especially on edges. I use the finest sandpaper though and frankly well used too not to risk scratching the acrylic. So far so good. I am going to try polishing scratched resin pieces with a polish recommended by Fran at Little-windows.com I think it starts with a Z I will let you know how that turns out. its in her tutorial where she tests all sorts of ways to revitalize older discolored and scratched resin pieces.
I have used it to take a coating of resin off polymer clay too, if there is a mistake on there I don’t like. I may have to repaint before putting another layer of resin on but the polyfast does work to remove or smooth down bumpy layers so you can fix up the piece. Fran was worried it wouldn’t work on resin as you are supposed to polish in a circular fashion with the polish paste and not side-to-side like the polyfast but I think its going to work just fine based on what I have seen so far.
Anyway the reason I am writing is to ask if you still know how to contact the woman that sent you the little funky tool set. Her Etsy site does not exist. I found a website that is probably hers but all in a foreign language. I also found another littlefunkyflames wordpress site, but I couldn’t find any way on there to purchase or contact her. Can you help. I got the round ones from MyMandarinDuck on Etsy, but she only sells the round ones I think. I want the ovals and teardrops too.
Hi Amy I am so sorry for taking so long to respond. As far as the Little Funky Tools, I am afraid she has shut down her business. I do have an alternate place you can buy them though. It is through another polymer clay artist named Aniko. Here is my affiliate link to her set of those mini cutters, if you are interested.
Hello Cindy,
I enjoyed your video on the Poly Fast Sander. I just want to know how much it is and does it come with buffing pads as well?
Thank you
Robbyn
Hi Robbyn, just under the video is a link to the product website that has the current pricing. It is around the 50 Euros mark (you’ll have to check with them on US dollar amount and shipping and all that.) And yes you get some sanding disks with the tool.
Hi
I have sent 2 emails to Poly-fast asking how to buy their sanding tool in the US.
I haven’t heard from them. Are they still in business?
Do you know of a company that sells to the US market?
Thanks.
Esther
Hi Ester, I don’t know of a US distributor but they do ship worldwide so you probably could just order from them. If you don’t want to do that you can go to the Poly-fast.com website and look at the bottom of the page, you will find links to their partners and retailers worldwide. That should help you find the info you need. Good luck!