To glaze or not to glaze & What is you favourite finish

DevonGlassLass

and if you do glaze what is your favourite.

I'm so new to this polymer clay thing that I've only tried a few and am still not sure about these things but I'll share my experiences with you.

I am favouring sculpey matt glaze at the moment. It appears to have less grab than Fimo gloss. I do like fimo gloss for the shine and don't worry about putting it on earrings that have minimal contact with the skin. But I do worry about how these two glazes will react with the skin over time.

Perhaps I need to pop these back in the oven for a few minutes to harden them off or is it just a matter of time between coats? It has been rather muggy lately and maybe that is affecting things.

I did try to add a thick coating of liquid fimo but it wasn't nearly as clear or shiny as I liked. I will try resin next. Can you glaze with resin and is this a better more durable surface?

I'm trying to find Johnsons Klear Floor finish (tesco is the nearest and then Morrisons - we don't have an asda nearby).

I'm keen to try no glaze but I don't have a dremel and therefore getting a really good shine is difficult. I've managed a soft shine on my sweats after a little work with the sanding pads (not wet sandpaper) but since I like foil and inks a coating would seem to be necessary.

Anyway I hope some of you will share your preferences for glazing or not and which glazes you like and whether I need to be worried about necklaces which feature glazed beads being saleable/wearable.

Michele Daisy

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Hedgelands Glass Gems: handmade jewellery and stained glass. Now select designs available on Etsy -

ejralph · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:52 am Post subject:

I have a horrible feeling that Johnson's have stopped making Klear now. Which is why it has vanished from the supermarkets. If you find any, stockpile it - that is my advice! It creates a fantastic, durable coating if you have the patience to build up the layers since it is quite thin.

The Fimo waterbased glaze is really nice too. Or just buffing with a buffing wheel. If you have a bench grinder, they can be adapted to buffing wheels pretty easily.

The American forums swear by Varathane acrylic gloss. I picked some up when I was over the pond last but can't say as I took to it myself. Too gloopy. But there may be equivalent acrylic based varnishes here in the UK that we just don't know about. All it takes is for someone to try it out on clay and wait about 10 years to be sure it doesn't react in anyway!

What is most important with any varnishing though I think is patience. All these acrylic based products need time to really cure - not just dry. Generally speaking, they might be touch-dry after an hour or two, but they don't really set hard for around 24 hours or so IME.

Some people heat-set their varnished beads by putting them back into the oven.

As with all things polymer, you just gotta experiment, experiment, experiment. Because what works for one person doesn't always seem to work for another. We each find our own unique favourite ways of doing stuff don't we!

Emma

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beadnut · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:57 am Post subject:

Emma roughly how may coats of Klear would you suggest?

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Hilary

ejralph · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 10:48 am Post subject:

beadnut wrote:

Emma roughly how may coats of Klear would you suggest?

I guess it depends on the look you want to achieve. I would just try making some test tiles if I were you and having a good old experiment!

If you make some tiles that have say, a little bit of metal leaf on, a little bit of texture, a bit of inks - basically whatever types of things you like to do with clay. And then try varnishing them, doing one tile with 1 coat, another with 2 coats and so on. You can then build up a picture of what the product will do in different circumstances.

These sorts of tests are invaluable. Because you can keep those tiles to hand and always refer back to them. You might find that textured items look really good with one coat only say, but items with inks or metallic clays look better with multiple coats.

HTH

Emma Daisy

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LoopyLou · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 10:57 am Post subject:

Glazing isn't for me, hun. I only sand and polish.

I'm not a fan of the real glossy glazes, although the matt and satin aren't too bad.

I just think that pieces look more professional without the high shine finish. Only my personal opinion mind.

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LORRAINE

DevonGlassLass · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject:

Thanks for your replies and keep them coming Thumbs up

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Hedgelands Glass Gems: handmade jewellery and stained glass. Now select designs available on Etsy -

Cherie · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject:

I bought Jonsons Klear from asda quite recently. It does take a few coats though. I too love the sand and buff method. dead therapeutic with a large glass of wine to hand

ejralph · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:36 pm Post subject:

Cherie wrote:

I bought Jonsons Klear from asda quite recently. It does take a few coats though. I too love the sand and buff method. dead therapeutic with a large glass of wine to hand

I'll send you all my sanding then and a big box of Red. Knock yourself out Mr. Green

I hate sanding, hate cleaning lampwork and hate prepping my ceramics for firing. Love the end results though, so all worth it in the end isnt it!

Emma Daisy

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beadnut · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:37 am Post subject:

Thanks Emma for your full reply - that is such a good idea to make several tiles with different coatings. Now why didn't I think of that? Embarassed

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Hilary

ejralph · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:44 am Post subject:

beadnut wrote:

Thanks Emma for your full reply - that is such a good idea to make several tiles with different coatings. Now why didn't I think of that? Embarassed

Like so many things, it is simply a concept borrowed from ceramic work where you make test tiles to see how different glaze recipes fire. I even have books for ceramics, with hundreds of photos of other people's test tiles Shocked

I am a test tile nerd I am afraid. Anything and everything that I try to use with polymer clay gets run through a whole slew of tests. "What does it do if I try this, if I try that, if I try the other..."

The good thing about test tiles is if you have a lousy memory, as I do, you always have the record to hand.

I number all tiles I make and make notes about them in a book. If I were to just test things out on beads or jewellery, chances are that would be sold or gifted away and I would not remember much of what I learned from that experiment 6 months down the line.

Emma Daisy

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BeadinLovely · Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:49 pm Post subject:

Klear can be tricky to find; it seems we're no longer keen on 50's floors like shiny ice-rinks! I hope it's not being discontinued. Crying

I love it and use it for reviving el cheapo furniture/laminates (don't use it on your good wood) as well as various craft projects including polymer clay. Marvellous stuff.

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Sarah
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DevonGlassLass · Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:04 pm Post subject:

I found an online supplier (British Foods!) though I haven't ordered any yet. I want to check Rainbow and Morrisons first.

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Hedgelands Glass Gems: handmade jewellery and stained glass. Now select designs available on Etsy -

Made4UbyRuth · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:25 pm Post subject:

Hi
I am a new member. Have just started Polymer Clay beads myself because the supplier I used had stopped making the beads.

I have 2 necklaces I made from the bought polymer clay beads

They are varnished and so I have tried Eberhard Faber varnish especially for fimo - it looks from the bottle as though it is suitable for toys so hope it is also non allergenic and my local craft shop recommended it

Hope this helps

Ruth

alatariel · Beginning Beader Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Posts: 87

Arrgh they've stopped making 'Klear'!???

I love using it, although sometimes the just sanded and buffed look is enough.

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Nan
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LoopyLou · Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:24 am Post subject:

You can get some Klear here: (at the mo, anyway).

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Bit expensive this guy though.

This one sells in bulk so you could stock up, Very Happy

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LORRAINE