Good varnish for polymer clay?

MagDee

Hello there people of arts and crafts

I've been very busy getting better at handling polymer clay, making jewellery, cake toppers and such with mixed media. And as usual at some point i had to form my own opinion about the mainstream supplies, i.e. varnishes/glazes. I've tried Fimo one and Sculpey Studio (all three, matte, satin, glossy, no huge difference in them unfortunately, i was hoping for a matte varnish) and I don't like them. They don't create the high gloss finish like you can see on the bead artists photos, the more layers the more shine but less detail and "cloudiness" of some kind happens. I have searched for some artitsts opinion on that and apparently there are better and cheaper varnishes, like http://www.polyclay.com/varathane.htm this one for example. All of the opinions i found tho were for US based artists, so the brands are not carried in Irish stores. I was wondering if anyone did any research/tests on good not yellowing high gloss and matte varnishes in Ireland?

and are there any polymer clay artists active on boards or only scrapbooking people

TreasureBin

MagDee wrote: »

Hello there people of arts and crafts

I've been very busy getting better at handling polymer clay, making jewellery, cake toppers and such with mixed media. And as usual at some point i had to form my own opinion about the mainstream supplies, i.e. varnishes/glazes. I've tried Fimo one and Sculpey Studio (all three, matte, satin, glossy, no huge difference in them unfortunately, i was hoping for a matte varnish) and I don't like them. They don't create the high gloss finish like you can see on the bead artists photos, the more layers the more shine but less detail and "cloudiness" of some kind happens. I have searched for some artitsts opinion on that and apparently there are better and cheaper varnishes, like http://www.polyclay.com/varathane.htm this one for example. All of the opinions i found tho were for US based artists, so the brands are not carried in Irish stores. I was wondering if anyone did any research/tests on good not yellowing high gloss and matte varnishes in Ireland?
and are there any polymer clay artists active on boards or only scrapbooking people

It's usually the oil-based varnishes that yellow, the acrylic ones stay clear. I haven't tried this on clay but you can get high-gloss decoupage varnish (for 3D pictures). Maybe that might work for you? And I'm wondering if nail varnish would work on beads?

briscotti

i have read that 'diamond glaze' works well, and also that yacht varnish does!

MagDee

briscotti wrote: »

i have read that 'diamond glaze' works well, and also that yacht varnish does!

nice, is the diamond glaze available in ireland, do u know?

thank you for the info

briscotti

"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Diamond Glaze™[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
is a dimensional adhesive that dries to a clear glass-like finish. It securely holds vellum, Embossable Window Plastic, glass beads, glitter and many other mediums. Unlike other clear adhesives, Diamond Glaze™ is mixable with dye-based inks, watercolor, pearlescent pigments and more."

I have not seen it in craft shops but I have not been looking for it, your best bet would probably be ebay if you have access to buying online.


I have also found this link which might be useful to you?
http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/finishing.html
[/FONT]

looksee

You also need to polish polymer clay with very fine sandpaper. This is a very helpful website http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/finishing.html

neelyohara

MagDee wrote: »

nice, is the diamond glaze available in ireland, do u know?

Oooh... I love diamond glaze! I initially ordered it from the UK and soon afterwards I found it in cork art supplies. It leaves a really high gloss finish on your work... I haven't used it with clay but I don't have any complaints about it. I've mainly used it on paper beads and the end result is a shiny, smooth bead that is rock solid (I've accidentally stood on them and they retain their shape!). I've four bottles next to me... I love the stuff

I haven't used Fimo but I had a pre-christmas splurge of... *counting them* 24 packets of Fimo (my excuse is they were reasonably priced!). I was planning to make beads from a cane and use diamond glaze as varnish.

I've used paper clay and efa plast but normally painted over them with acrylics and then good old diamond glaze.

looksee

neelyohara wrote: »

Oooh... I love diamond glaze! I initially ordered it from the UK and soon afterwards I found it in cork art supplies. It leaves a really high gloss finish on your work... I haven't used it with clay but I don't have any complaints about it. I've mainly used it on paper beads and the end result is a shiny, smooth bead that is rock solid (I've accidentally stood on them and they retain their shape!). I've four bottles next to me... I love the stuff

I haven't used Fimo but I had a pre-christmas splurge of... *counting them* 24 packets of Fimo (my excuse is they were reasonably priced!). I was planning to make beads from a cane and use diamond glaze as varnish.

I've used paper clay and efa plast but normally painted over them with acrylics and then good old diamond glaze.

*mutters* 'I don't need any diamond glaze. I don't need any diamond glaze. I don't need any of anything till I have used a good bit of what I have got'

MagDee

neelyohara wrote: »

Oooh... I love diamond glaze! I initially ordered it from the UK and soon afterwards I found it in cork art supplies. It leaves a really high gloss finish on your work... I haven't used it with clay but I don't have any complaints about it. I've mainly used it on paper beads and the end result is a shiny, smooth bead that is rock solid (I've accidentally stood on them and they retain their shape!). I've four bottles next to me... I love the stuff

I haven't used Fimo but I had a pre-christmas splurge of... *counting them* 24 packets of Fimo (my excuse is they were reasonably priced!). I was planning to make beads from a cane and use diamond glaze as varnish.

I've used paper clay and efa plast but normally painted over them with acrylics and then good old diamond glaze.

Hahahahah 24 Fimo sounds good and also if you ever need any tips on techniques (did u know u can emboss cured clay?:) ) and supplies let me know and if you're near Co. Wicklow we can set up a joint Fimo session I'll try that Diamond Glaze soon, i'm fed up with the polymer clay glazes. As long as diamond glaze is water based and not oil based

MagDee

looksee wrote: »

You also need to polish polymer clay with very fine sandpaper. This is a very helpful website http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/finishing.html

yeah i know, i've up to 2000 from 320 sandpaper. but since my surfaces are quite complex it's a really hard work anything above 800-1200 is really just unecessary, i prefer to put th eclay in the oven after i sand at 1200 that takes care of the fine lines. and i buff the clay with the cotton and felt on the drill.