I then came across an article posted by Lindly Huanani titled "Stop the Glop". As soon as I read it, I knew we were finally on to something. The article was regarding how so many people try to add all sorts of glazes on their polymer clay pieces when you really do not need anything at all. She went on to mention about using an archival type wax such as Renaissance.
We decided to give it a try and were amazed at the beautiful finish it gave! This is what we discovered and how we prefer to use it.
1. Sand your pieces first until you have a nice smooth finish. You will find instructions on sanding your pieces in the "Polymer Clay Tips" section at the top of this blog.
2. Apply the wax to your clay pieces and allow to "dry or soak in" for a minimum of 10 minutes. The longer you leave it, the better the finish.
3. To remove the wax we use two different cloths. One is a piece of a cotton rag for wiping off the excess wax . The second cloth is used for buffing such as an old rag t-shirt or piece of denim.
4. For a high shine, after (or instead of) the second buffing by hand with the cloth, you can buff your piece with a buffing wheel.
We use a simple dremel set-up in a drill press for easier handling (as shown).
We did not like the buffing pads that you buy for the dremel as they were too harsh so we followed Desiree McCrorey's instructions for making your own. The most difficult part was finding the right material. We tried various types of fabrics and discovered they are all not the same. Some of them were so harsh they would actually damage the clay piece. When we found the right material we could not believe the difference it made. Our pieces buffed up to a high shine in a matter of seconds when using just the "lightest touch".
You can make your own buffing pads like we did, or if you would prefer to purchase them already made we now have more available in our ArtFire studio. We sell them in a pack of three so they will last you a while. (Just click on the photo below to order.)
