Description:
Many people are interested in incorporating polymer clay into their jewelry but may not know where to start.
To get started the first thing you need to know is that polymer clay, such as Premo by Sculpey, or Kato Polyclay, are very well suited for jewelry because they are strong, easy to work with for the wide range of techniques we use, and come in a host of colors suitable for mixing or using right from the package.
The best way to get started with polymer clay is to get some and start playing with it to get the feel for it. Roll it, twist, smoosh it. Mix a few colors. Experiment with opaque colors, and with the pearlized colors containing mica such as gold, silver, and copper.
Basic tools include an acrylic roller rod (looks like a rolling pin without handles) or a clay-dedicated pasta machine, a couple of sharp clay or tissue blades, and a needle tool or bamboo skewer for making holes. You will also need a good work surface such as a tile, which will hold the clay still while you work on it, but will release the clay when you need to pick it up. An oven thermometer is essential and DON'T rely on the built-in one in your oven no matter how new or high-tech it is. Heat spikes are death to polymer clay, and you need an unattached thermometer to monitor temperature. Add a few colors of polymer clay, and you can get started making basic beads and focals.
If you are going to make lots of beads, you will eventually want to have a bead rack which comes with pins to pierce the beads and suspend them during baking so they won't have flat spots. Until you are ready to invest in a bead rack, you can rest your beads on polyester batting for baking and they won't get flat shiny spots on the bottom.
If finger prints are going to make you nuts, you will want some disposable latex gloves. If you don't care much about fingerprints, this is optional.
For finishing your beads, you will need wet/dry sand paper from the automotive paint section of the hardware store. You will want 400, 600, 800 and 1,000 grit at the minimum. Some artists also use 1,200 and even 1,500 grit papers for final finsishing. Eventually you might want to invest in an inexpensive tumbler to sand large quantities of beads while you spend your time doing something other than sanding by hand.
For buffing you can use denim, as in an old pair of jeans, to get a nice sheen. A rotary tool with a muslin wheel will be nice later on but is not necessary in the beginning.
If you want your beads really shiny, you can coat them with 2-3 coats of a sealer such as water based Varathane or Future Acrylic Floor Finish (lately renamed to Pledge with Future, still the same stuff). Artists have also had good success with Diamond Glaze or resin. Not all sealers are chemically compatible with polymer clay so be careful here. Some seem fine at first, but later they can react and get sticky or gummy, or can peel off.
For cleaning up, baby wipes can do a good job of rubbing residue off your hands, wiping down blades, etc. My preference, though, is to use something containing petroleum distilate because it's much faster and more thorough in cleaning. WD-40 fits this category. So does Orange Glo Furniture Polish (smells good, too!) Just be VERY sure to follow up with soap and water to remove any remaining cleaner.
This is a very good article for those who are just starting out and know nothing about polymer clay use. I would, however, like to make some comments for those who might be a little more into it...even newbies can use this, too.
The wet/dry sandpaper is an absolute must! There's no way, even using gloves, you will be able to get prints and marks off your beads. You will HAVE to sand eventually, unless you want mediocre beads. You have to ensure you've removed as much of the nicks, prints, gouges, etc. that may have occured on the beads before baking. Smooth them with your fingers, roll them lightly, whatever it takes. The smoother they are, the less work you have to do after they've cured. Gloves are great, but unless they fit like a second skin, you'll get grooves and marks on your beads. Here's my absolute biggest caveat about working with polymer clay: CUT YOUR FINGERNAILS!!! No way, no how are you going to avoid gouging and marking your clay with fingernails. If you're serious about your PC work, then the nails have to go.
You don't really need a bead rack...I've been making beads for years and have never used one. I pierce my beads with my needle tool (which NO polymer clay user should be without), then put them on a mandrel and lay them on batting to cure. The mandrel can be anything as simple as the floral wire you can find anywhere, or the mandrels used in lampworking. The problem I find with those beadracks is that they place the pins too close together, the pins aren't long enough, so they keep slipping off, and I can't get as many bigger beads on it. I also don't like trying to finesse some big piece of steel into my oven...it's much easier to put the beads on a mandrel and lay out as many mandrels in my oven as I can.
Buffing with denim is great for a matte finish. DO NOT use a rotary tool on your beads unless you are an expert at using one. Practice with some trash beads A LOT before moving on to "keeper" beads. You WILL destroy your beads with a rotary tool unless you know exactly how to use one. I bought a Foredom buffer, and it's the best money I ever spent. If you get one, use the "no-stitch" muslin buffing pads...anything else will be too hard and will more than likely gouge your creations. I use Diamond Varathane with IPN (inter penetrating network)...it's tough, it's shiny, and it penetrates the clay slightly instead of floating on top of the clay. I find it especially usefull when using metallics...really makes them shine! I dip the beads AND paint it on... it all depends on the bead.
I find 99% of baby wipes don't contain alcohol and have waaay too many fibers that shed. You need something with alcohol in it to clan the clay residue. I keep a huge bottle of waterless hand sanitizer on my table...couple of squirts, it cleans, and then evaporates...couldn't be easier. If you carry hand wipes with you, make sure they contain alcohol. Nothing wrong with the other wipes, but you're going to be left with filaments on your hands, and a "not quite clean" feeling without the alcohol.
Just a few "been-there-done-that" tips from me!!