Sanding. Again.

[microburt]

So I am enjoying making beads now I have my tools and bits and pieces. Although my pasta machine broke today after only a few uses!

Anyway, I am wondering what techniques you all have for sanding. I am using 600, 1000, 1200 and finally 1500, followed by buffing, all by hand. I have ordered a Dremel, mainly for buffing, but I am hoping I can somehow use it for sanding too, by attaching the fine grit sandpaper to the sanding attachment.

Does anyone have any tips or does anyone else use any tools?

Any advice or ideas would be appreciated, as hand sanding is driving my mad.

A xxx

[Bev478]

To be honest - I do as little as possible. I hate it. You have to be careful when you start thinking about mechanical sanding. It's very easy to 'flatspot' a bead, especially round ones. I actually dry sand mine with padded abrasives & resort to wet sanding only when there's a serious flaw to deal with. Lentils aren't quite so bad. I have a link, somewhere, to an interesting mechanical sanding technique for lentils that I may well try one day. Let me know if you want it & I'll look it up.

[Jonesi]

I got the sanding papers from Emma, 600, 1200 and 2000 and they work really well. I also bought a dremel for sanding but it's far too fiddly for small and round beads and the dremel is too powerful so I've just been using it for buffing now. I did find a tutorial about turning a rotary toothbrush into a bead sander http://www.jewelrylessons.com/tutorial/polyclay-bead-sander which looks promising.

[microburt]

Thanks all... Luckily, I only do short runs of beads- say 5 or 6 at a time, so it's not too bad really. I just was wondering if there were any special methods! Will check out the toothbrush idea :-)

I got the Dremel mainly for buffing and my hubbie might use it for DIY too!

A x

[Lottihr]

I have to confess to having given up on sanding! I use the renaissance wax that I got from Emma and it works really well, there is something quite therapeutic about rubbing your beads! :)

[ejralph]

I am not a fan of dremels for sanding, unless you are dry sanding the clay. And I don't think dry sanding always gives quite as nice a finish really.

I often read about people using dremels for wet sanding and it scares me frankly. Electricity and water do not mix - even the cordless ones have some oomph in their capacitors or whatever, I am told.

That said - I know that some people like to fit the dremel with a tapered bit, wedge the bead onto this and hold the sandpaper against the spinning bead. I personally think this is a trip to casulty waiting to happen, but each to their own ;-)

I would urge anyone using a dremel to wear safety goggles in case the bead is plucked from your hand and flung out.

Rock tumblers can also be used to speed up sanding - filled with water and sandpaper rather than tumbling grits. googling tumbling polymer clay should bring up lots of info on that.

Defintely the easiest thing is to get the clay as smooth as possible before baking though - then whatever method you use for sanding is kept to a minimum thankfully!

Emma

[microburt]

Thanks Emma- I might take a look at the wax from your shop too :-) x

[hotglassman]

I have a special attachment for my inland glass grinder....very useful x

[krielj]

Sanding is a pain - isn't it?! I just sit down infront of the telly with a bowl of warm water with a drop of washing up liquid in it and my various grits of wet/dry sandpaper. I am so practised now that I can sand each bead without even looking down from the TV.! I don't think there is an easy way to do it but I do think its a step you can't miss out as it mean the difference between professional looking fab beads and things that look like lumps of round clay!

[microburt]

Sanding is a pain - isn't it?! I just sit down infront of the telly with a bowl of warm water with a drop of washing up liquid in it and my various grits of wet/dry sandpaper. I am so practised now that I can sand each bead without even looking down from the TV.! I don't think there is an easy way to do it but I do think its a step you can't miss out as it mean the difference between professional looking fab beads and things that look like lumps of round clay!

Yeah I agree about the difference sanding can make... I also polished a set of cufflink 'beads' with some show polish after wads and they are like glass- looking forward to receiving my renaissance wax soon... I am going to try the whole toothbrush thing. I don't mind hand sanding apart from I sccidentally sand my fingers which hurts even at 1000 grit when you're on the 10th bead.

A xx

[microburt]

Sanding is a pain - isn't it?! I just sit down infront of the telly with a bowl of warm water with a drop of washing up liquid in it and my various grits of wet/dry sandpaper. I am so practised now that I can sand each bead without even looking down from the TV.! I don't think there is an easy way to do it but I do think its a step you can't miss out as it mean the difference between professional looking fab beads and things that look like lumps of round clay!

Loving your work btw! xxx

[ejralph]

I accidently sanded through my fingernail once! Right down to the squigy soft bit underneath it ;-)

All the time I was sanding, I wasn't watching and didn't realise the sandpaper was rubbing against the top of my fingernail as well as the bead!

It was only when it suddenly started to hurt like billyo that I looked down and saw what I had done. Bit of a div moment there - but then what's new ;-)

Emma

[microburt]

I accidently sanded through my fingernail once! Right down to the squigy soft bit underneath it ;-)

All the time I was sanding, I wasn't watching and didn't realise the sandpaper was rubbing against the top of my fingernail as well as the bead!

It was only when it suddenly started to hurt like billyo that I looked down and saw what I had done. Bit of a div moment there - but then what's new ;-)

Emma

Ouch ouch ouch!!!!!!!!!!! Oh dear... That sounds horrible! I will be extra careful from now on :-)

A xxx