The Wonder Glaze for Polymer Clay

On my quest to find a better substitute for PolyGlaze I stumbled upon an interesting product called Triple Thick (by Krylon). Why didn’t I see it before? I think I am going to like it even better than EnviroTex Lite. For one thing, it does not smell. It does not require any mixing. It dries quickly, does not produce too many bubbles (which are easy to remove), and it is waterproof! It is also much cheaper than PolyGlaze and is available almost everywhere. Here is the list of stores that sell this product:

http://www.krylon.com/main/locator.cfm

It looks like the only quality in which EnviroTex and PolyGlaze surpass Triple Thick is clearness. Well, you cannot win in everything…

Triple Thick is actually pretty clear, especially when applyed in thin layers rather than in one thick layer. That is why I say it is a very good dimensional glaze. I am going to recommend it in my class this weekend.

…and Some More on PolyGlaze

I am ready to report results of my experiments.

Below is the promised photo of the tile with cracked Poly Glaze layer. The glaze was cracked on purpose (see my previous post).

Now the same tile covered with the second layer of Poly Glaze. This glaze is whitish in color when applied and then it becomes clear when it is completely dry. Because the glaze layer is deeper in the cracks, they appear darker in color.

And the final picture. The glaze is completely dry and transparent. The cracks are mostly gone. You can see traces of some of them if you look really close. If this were a real pendant I was trying to save, I would probably apply one more coat of Poly Glaze.

Conclusion: PolyGlaze forms cracks if cured at lower temperature. The cracks may be fixed by applying a layer or two of Poly Glaze on top of them. However, I would recommend avoiding this problem rather then trying to fix it.

More on PolyGlaze

I am getting ready for my faux cloisonné class I will be teaching in NC later this month.

A new thing I am adding this time is a demonstration of clear surface finishes that may be obtained with PolyGlaze (which I normally use in my work) and materials other than PolyGlaze. I am also going to show possible problems that may occur with each of these materials and how to avoid or fix them.

By the way, making mistakes on purpose is more difficult than I thought!

One of the problems with PolyGlaze that I was told about is its occasional cracking. The person who had this problem lives in Maine, and she told me about it this winter. I suspected the cracking was a result of lower temperature she may had in her house during that time. This had never happened to me, so the entire idea was a pure speculation.

This time I decided to re-create the problem. Since it is now hot a humid in Maryland, the only cold spot in my house is a fridge. So, that is where I cured two samples covered with PolyGlaze tonight. I understand it is overkill, and I seriously doubt that my friend in Maine had such a low temperature in her house, but I had to start somewhere.

I am happy to report that by morning both of my samples were dry and both of them developed a few cracks! I will take this fact as the proof of my theory – PolyGlaze does crack at lower temperatures.

Although this is not quite scientific and I cannot tell you the critical temperature when this occurs, I think we have enough information to work with. The lowest temperature in my house (in winter) is about 65F. It is safe to say that PolyGlaze dries nicely at 65F and above. Any lower temperature may be risky.

My next step is to see if the cracks could be fixed. I will work on it tonight and report the results in a day or two.

I also promise to have pictures by that time.

More on Glazes and Finishes for Polymer Clay

Over the last couple of days I exchanged E-mails with a few people interested in glazes and finishes for polymer clay. One of them is Jeanne Rhea from Heart of Clay. Jeanne did an impressive study of different glazes for her sister’s non-profit shop in Toledo called Scrap4Art. Below are the links to Jeanne’s results:

http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com/2007/03/clear-dimensional-glazes-or-finishes.html


http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com/2007/03/photos-of-dimensional-glaze.html


http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com/2007/03/photos-of-dimensional-glaze_13.html