Left: baked polymer clay. Middle: sanded polymer clay. Right: restored polymer clay.

For some time I’ve been looking for a way to restore the original satin finish to polymer clay that’s been sanded. I think I’ve found it. It’s faster than sanding through various grits and it gives a satin finish, rather than a gloss finish.

In the photo above, the tile on the left is baked polymer clay. The middle tile has been sanded. The tile on the right was restored by applying a 50/50 mixture of Translucent Liquid Sculpey (TLS) and Clay Softener (plasticizer), baking again at the normal temperature for 30 minutes or simply heating for a few seconds with a heat gun and then hand-buffing with a soft cotton cloth. This comes very close to the original finish. It was also the most impervious to stress tests.

I used black Cernit Number One sanded with 400 grit sandpaper. I used black because sanding creates a dusty finish that’s more evident on it than on other colors.

There were other things I tried that didn’t work as well.

The first was simply baking the clay again. This gives a nice matte finish and hides the sanding marks. The problem is it isn’t permanent. If rubbed with a soft cotton cloth, some of the sanding marks reappeared.

Then I applied plasticizer to the clay, baked it again and hand-buffed with the same results.

When I applied a 50/50 mix of Clay Softener (plasticizer) and Translucent Liquid Sculpey, baked it again and hand-buffed it with a soft cotton cloth that was the key. The sanding marks didn’t reappear and it had a nice finish, almost like new. Oily fingerprints on this and the two other tests above cleaned off well with rubbing alcohol.

I also tried applying mineral oil. Sanding marks reappeared when it was baked and it also washed completely off with dishwashing liquid and water. Not a good choice.

I tried Carolla’s Beeswax Skin Cream which worked fairly well, though subtle sanding marks remained. Another wax, such as Renaissance Wax, may work similarly. When baked, it developed a matte finish which I hand-buffed with a soft cotton cloth to restore the satin finish. The problem was when I applied oily fingerprints and removed them with rubbing alcohol, it left streaks I couldn’t get rid of.

Ingredients in Carolla’s Beeswax Skin Cream

Another thing I discovered is that re-baking can also heal cut marks. I accidentally sliced the face of a polymer clay cabochon with my Xacto knife. I burnished down the cut and it disappeared when I re-baked it.