Tips and Tricks, Pg 2

Toothpicks, con't
I use it to sand in a difficult spot. Wood has enough tooth to be a very effective sanding tool. The pointed tip gets into all manner of nooks and crannies and the long sides are perfect for reaching into the middle of a tube bead. Glue a piece of finishing paper around it for a quick homemade sanding stick in whatever grit strikes your fancy. I use it to selectively apply patina, darkening only a small portion of my design, like lettering that I’ve stamped into the clay. Just dip the tip into patina and stroke or tap the toothpick across the area you’d like to enhance. I use it to burnish too. There are often tiny corners in fired metal clay that just will not show their silver side - and ball burnishers small enough to do the job may scratch. If you don’t plan on using an oxidizer of some sort, it can be very frustrating to see that white ghost around the perimeter of an applied element. Use the toothpick to lightly burnish the metal into submission without scratching. Yes, it’ll be a softer finish, but better than the Casper effect.

Extending the Working Time of Metal Clay
Use a drop or two of Glycerin, available from the drugstore, in a fresh package of clay to extend your working time. Open a new package of PMC+ or PMC3, make a depression in it with your thumb and add one or two drops of glycerin. Fold the glycerin into the clay, spritz lightly with water, place it in a piece of plastic wrap and knead thoroughly. Let it rest for at least an hour (or overnight) to give the binder time to absorb the glycerin/water solution. Since glycerin retards the evaporation of water, your clay will stay fresh and moist longer. The flip side to this trick is that it will take longer for your project to dry and it won’t harden as much as you may expect. You’ll be able to sand, but the clay will be more flexible and fragile, so take care when handling it until after it’s fired.

What to do With Sanding Dust and Clay Residue
Every tiny particle of metal clay is precious. When you’re finished sanding, gather the dust together with a dry, flat brush and dab it up with fresh, lump clay. Spritz lightly with water and incorporate it back into the lump. Pour off any excess water in your cup, then let the last drops evaporate. Collect the remaining residue and incorporate into lump clay or add it to a slip jar. At the end of your work session, wipe your hands on a baby wipe or Wet Nap. Save these and all your used sand paper to send to a refiner who takes“dirty scrap”, like Hoover and Strong. They can extract the silver and give you cash back. Some folks have reported refunds of eighty dollars or more. Goldsmith’s have been known to send the carpet under their feet to a refiner every few years. If they go to that trouble, you know it’s worth recycling each grain of silver or gold metal clay.

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