Shake the bottle before using. Because there are so many “ingredients” in the polyglaze, it will separate while sitting. A few shakes will reblend it and give you some air bubbles to deal with, but they are easy to get rid of. Don’t shake too vigorously to avoid overdoing the air bubble thing and producing a foam which will have to settle out before you can load your brush properly.
How much do I need?
A little Polyglaze goes a long way. Use it straight from the bottle or pour about a half teaspoon into a small container.
Does it go on before or after baking the clay?
Apply to polymer clay after baking and cooling.
How do I use it?
Lay the piece to be glazed on a styrofoam plate or waxed paper because you want to paint sloppy,
and the glaze will run over the edge of the piece.
Use a soft, wet brush to “smoosh” the paint over the surface of the clay, making sure to coax it into all the depressions and crevices in the piece. Break up any air bubbles with the tip of your brush or by lifting the piece about an inch off the surface and dropping it a couple of times. If you wish to smooth out or lighten the color, dip your brush in clear water and smoosh over the surface again.
How long does it take to dry?
Polyglaze air dries slowly to a beautiful matte finish. If it can be set outside in the sun, it will dry in less than a half hour, but indoors in humid environments, it can take several hours. Don’t use a hair dryer or heat gun to speed drying. The best and smoothest results come from letting the glaze settle as it dries on its own because the nature of a glaze is to suspend the color over the surface in a kind of film. A hair dryer or heat gun will move the pigment particles around resulting in uneven color.
The PolyGlaze is dry when there is no sheen left - even in the crevices. Polyglaze needs no overcoat or sealing,
because it dries waterproof and permanent.
What If I Want It Shiny?
You can apply finishing coats of Future Acrylic Floor Polish over the dried PolyGlaze to create a beautiful,
high gloss finish.
Is PolyGlaze toxic?
No, but don’t drink it or anything. There are no fumes and PolyGlaze is watersoluble and very easy to clean up.
What if I make a mistake?
PolyGlaze remains washable with plain water until it is dry. If you don’t like your results, rinse them off and start over.
I’ve been mixing colors and I’m sure not getting what I learned in kindergarten -
what gives?
Part of the fun and magic of our PolyGlaze is that it mixes in very interesting ways (perhaps it is confused by all its ingredients?). For example, you can mix equal parts of Morning Mauve and Blue Corn Mist and get a lovely violet, which make sense, but when you mix that violet with Adobe Dust, you get a wonderful range of taupe and cream colors. Try everything and you will be fascinated by some of the very unusual colors that result.
Are you going to release any bright colors? These are all pretty muted.
You can use our new PolyGlaze White Wash to create brighter colors
(see the Color Notes on the main PolyGlaze page.)
Come on - where does this stuff really come from?
My kitchen blender - and I’m not kidding.
Chamisa, which grows wild in the high desert and makes everybody sneeze, is not a relative of the sage plant, but does exhibit a beautiful cool
sage color in its foliage.
A golden natural tone based on the architecture of high desert Santa Fe.
In the mountains, the sunsets
are rivaled only by the sunrises. This is the color I see stretched across the mountain tops when
I walk outside every morning.
Blue Corn is a beautiful, deep slate blue. This glaze is the color you would get if you powdered it and “misted” it over a white background.
For some great projects using our High Desert PolyGlazes, see these articles in Now What? and Whatever . . .Whenever:
Hidden Message In Polymer Clay