I finally, finally after what feels like a bazillion tries got a nice shiny surface! I really took my time with these and spent a lot of time getting the surface nice and smooth. Then, I used rubbing alcohol to smooth the surface even more before curing. After they cooled, I sanded them with progressively finer grits of sand paper (320 to 1000) and buffed them with my Dremel.
Here is one of the cabochons being used for a bead embroidered pendant.
I'm still pondering how exactly I want to finish this off.
Next plan is to make cabochons with the polymer clay version of "mokume gane". I've failed spectacularly at that technique repeatedly. (Mokume gane is a Japanese metal working technique that emulates wood grain).
Hopefully, I've figured out my problems and can make some nice polymer clay mokume gane cabochons (in Christmas colors. . . ). And, I want to see if I can get an even shinier surface by sanding down to 2000 grit.
The cabochons look great! I really love the bead embroidery, it looks so fabulous with that cabochon. Like a framed southwestern painting.
ReplyDeleteThank-you :) Now that you mention it, it does look southwest. I was actually trying for "stormy ocean", lol.
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