Sanding question for polymer clay blanks

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Freethinker

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I have ordered some of the millefiori blanks from Toni Ransfield, and before I screw them up, I was wondering...

...does anyone have any tips for me or special techniques as it applies to sanding the blanks?? How have other people here who have made pens from these blanks done it?

Do the different colors of clay ten to "smudge" into one another when sanding? Do you use a wooden paddle to back the sandpaper so as to level the blanks? Do you take any special precautions such as wiping down the blanks frequently?

I am assuming they were dry sanded. Did you wipe down between each grit with DNA? Water? Dry cloth?

Any tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

The millefiori pens I have seen pictures posted of here look fantastic, and I do not want to mess mine up by taking the wrong approach to sanding.
 
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bobjackson

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I sand with 400 and 600 grit with the lathe running fast. Then long way with the lathe off. Micro mesh from 2400 through 12000 the same way. Then with the lathe off ca with a folded paper towel (bounty) with a large drop, smear all over blank quickly. wait 5 minutes or until the ca dry then do again. Micromesh 8000 and 12000. Then Hut polish/was for plastic. (white stuff)
 

ed4copies

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The only true expert would be Toni.

Only she knows how thick the detail is and how far from the bushing size she has already finished the blank.

PERSONALLY, my GUESS would be to carefully flush the ends to the bushings, then start a CA finish. I would use thin CA until the clay stopped absorbing, then move to a couple coats of medium. Let sit for at least 24 hours and sand to 1000 grit then buff or plastic polish.

AGAIN, Toni would be your BEST answer.
 

Toni

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The only true expert would be Toni.

Only she knows how thick the detail is and how far from the bushing size she has already finished the blank.

PERSONALLY, my GUESS would be to carefully flush the ends to the bushings, then start a CA finish. I would use thin CA until the clay stopped absorbing, then move to a couple coats of medium. Let sit for at least 24 hours and sand to 1000 grit then buff or plastic polish.

AGAIN, Toni would be your BEST answer.

Make sure the ends are flush with the bushings as I DO NOT TRIM them!! You will need to sand them I would start with 800 or 1,000 and work your way up I can only go to 2,000 but members go even higher with the sanding. Wipe down the tube and Apply CA or whatever finish you use.

Dont know about sanding afterwards..

Hope that answers your questions.
 

Freethinker

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I too thank all who have answered here....but I still have not heard anyone address the following questions;

Would it be a good idea to use a wooden paddle to back the sandpaper so as to level the blanks?

Do you take any special precautions such as wiping down the blanks (between grits) in a certain way?.....IOW, is it recommended to wipe down between each grit with denatured alcohol (or water), or is a dry cloth adequate?

Sorry to be so nitpicking, but these questions stem from the fact that I do not know what the clay blanks will withstand and what they will not.

I'd hate to ruin one -:eek:- by using water or something else on it when I shouldn't.
 

Toni

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Would it be a good idea to use a wooden paddle to back the sandpaper so as to level the blanks?

Do you take any special precautions such as wiping down the blanks (between grits) in a certain way?.....IOW, is it recommended to wipe down between each grit with denatured alcohol (or water), or is a dry cloth adequate?

Sorry to be so nitpicking, but these questions stem from the fact that I do not know what the clay blanks will withstand and what they will not.

I'd hate to ruin one -:eek:- by using water or something else on it when I shouldn't.

I dont know what a wooden paddle is. I just use sandpaper. No I dont wipe dont inbetween grits. If you would like a wet/dry cloth would work.

They can pretty much handle anything, CA works great, n/p .
 

Toni

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I always wipe anything down between grits, at least with a dry cloth. Don't want any stray stuff to cause problems.

Chris I wet sand my tubes and dont use the lathe, so I would say when I dunk the tubes in water to get all the crud :eek: off that counts as wiping.
 

randyrls

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Would it be a good idea to use a wooden paddle to back the sandpaper so as to level the blanks?

Dan; I would not think it necessary. When doing acrylic blanks, I do this with 320 grit sandpaper to ensure the blank doesn't have an high spots. High spots will show up as ripples in the reflections and highlights when you polish your pen to a high gloss.

If you use a paddle, use care not to sand thru the decorative flowers and leaves.

Do you take any special precautions such as wiping down the blanks (between grits) in a certain way?.....IOW, is it recommended to wipe down between each grit with denatured alcohol (or water), or is a dry cloth adequate?
All my pens get sanded with the lathe spinning, stop lathe, sand lengthwise, wipe clean with a wet towel (sandpaper too!), repeat for next finer grit. Takes 20 seconds for each grit.....

The wipe down should be water. Not sure if DNA would cause a reaction with cured polymer clay, but DNA will clean up uncured clay.
 

Freethinker

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I dont know what a wooden paddle is. I just use sandpaper. No I dont wipe dont inbetween grits. If you would like a wet/dry cloth would work.

They can pretty much handle anything, CA works great, n/p .

Thanks...those are the answers I was looking for.

I completed the first blanks this morning........and they looked terrific.

Shine was amazing..........I had put about 10 coats of thin CA on and let dry overnight and then sanded through 12,000MM, but when trying to take the bushings out --even though I had waxed the bushings and sliced through the CA coating before trying to remove the bushings-- the CA had glued the bushing and blank together and I broke the end off the lower blank and used so much force getting the bushing out that the tube slid out of the blank about 1/8".

:frown::eek::frown:

<sigh> Bummer. I will try to repair it tomorrow morning.

I don't know what I'll do with the other set of blanks.....but I am thinking of turning some bushings out of UHMW plastic and inserting an oiled paper washer between the bushing and the blank....I do NOT want to break another one.

Maybe I should order the Delrin bushings from the guy here who makes them. I don't know if the Delrin bushings would be more resistant to CA sticking to them than UHMW plastic is, but if they are, i'll gladly pay for that benefit.
 

ed4copies

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CAREFULLY!!! Use your parting tool to separate the bushings, from your blank as the last step before taking off the lathe.
 
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