It is a water
based polyurethane FINISH (not a varnish, polish or floor wax) that
works very well with wood, paper, fabric, and other art and craft media
including polymer clay! This acrylic product has proved compatible with
polymer clay brands that include SculpeyIII, Premo, FIMO, Cernit and others.
Some users find that Kato Polyclay pieces may need to be treated with a very
light application of Liquid Kato Polyclay before using Varathane. (Try that
if the Varathane is beading up).
Throughout 20+ years
of testing, Varathane has held up through heavy wear on beads, sculptural
pieces, and more!
Polymer clay users
want to make sure to get the water based form of Varathane as the oil
based versions will react chemically with polymer clay over time, and may
stay sticky or cause long term degradation of the clay.
Look specifically
for the words: "Varathane Diamond Polyurethane Interior Water
Based"available in Clear Gloss, Clear Semi-Gloss, and Clear Satin
I use it as my applied
finish of choice--if I apply anything at all, it is Varathane. My beads and
jewelry are either left naturally matte or hand buffed, or they are given a
coating of Varathane. You can bake it again, and it doesn't hurt the
shine...in fact it seems to sometimes "set" the coating, and
minute brush marks disappear! Sometimes reheating is the only way to get my
beads off of the skewers, especially after glazing them--the warm beads pull
off easily. When heating Varathane make sure to watch your thermometer
and bake at no higher than 200 degrees F. for 5 minutes and ventilate
thoroughly.
Best results are
gotten with brushed on applications, not dipping. The thicker coat that
forms from dipping can result in the finish peeling away, particularly in
humid climates. Baking again at 200 degrees can help "set" a
finish. Use a soft brush, and do NOT wipe the brush on the side as that
loads bubbles.
Other great
things about Varathane:
-
The gloss gives a
glass-like shine, and brings out the most in colors, and in the
pearlescent or "glamour" clays; it is great with the
metallic clays.
-
It seals and
protects powders and metallic foils (leaf) on the surface of clay
pieces.
-
You can mix it
with acrylic paints, pigments, or Pearl-Ex powders to make stains and
antiquing finishes (for faux stones, ivory, also for faux enamels/cloisonne).
-
It doesn't smell
bad. It's soap and water wash-up for brushes and dries fast.
-
Use a good quality
hair bristle paint brush and apply to cooled clay, and you won't get
streaks. Don't wipe the brush against the side of the can and you will
avoid bubbles too.
-
It also has a UV
protectant and DOES NOT yellow on polymer clay (my beads are fine, even
after 20 years).
-
The gloss version
works as glue in mosaics. Bryan tiled a guitar this way, using cane
slices. We've used it to apply tiles to furniture. It helps to apply top
coats as well.
-
It can be used
with paper and other media--cloth can be saturated and draped, then
allowed to harden, and used with polymer clay sculpture, as a low-weight
armature or form, or as decorative add-ons.
-
It can be blotted
with a makeup sponge to give a more matte effect.
NOTE--if you use
this product to coat original artwork, it may interact with your pigments or
papers---do a small test piece first, and check it after a month or two, and
again after a year.
I usually pour some
into a small glass or plastic jar with a tight sealing lid jar and
work from there so as to minimize contamination and evaporation. A
quart lasts me about a year, and I'm a heavy user. It also comes in gallon
containers, and I like to get the larger sizes to use with mixed media
projects that include dipping fabric or finishing big mosaic pieces. Now
Half Pints are available, and this makes using Varathane on small scale
projects even more economical and easy to do!
When using Varathane
to mix stains or as a base for paint, you will need to stir before using as
powders and paints settle. Also make sure to stir the Satin and Semi-Gloss
versions before using--to get those effects, the particulate matter must be
kept in suspension. However, be aware that the Satin and Semi-Gloss do not
seem to adhere to the clay nearly as well as the Gloss version does. To get
a matte effect while still using the Gloss version, try blotting the wet
surface lightly with a makeup sponge. This breaks up the shine yet still
protects inks, foils, and powders when needed.
When I first starting
using polymer clays 25 years ago, there was no information available (that I
could find) about glazes, coverings, etc. SO.....after the Great Bead
Disaster (as I watched 6 months of production bead making get mushier and
stickier as the polyurethane and nail acrylics I had tried as finishes ATE
the clay... several months later) I learned to TEST the reactions over
months and years before committing. For over 15 years I have been very
pleased with a product called "Varathane".
This product is
now called
Water Based Varathane Diamond Polyurethane Interior
but the formulation is unchanged. Only the label has changed.
The Varathane label
has a new look, but the protective qualities and ease of use remain
unchanged. Varathane still includes a UV protectant that inhibits yellowing
of the surface and discoloration or weakening of the clays. It still works
chemically by way of an Inter-Penetrating Network. What
IPN means to polymer clay artists is that it goes into (not just on
top of ) the polymer clay.
To show how important
this is, I demonstrate the difference in class....several flat , band-aid
sized pieces of clay, (about a #2 thickness on the pasta machine) , are
baked, cooled, and painted; one with FIMO lacquer, another with
Liquitex Acrylic Medium (a gesso), and another with Varathane Gloss. All are
allowed to dry overnight. When the pieces are moved and flexed, the bent
FIMO lacquer will flake away, the Liquitex peels off in a "skin"
and the Varathane is fine. Tests using the Semi-Gloss and Satin seem to
indicate that the additive that flattens the shine also interferes with
surface penetration.
Varathane is far LESS
expensive and much MORE effective than other products I have used to glaze
the surface of polymer clays. It withstands the tests of time and rough
handling.
Note---Our
w research shows that the aerosol form will work with baked polymer
clay without reaction over time.
I have six year old
test pieces that have not changed or become sticky. Your results may
vary.....and I'll report back on mine!
Look for the words
"Water Based Varathane Diamond Polyurethane Interior" as there are
also oil based products by the same manufacturer that don't work well
with polymer clays. We use ONLY the water based kind. One advertising
booklet I have says they were voted the "number one waterborne clear
finish by a leading consumer woodworking magazine".
Varathane is available
in many hardware stores including Lowe's, ACE, and Home Depot stores on the
West Coast. If your local hardware store does not yet carry it, ask them to
do so! Most stores will be happy to special order it for you if you buy a
minimum quantity. To help customers find local outlets for Varathane, Rust-Oleum
is creating a database available from their site.
There is a retail
source finder section coming to the official Varathane
website and at www.woodanswers.com
You can also
contact the Rust-Oleum Corporation at
1-800-635-3286
