A way to SMOOTH out your un-baked Clay

[NewbornNestLori]

I wanted to give another idea on smoothing out your clay, PRE-BAKE.....I posted this as a reply on another thread, but thought it deserved its own post.
I use something called "Orange Goop" which is the orange gritty soap, that a lot of men use on their hands, to get off oil, grime & grease.
I find mine in the Automotive section of my Walmart. A bottle will last you approximately 19 years....or more, lolololol.....I simply squirt a little bit out, just a smidge will do ya & use a small paint brush to get into the itty-bitty-nooks & crannies of your Sculpt. It works wonders, as the teensy balls (the grit) which is similar to the feeling of sand, helps to really smooth your clay out. It also has a very mild oil in the cleanser as well. Try it & let me know how you love it! Just like with a smoothing oil, you want to let your clay rest a minute, before baking in your oven.

Hope this helps!
Smiles,
Lori

[Annette]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing.

[izzy]

Great idea! A couple other things you can use are Vaseline and rubbing alchol. I personally prefer Vaseline for blending clay together and rubbing alchol for smoothing the overall sculpt. You need very little of both.

[NewbornNestLori]

Your right Izzy!!
And alcohol cleans up your clay excellently! It gets off fingerprints, dust, dirt, etc. I use alcohol on my clay, right before putting it into the oven. You'll be amazed at how well it cleans your clay. But use it sparingly.
As for anyone who wants to sand their clay, you absolutely can do that too!
Start out with the more COARSE grits of sandpaper and than use a very FINE grit of sandpaper. You can get a lot of different grits of sandpaper, from below 400 all the way up to 1500 or MORE! The higher the digit, the finer the sand paper.

For example, start out with a piece of 400 grit, and than move up a few numbers to a 600 grit, and then all the way up to a higher grit like 1000, 1500, or even 2000. What you are doing is creating smaller and smaller scratches in the surface that will really "buff up" nicely.

P.S.- WORD OF CAUTION......
I wanted to add a word of caution about using Vaseline on your clay....its known to break down the bonds of your clay, and can alter it in ways you aren't going to be very happy about.....I would advise against it personally....but I'm sure a teensy-teensy dab won't hurt too much. It should be LAST on your list of ways to smooth tho. Ive been sculpting for 10 years now & have seen the effects of Vaseline on clay Use it SUPER sparingly....

[cookielover]

Great information...thanks Ruth

[~Valerie~Anne~]

Lots of great advice, Lori, thank you!!

[violet]

Your right Izzy!!
And alcohol cleans up your clay excellently! It gets off fingerprints, dust, dirt, etc. I use alcohol on my clay, right before putting it into the oven. You'll be amazed at how well it cleans your clay. But use it sparingly.
As for anyone who wants to sand their clay, you absolutely can do that too!
Start out with the more COARSE grits of sandpaper and than use a very FINE grit of sandpaper. You can get a lot of different grits of sandpaper, from below 400 all the way up to 1500 or MORE! The higher the digit, the finer the sand paper.

For example, start out with a piece of 400 grit, and than move up a few numbers to a 600 grit, and then all the way up to a higher grit like 1000, 1500, or even 2000. What you are doing is creating smaller and smaller scratches in the surface that will really "buff up" nicely.

P.S.- WORD OF CAUTION......
I wanted to add a word of caution about using Vaseline on your clay....its known to break down the bonds of your clay, and can alter it in ways you aren't going to be very happy about.....I would advise against it personally....but I'm sure a teensy-teensy dab won't hurt too much. It should be LAST on your list of ways to smooth tho. Ive been sculpting for 10 years now & have seen the effects of Vaseline on clay Use it SUPER sparingly....

Lori, I am curious what do you use with the alcohol to clean the wet clay? Do you use a make up wipe or cotton ball? I need to try something with the one I am working on. Thanks.

[janeisdreamindollies]

What do you mean by alcohol? Brandy or something or white spirit? I have used nail polish remover before!

[violet]

What do you mean by alcohol? Brandy or something or white spirit? I have used nail polish remover before!

lol.. I think she meant rubbing alcohol

[Brooke]

A tiny bit of coconut oil, or so I've been told.

[violet]

I tried the 91% rubbing alcohol with a q tip and cotton ball for cleaning the wet clay sculpt. I used the alcohol sparingly, worked great plus it did smooth! Wanted to add it does seem to dry the clay out..

[angiebaby]

I wanted to give another idea on smoothing out your clay, PRE-BAKE.....I posted this as a reply on another thread, but thought it deserved its own post.
I use something called "Orange Goop" which is the orange gritty soap, that a lot of men use on their hands, to get off oil, grime & grease.
I find mine in the Automotive section of my Walmart. A bottle will last you approximately 19 years....or more, lolololol.....I simply squirt a little bit out, just a smidge will do ya & use a small paint brush to get into the itty-bitty-nooks & crannies of your Sculpt. It works wonders, as the teensy balls (the grit) which is similar to the feeling of sand, helps to really smooth your clay out. It also has a very mild oil in the cleanser as well. Try it & let me know how you love it! Just like with a smoothing oil, you want to let your clay rest a minute, before baking in your oven.

Hope this helps!
Smiles,
Lori

have you got a photo of the Orange Goop please. I'm french and I'm not sure to find this ? Thank you