I was wondering how everyone chooses to sand and buff their polymer clay creations?  I have been using various grits of wet/dry sandpaper and sanding by hand but I just dread doing it!  Has anyone ever used this product:   http://createapendant.com/beadsander.htm

 How about buffing?  Anyone using their dremel?

For sanding, I use primarily three different grits of wet-dry sandpaper--320, 400, and 600. I have seen folks using up to 2000, but have never found grits higher than 600 that were readily available, ie I can get it at Home Depot. The three I use have been pretty reliable though, so I stick with them. For larger pieces and items that are mostly flat, I will hand-sand, a chore I dread, but when it's gotta be done, it's gotta be done. For beads, I have three of the cheapo tumblers I had gotten at Michael's, and line them with a different grit in each. That has the benefit of being a process, so can do a lot of bead at a time, finishing at various stages.

To buff, I I have a 6" muslin pad that is attached to a high speed drill. The drill's a bit awkward to use, and will sometimes shoot something right out of my hand, but it's worked well and has been pretty reliable. If I am just looking for a satiny look, I'll usually just rub the piece again a pair of jeans,

To be honest, though, since I started wearing gloves while I work, I have been doing a LOT less sanding. With the gloves, I get no fingerprints, and if beads are rolled just right, they come out very smooth and ready to be glazed or buffed. Saves a TON of time. Still, there are times when sanding is unavoidable. When it's time to sand, I grab a small pile of the different grits, fill the sink with water, and go to it.

 Ugh... just the thought of it is making my hand cramp up! LOL

Hi Denise! I avoid sanding by hand. If I need to sand, I use a Lortone tumbler with small river rock (basically smoother pea gravel). I'm certainly no smoothness expert, but they feel just like when I sanded with sandpaper chips. It's so much easier and cleaner, I'm more likely to sand.

For buffing/polishing, I use a Dremel with muslin buffing wheels. There's definitely the excitement of beads being wrenched from your hands and propelled across the room. It's cool watching the sheen emerge.

Andy, I've found 1000-grit at places like the Auto Zone and Kragen's and in the automotive section of Home Depot. Fine grits like that are used for car finishes. 

I tumble sand beads and hand-sand larger pieces. As far as buffing, I either use my dremel or chuck a muslin wheel into my husband's drill press.

Regarding the sander you linked to - the plans are available online for free (which is where he got the idea from in the first place).

http://www.polymerclayweb.com/sandingtools.asp

http://forums.delphiforums.com/polymerclay/messages?msg=38440.1
 

Like AndyPan if I wear gloves and/or am very careful I don't need to sand much if at all.  Note:  The newer stickier Premo has made it much harder to avoid fingerprints. 

When I do sand I'll either do it by hand or throw them into the tumbler lined with sand paper.  No chips.  Andy Pan you can also find the higher grits of sand paper at Orchard Hardware Supply (OSH) in  the automotive sub-section of the paint and sandpaper department.

If I'm buffing by hand I'll use jeans.  The ones I'm wearing.  There's a neat little curved spot below and to the side of the knee cap that cradles the bead very nicely.  Or the thigh works well too.   I've used the Dremel but not much as I'm usually going to glaze the beads anyway so machine buffing seems like a bit of overkill unless there is a lot of translucent clay involved. 

I like to use my dremel on low speeds w/ a fine grit . . . then use my jeans/shorts/whatever I'm wearing . . . then use my buffer wheel if I'm not gonna glaze them w/ future . . .

 I had recently seen a free tutorial on how to use an electric toothbrush - just pull out all the bristles & glue a square of sandpaper to each different head piece . . . It's a lot cheaper than buying that one off that site . . . I've also found up to 2000 grit wet/dry in the automotive section of wal-mart . . .
 

 The other day I made a handful of beads to try out a technique. I wanted them sanded and there weren't enough to go through the tumbler for hours, so I hand-sanded. It was the first time I actually went through multiple grits, i.e., 400, 600, 800, 1000 and finally buffed with my Dremel. I must admit, the surface is peerless (hah! always wanted to say that), smoother than I've ever done before. While I could have left them as is, I put on a single coat of Varathane and they are gorgeous.

Having gotten such great results, I was wailing the whole time I sanded the half dozen. It was a pain. I can see doing a few now and then, but if I'd had more than six, I just can't stand it.

I used shades of yellow/orange/brown on translucent. They're oval shaped. As they'd slip out of my hands back into the bowl of water, they looked like carp. So I'm calling them carp agate. The darkest one, lots of brown looks so much like stone. Wish I'd kept track of the color of the scrap clay I covered. I just threw them together. Don't you wish you kept track of things sometimes? 

 I tumbled some beads with river rock, two different "grits." After a total of about 18 hours, I decided that the rock is fine for getting to a basic smoothness, but sanding definitely takes it to a whole new level. I loathe and despise sanding bunches of beads, not to mention through several grits. Still, the difference is really significant.

Jilla, when you line your tumbler barrel, does your sandpaper go all the way around, or do you have to piece it together? Every time I've tried a barrel liner, it seems to collapse during the tumbling and beads find their way behind the sanding surface. How full is your tumbler with beads? How much water do you add? I think I want to return to actual sanding, but not by hand, not with a bunch of beads.

I do think that buffing manually *before* applying a finish is a good idea. Buffing in itself improves the clarity, so you've got a better looking surface even before the finish goes on. You're not so reliant on the finish for the look.

I made some beads (translucent with inks and leaf), sanded through about 4 grits, buffed with my Dremel, and then applied 4 water-down coats of Varathane. Freaking awesome! They're not perfect beads by any stretch, but they have a real glass-like finish and they feel every bit as good to the touch. I thought I was getting the same look/feel after simply tumbling with rocks, but it's not even close. 

The sheets of sanding paper I buy are 8 1/2 x 11.  I cut 11' strips the width of my barrel and if memory serves that's 4 1/4 ish so I basically cut the sandpaper in half so I have two long strips.  Then I overlap them inside the tumbler fairly generously. 

If you REALLY want to think on it, the "engineer" would place the open and empty barrel on the tumbler, look at which way it's going to rotate, and place the strips with the overlap such that the materials inside the barrel will be pushing the paper overlap flap in the direction of the turn so your beads won't catch on the flap and lift it, dislodging the paper.  It's a little like putting the toilet paper roll so it comes off the top rather than off the bottom I guess......... 

I think you're right about positioning the direction of the flap. There will actually be two, since it takes more than one 11-inch strip to cover the circumference. Do you leave both pieces unattached/loose?

How full is your tumbler when you use it? Say you have 20 beads...that barely covers the bottom of the tumbler (I have a Lortone, standard size). How much water do you use? Just enough to cover your beads? More? 

I know there's centrifugal force involved, pushing things out, but I'm wondering if more water might help keep the sandpaper flat against the barrel, where it belongs. Because if any water/beads gets between the sandpaper and barrel sides, it's gonna collapse. 

I've never filled it more than 1/3 to 1/2 with water, for no particular reason.  Not sure if more water would put pressure on the paper to keep it in place, or get behind it and "float" it away from the edge of the barrel.  I don't think there's enough centrifugal force to matter - my gut says it's the weight of the water itself, that helps it stay in place. 

The only other thing I can think of trying is this:  If you happen to have an extra rubber ring for the barrel you could put it inside and see if it holds the paper around the edge but I think it would be a bit too small to put enough pressure on the paper.   

 well, here's a tutorial on how to make one, before you waste money ordering from someone else what you can do for yourself . . .

also, I heard from someone on SJA forums a neat way to sand - that I hadn't thought of . . . instead of putting the sandpaper on your dremel, put the bead on there (like a skewer) and hold the sandpaper in your hand - the bead spins, not the paper . . . neat idea . . .  

Just want to testify that the Jilla method of lining the tumbler barrel with sandpaper strips, no chips, absolutely rocks!!! No rocks either.

I cut a sheet of sandpaper into two 4"-wide strips. You're left with an inch-wide strip for handsanding projects. I figured out which way the barrel rotates (clockwise, when you're looking at the front). Put my overlapping strips such that the open ends face away from the turn. I didn't cover the top or bottom of the barrel interior with sandpaper. Put in about 25 beads, filled the barrel about 2/3 full of water, way more than just covering the beads. It ran about 10 hours with 400-grit. The sandpaper stayed pristinely in place and the beads are so smooth I'm reluctant to submit them to another 10 hours at a finer grit. But I think I will anyway.

I also note how different brands of sandpaper are so totally different at the same grit. 3M 800-grit feels the same as Ace 400-grit!

I definitely would handsand a few beads through the various grits. It's fast and you're done. But beyond that, it's really gross torture for me. I can't stand the smell of wet sandpaper. I don't know what it reminds me of, but I hate it, like a bathroom that needs to be aired out.

So definitely no more sandpaper chips for me. And probably no more tumbling with river rock, unless I'm out of sandpaper strips and need a basic first-step smoothing. 

Awesome info!  Someday I've got to get me a tumbler!  (of course, that is just one more thing to buy right Linelle?)  oh well, all in the name of progress!

I'm glad it worked for you.  Sure beats getting a manicure the hard way!