What do you use to vanish your beads?

[EmilyMadeMe]

Firstly I'd like to say Hello! I'm new to the team and fairly new to selling on etsy. I mostly make friendship bracelets but I also love making paper beads and I'm going to start selling a few bracelets in my shop.

I would be very interested to hear what other people varnish their beads with. I want to make them as water resistant as possible. At the moment I glaze them with a layer of mod podge and 2 coats of clear nail polish. I would love to hear if there is a better/different way to do it!

[Former_Member]

Hi Emily! Your bracelets are so pretty! :)

I go straight for a coat of acrylic nail polish. It makes them hard as any other bead and resistant to everyday wear. I'm interested to see what other methods there might be though...

[Former_Member]

I use mod podge for most of my beads, but I also use nail polish on some if I want to add sparkle or a tint of color.

[Former_Member]

Hi! I just did a post about sealing paper beads in my blog a couple weeks ago:
http://www.ilovepaperbeads.com/blog/protect-paper-beads/

I use mod podge to roll the beads (if I am rolling them). Then my favorite sealant is Minwax Satin Polycrylic Protective Finish which I get at Home Depot (Michael's Crafts also sells it.)

I never heard of using nail polish, though that sounds like a good idea too!

[Former_Member]

Hello! I use a coat of nail polish for my beads. I've got a bunch of stuff (Janice Mae glaze for paper beads & some decoupage glaze) coming in the mail, so hopefully that'll work better, as nail polish can get pricey :)

[Former_Member]

Three coats of ceramcoat varnish works for me, of course with the caveat that they shouldn't be worn in the shower or while washing dishes!

[Former_Member]

I use 3 coats of polycrylic which is an industrial acrylic glaze. It takes 2 hours dry time between each coat. I glaze my beads in batches of about 500 by stringing them up and glazing them that way. They get unstrung 24 hours after the last coat and then they dry laid out for another 24 hours. Afterwards, I take an exacto pen blade and diamond files to cut off drips and smooth out the edges and insides.

[Former_Member]

I use two coats of brush-on Liquitex acrylic gloss varnish, and then a spray coat of Beacon waterproof gloss sealer. It's interesting to see all of the variations of sealing paper beads!

[Beaderville]

I use nail polish as well. I used to use NYC brand, but it started to get real thick before it was halfway used and get real stringy. So I just switched to Wet and Wild, which is thin and coats the beads very nicely.

I always make sure to air out my beads for a few days before making things with them.

[Former_Member]

I use Triple Thick by Deco Art. 8oz jars are at Hobby Lobby. This is a non toxic sealant that wont harm your skin or your customers. The others I have tried is Mod Podge Matte, which works good, and is not tacky. Gloss Mod Podge gets tacky as do any of the sealants So far. Nail Polish is just to expensive for me. I am thrilled to see so many on giving their 2 cents. It is a subject that I have been trying to get better at for some time. The polyacrylic I would like to try, but I am afraid of the Ambering. Triple Thick is the only one that actually works out. I use a box and string the beads in rows so they do not stick together. Thick enough fishing line and small hole beads work best to keep the insides from clogging.

[Former_Member]

I used everything from Mod Podge (not bad), to Elmers glue, also nail polish (yellows within a year of wear), and Diamond Glaze. But by far the best product out there for use paper beaders to use is "Triple Thick"! I do resin work as well in my jewelry and had bought some for that and found it to be the best for that. When I used it on my beads I had way better results. I put on two coats, letting it dry about an hour before the second coat is added on. I then let it dry 24 hours before I bag and tag as a finished product. Triple Thick...best product!

[Former_Member]

I love using Mod Podge!
I never tried using nail varnish, I was worried it would leave a permanent nail polish smell, but seeing how many people are using it, I'm guessing that's not so?

[Former_Member]

I found nail polish to be quite smelly as well, so I use a few coats of acrylic floor varnish.

[Former_Member]

I use 3d Crystal Lacquer and Diamond Glaze. Very happy with both of them.

[Former_Member]

I use 2-3 coats of polycrylic on my beads and let them "cure" for 4 days before I use them.

[Former_Member]

I use Triple Thick, Mod Podge is too sticky, and nail polish too expensive

[Former_Member]

thought I do make the beads with mod podge first before the triple thick

[Former_Member]

I've only used nail polish and mod podge, but am going to try polycrilic and triple thick

[Former_Member]

I use bog standard polyurethane varnish which works fantastically well ... but does take AGES to dry!

[passthesmiles]

I've used Janice May's Vibrance glaze. It works well:)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/59488486/vibrance?ref=shop_home_active

[Former_Member]

Does Janice May's vibranze take long to dry?

[Former_Member]

As a middle school art teacher, I search for ANYTHING FREE to come up with projects for my students.(We are talented scavengers!) I have found old National Geographic magazines to be perfect for paper bead making. The paper is heavier, and you can get whole pages of just photographs to make beads. My main issue is sealing them for the students. I have over 260 kids this year, and finding an easy AND inexpensive way for the kids to seal their beads has been a challenge. Any help would be appreciated! I also make beads for my own crafts, and sew them onto canvas bags, so a cheap way for ME to do it that would be durable would be great as well!

[Former_Member]

I have tried the Triple Thick which I use often, Modge Podge,nail polish and I am also looking for other methods of glazing and sealing beads however I also used something called Diamond Glaze and when I use it on some of my paper beads it worked out pretty well and made the beads very hard and shiny.
They do sell Diamond Glaze on etsy if you ever wanted to try it

[rocksandpaperswans]

I use several coats of water based polycrylic from Minwax (oil base polyurethane will turn your paperbeads amber over time). Works beautifully!

[Former_Member]

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