Any tips on working with white clay...

[BettysRubble]

I wash my hands, I clean my surface, and take clay right out of the package and I still seem to get lint!!
Any tips?

[KaelMijoy]

I don't know if this will be much help but I have to be careful what I wear. I've noticed that I have a lot more trouble with lint when I'm wearing my fleece sweatshirt than when I'm wearing my satin jammies.

Also, depending on the shape of the item, you can sometimes scrape the lint off the surface of the clay with something sharp and then smooth it over.
Or, you can sand and buff the piece after baking to get the lint off (again, if the shape of the piece will allow...).

Oh, and if you are using a glass work surface- I read somewhere that glass is staticky (is that a word?) and will attract lint. Marble or stone is actually a better work surface.

I'm afraid white is just a pain to work with...

[Former_Member]

I had that problem too, but not anymore. I always clean my hands with wet wipes the moment before i start working with white and othe light colours and it always helps.

[BettysRubble]

Thanks!

[Former_Member]

oh, I don't work with white for this exact reason :( Cleaning hands with wet wipes does not seem to help at all. Wearing gloves (which I hate) still doesn't take care of the problem entirely. Using a scrap white clay to clean hands before work seems to be the best solution for me (say, when I make canes and have to use white). Other than that, I made one piece of jewelry where I needed to have white element and I just tried to scrape all the lint and smooth the surface. But I am afraid to do it again-it was so much pain to work with :(
Here's this piece I've made with white element: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moussycrafts/5039091080/

[LittleGrayFox]

I hate lint with a PASSION!!! Seriously! I just try my best to keep the area clean but it will almost always still attract dust in the air. I usually try to sand/buff out any bits that may show up. Although I have a real tough time with that on my miniatures. The Dremel comes in real handy!

I can't work with gloves, I've tried it in the past.

[Former_Member]

I work on a white tile surface that I wipe down with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol. I wash my hands with hand sanitizer and wipe them on a clean non-fuzzy cotton cloth the moment I notice the first lint bit.

And if my pieces still have a fleck or two on the surface, I take a cotton swab dipped in alcohol and gently rub the surface until I pick up the linty bit. (Also a good trick for removing fingerprints, when done very carefully.)

I hate lint with a passion too.

[CandiWareArt]

wonderful tips everyone I have the same problme I think everyone does

[Former_Member]

baby wipes are my godsend, I male wedding cake toppers here http://huntersdesigns.co.uk so I work with white a lot. If you see any marks on the clay wipe it over with a baby wipe, sounds odd but it works.

[starless]

That's one reason I don't work with white at all anymore. When I did, I tried to keep everything as clean as possible and then used the tip of my craft knife to carefully remove bits of lint. Also, I had noticeably worse problems with dark lint when I was wearing blue jeans- who knew that they constantly shed little blue bits?- so wearing light colors while you're working may help.

Premo "Pearl" doesn't show lint or take on colors nearly as badly, if it will work for your project.

[SarahBermanCreations]

I start to use gloves to work with white clay. We can see better when some other color os going there and I just change the gloves instead to watch my hands every minute.

Other thing important is the pasta machine. You will never get it clean enough to work with translucent and white colors. I bought a new pasta machine just for those colors. And I not regret at all!

I hope tis help you a bit.
Sarah

[SarahBermanCreations]

Oh! I forgot...

After clean the surface with alcohol or baby wipes (are the same result), use the new print paper on the table, under your white clay. I loved this tip, and I am using print paper for all colors work. This is clean and easy. Just change the paper instead clean the table many times a day.

[Former_Member]

Try wiping the raw clay with a baby wipe, it really works!

[Former_Member]

What we need to do is capture Ford and Forlano, tie them up and make them tell us their secrets for working with white clay--their work is always flawless :)
if all else fails, I have noticed that if you send a contaminated sheet though the pasta machine a few more times, imperfections magically disappear; fold the problem child to the inside and bury it; after all, what we're really taking about here is the few microns of the surface, right? We can't work in cleanrooms--we're artists!

[Former_Member]

also after you have created your white wonder, the surface may have gotten a tad dirty, but the layers underneath have not.

Im not a big sander, but definitely when I work with white. I have also found that cleaning my cured object with a good scrub down from a mr clean magic eraser helps.

But really, Im in the don't make it all white camp, or use lots of antiquing acrylic paint afterwards.

(I think the white has secret dirt lint and hair magnetic powers the other colors dont have)

[Former_Member]

O I like the babywipes and sanding ideas on the piece. In my other shop boxchicken.etsy.com I only use white and it's gotten to be such a mess lately that I just can't do it anymore.
Alcohol on q-tips to clean the piece does seem to work but it takes forever and the lint still comes back. I've heard have an air filter or ionizer going and keeping your room as well as you your clothes and the surfaces extremely clean can be a huge help too.
Got to get an air filter..

[Former_Member]

I agree! White is such a pain! I try to make whatever I need to make with white first before I get into any of the other colors, because I usually have to kick myself if I create otherwise and forget. Red is the WORST, after getting red clay on my hands, FORGET IT, no amount of handwashing is going to allow me to follow with white and have it be clean.

[TheHeatherWells]

Baby wipes here too. I use the kirkland brand.. Huggies for some reason don't work for me.

Then I shake my hands dry in the air... If I dry them with anything.. paper towels, tshrits regular towels... I reattach lint

[petitePastries]

I use a bit of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to wipe down my hands, which isn't great for my skin but it does the best job of clearing up clay leftover from working with other colors, and helps with some of the lint. I also use a bit of white scrap clay to wipe off the lint, but nothing really gets all of it... I'm so glad I'm usually making something where it's not a huge deal, but it still drives me crazy!