sanding crochet hooks

[suziesclaycreations]

I bake my hooks than put a glaze on them. I have read where other artists only sand theirs. Could you tell me how this is done?

[exZuberant]

I do this with my newer jewelry pieces.

Sand with varying grits of sandpaper, starting with rough grits and working your way up to very fine grits. It doesn't take much time with each grit, and you'll get the hang of it after doing it a few times. Always use wet/dry sandpaper and keep it wet to avoid breathing the polymer dust (and to avoid having it all over your work area!). Once the piece is satiny smooth, buff it with a soft cloth (like an old white tee shirt or a piece of old, soft white denim - colored cloth can discolor your polymer) for a less shiny finish, or a dremel tool with an unstitched musllin buffing wheel for a very shiny finish.

It takes time, especially on a round item, but the finish is amazing and won't discolor or come off.

Once I get into my studio, I'll add details about what sandpaper grits I use.

[exZuberant]

I finally had a chance to check my stash. I use purple 3M pro-grade wet-dry sandpaper for the rougher grits. You can buy this at your local big-box hardware store. I typically start with 320 grit (fine). Once it feels satiny, I switch to 3M sanding sponges, which I buy in bulk on the internet. I use superfine (similar to 500-600 grit), then ultrafine (800-1000 grit), and finally microfine (1200-1500 grit). The sponges are nice because they have a little "give" to them, thus are better for sanding curved objects like your crochet hook handles.

After sanding, I buff like I said above. Sometimes I'll find scratches after I buff and I'll have to go back and re-sand. This whole process doesn't take a long time; I typically only spend a few minutes with each grit of sandpaper.

I love the feel of sanded and buffed polymer clay, and I am sure your customers will love it, too!

[exZuberant]

Oh, and although some polymer clay artists actually sand their pieces under water (to cut down on dust, as I mentioned in my first post), I find that wetting the sandpaper and/or the object you're sanding works better for me because I can more easily see what I am doing. I lay the sandpaper on an old terrycloth towel to absorb the excess water, which also provides some "give" for rounder objects.

[BeneathTheBadgerTree]

Hi. I've been using wet/dry sand paper to polish my jewellery pieces but I'm finding that it takes ages. They're all round and very small. I tend to hold the (wet) paper in the flat of one hand and rub the bead around it with the other. I think I'll try your method of laying the sandpaper on a towel to provide some give and see if this speeds thing up (and helps with the cramps in my hands). I too have found denim a brilliant material for buffing (discovered by lazily buffing on the jeans I was wearing because I couldn't be bothered to look for a cloth. I now use a piece left over from cutting off some jeans as my legs were getting bruised).
I love the soft sheen you get from sanding polymer clay, I think it looks far classier than using a glaze, and it is soooo nice to touch, a real bonus with jewellery, and I'm sure with crochet hooks too :).

[exZuberant]

I hope we were helpful, Suzanne.

Jane D., also try the 3m sanding sponges. They have even more give.

Also, see this thread: https://www.etsy.com/teams/6745/polymer-clay/discuss/11403609/page/1