Don’t Stop Short: Why Skipping Finishing Touches Can Undermine All Your Polymer Clay Work

Hi, I'm Leah, I’m a handmade polymer clay artist passionate about bright, colourful pieces and expressing yourself through your creations. This series is about sharing my experience to help you avoid common pitfalls in this craft. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to improve your skills, this series explores the most frequent mistakes polymer clay artists make, in an attempt to smooth out your learning process. Each post explains why these mistakes happen, how they can affect your work, and what best practices will help you create stronger, smoother, and more professional pieces every time.

The series includes:

• Improper baking

• Working with dirty hands or surfaces

• Using the wrong tools

• Mixing incompatible materials

• Rushing the process

• Making pieces too thick or uneven

• Skipping finishing touches.

Thanks to scheduling internet magic, some of these posts may already be up by the time you're reading this, so go check them out!

You’ve spent hours sculpting, texturing, blending, and baking your polymer clay creation. It came out of the oven intact, and you’re proud of how it looks. It’s tempting to call it done right there, especially if you’re tired or excited to share it. But here’s the truth that every experienced clay artist learns: the finishing touches can make or break the overall quality of your piece. Skipping them is a common mistake that can leave even the most beautiful design looking amateur.

So why do we want so badly to skip this step? Sometimes it’s due to impatience - you’re eager to see the final result or move on to the next project. Other times, it’s not knowing what finishing steps are needed, or assuming that a raw baked surface is “good enough.”

And occasionally, it’s fear: worry that sanding might ruin the texture, or that adding a sealer could cloud the colour. These concerns are understandable, but with the right tools and methods, finishing your piece properly is one of the most rewarding parts of the process.

Finishing touches vary depending on what you’ve made, but they generally fall into a few key categories: sanding/ smoothing, buffing, sealing, and assembly.

Sanding smooths seams and surface imperfections - especially important on flat pieces or high-polish designs like faux stones or resin effects. It also evens out slight baking irregularities. Using a range of sandpaper grits (starting around 400 and going up to 2000+) under water gives you control and a clean finish. Yes, it takes time, but the silky surface it leaves behind is worth it.

Smoothing Your piece may not need sanding on the surface and you may be rightfully worried it will change your intended design. If you have some small imperfections, then try using acetone on a cotton bud to rub away the top layer instead.

Buffing adds shine without adding gloss. After sanding, you can use a soft cloth, a Dremel with a buffing wheel, or even an old pair of jeans to gently polish the surface. Buffing creates a warm, natural sheen that makes your piece look refined and professionally crafted.

Sealing isn’t always necessary - especially for plain polymer clay designs - but it can enhance colour, protect surface treatments (like mica powders, pastels, or paints), and add gloss or matte effects. The key is to use the right sealer: water-based polyurethane (like Varathane) or clay-compatible varnishes work well, and some people opt for a UV-resin finish which works well, quickly, but needs safety practices. Always test a new finish on a scrap first to avoid stickiness or clouding.

Finally, assembly matters. Glueing on findings, inserting jump rings, or attaching earring backs should be done with care. Make sure surfaces are clean, glue is fully cured, and everything is aligned. A beautifully sculpted pendant deserves more than a crooked bail or a glue smudge. If selling professionally, this will also include displaying your items in jewellery boxes or on cards with branding.

Think of finishing as the final layer of polish that elevates your project from craft to a work of polymer clay art. It’s a chance to correct minor flaws, enhance beauty, and give your work the professional edge it deserves. The difference between a rough, freshly baked piece and a finished, sanded, and sealed one is often dramatic, like the difference between raw and refined.

So take that extra 5-15 minutes. Your beautiful, unique polymer clay art pieces are worth it.

www.lelalo.store