What is the best way to clean surfaces that I make polymer clay beads on?

Question

I use a square of Lucite to work on and I can't seem to get all of the smudge/smear from my last piece of work off with just soap and water.

Answer 1

Try a bit of isopropyl (regular) alcohol. It should clear it up nicely.

Answer 2

Polymer clay is oil-based, not water-based so it won't simply wipe off entirely.... even on glass, there would be a tiny bit left even if you couldn't see it.

Alcohol on a paper towel or a baby wipe with alcohol are the usual weapons of choice for cleaning off clay work surfaces. Soap and warm water should have worked though if you'd cleaned it well enough... or, as with getting polymer clay color off hands, you could also have used some hand lotion, or oil, wiped it off with a tissue, etc., then washed that off with soap and water.

You may very well get tiny scratches on many work surfaces (including acrylic sheets) though when using blades with polymer clay, and those won't come off with cleaning... but usually aren't a big problem.

(If you want to check out some other work surfaces you could use with polymer clay, check out this page at my site:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/tools_Dremels_worksurfaces.htm
... click on WORK SURFACES...)


Diane B.

Answer 3

Cheat! Stretch a piece of cling film over your board before starting work. Then just throw it away when you have finished. You can also use surgical spirit which you can buy at a chemist, it can be quite harsh or some surfaces though.

Answer 4

Rubbing alcohol works great for cleaning Everything off of my glass pieces for stained glass, ie: dust, dirt, oils, gooey stuff, so I'd imagine it would do the same for your work surface.

Answer 5

UPVC cleaner will remove most resinous stains. You can buy it from DIY stores.