Thursday, June 10, 2010

BLACK AND WHITE ZEBRA FLOWER BEADS REVIVED



The good news is the black and white Zebra flower beads that turned yellow from the tumbler are white again.  The bad news is that I don't have any fingers, finger nails or finger tips left.

I soaked them in bleach for a long time and that did nothing so I thought I would try sanding them.  I have some little 2 inch by 2 inch sanding pads that I just got that go from 1500 grit to 4000 grit.  I started with the 1500 grit and the yellow started coming off and the white came back so I sanded all of them by hand (even the teeny tiny ones).  Went through a couple different grits and they look normal again.


I buffed a few last night but they need a little more.  I made another batch today and I'm going to move the tumbler into the guest bathroom where it's cooler and see if that makes a difference.  I've never had this problem before, I'm sure it's the heat in the garage.  If I had rubber lining, I'm sure mine would melt too.

The only thing I noticed about my flower cane is that the translucent has taken on a little grey cast.  I believe the black Premo has leached into the translucent.  I got an email from Iris Mishly today and she says when she buys clay she lets it sit for 6 months before she uses it for a cane or she leaches it in paper.  She especially does this for the softer clays such as Premo and Fimo Soft.

Will be updating on the new batch of black and white beads and what happens in the tumbler in the bathroom.  Stay tuned.  Sorry, can't have company, the bathroom is being used.  LOL

3 comments:

Cara Jane (surfingcat) said...

lol love to see your priorities, hope the cooler bathroom solves the problem. They are great beads!

Anonymous said...

You revived them, YAY!! They turned out beautiful! Great job!

Bonnie Kreger at B-LEE KREATIONS said...

Thanks guys, love your words of encouragement. I have 4 new ones in the tumbler now and will see how that turns out. The cat sits and watches the tumbler go around. I had to close the door because of the noise though. Will know sometime tomorrow if that is the problem.