Fopals - Cindy Leitz

There has been a buzz of excitement recently on Cindy Leitz's blog about her Faux Opal technique.

 
I tried it the Friday I recieved the video but it didn't really work out at all and I was so disappointed I didn't even take any pictures! The bake and bond was so soft it wouldn't really sand at all.

Finally I found a moment to try again yesterday and baked them for much longer which has made them harder (and thankfully easier to sand) but I am still not happy with the results. I am posting some images here just in case anyone has cracked this technique can share some tips.

Here they are before sanding

 I knew sanding was a key part of making these look good so I spent ages sanding one. Gave it a good long time at 180 and 240 grits and then went through 400, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 grits.

Here it is after sanding.

Not sure what caused the cracking on the bake and bond. My flake colours are still too bright but that isn't a huge issue on these cause you can't really see them.

I have reread some of the tips on Cindy's blog and I think perhaps I have some other ideas to try and also perhaps I ought to go back and sand some more. I will master this technique and hope to produce something closer to Cindy's beautiful sparkly faux opals!

Blogger picture problem and Pledge Finish

I was struggling trying to load some pictures into my post when I realised that the pictures of mine have disappeared from my blog and other people's blogger blogs. I guess there is a server problem somewhere.
I shall give up with that post til later.

I tried the Pledge Multisurface Wax (the UK version of Future I believe) today. I painted it onto an unsanded tortoise - no problem but it does emphasise the finger prints (it was a premo one wouldn't have had finger prints on a Kato one). I tried painting it onto a flat pendant but it wouldn't cover the surface. I would paint it on but it would creep away from some areas. I tried spreading it out again and again but it kept doing the same. I tried it on a freshly sanded button which was well sanded and buffed and it did the same. The polish made a sort of donut shape coming away from the edges and the centre of the button. Anyone got any ideas?

It says on my bottle it should be dry after 20 mins and nothing about recoating. It also says something about being self sensitive so it won't build up - does that mean I won't be able to put more coats on? I gather from what I have read that Future says it can be recoated after 8 hours. I will leave them over night but so far I am not impressed.