Using Polymer Clay with Mica Powder

There is a lot of buzz these days on using mica powder in Polymer Clay projects. Have you ever wondered why? Read long to know further.

What is Mica Powder?

Mica powder is a finely crushed shiny powder made from Mica. The mica mineral from the ground is crushed into tiny flakes and colored to a non-toxic powder.

It looks similar to glitter due to its shiny appearance. Glitter is made from tiny pieces of plastic that adds the shine to it whereas mica powder gets its sparkle from natural elements. This has made its presence more prominent and popular in the world today.

Why use Mica Powder?

Mica Powder is popularly used in many clay projects. When the clay projects need to be sparkling, mica powder is added to it to get the desired shiny, metallic or textured effect. It is easily available in shops in lots of different colors.

Adding mica powder in different colors adds more shimmer to translucent polymer clay. They can be added to a variety of mediums like resin, acrylic paints etc.

Do you apply mica powder on raw clay or baked clay?

Raw Polymer clay is a little bit sticky by itself. So when you apply colored mica powder using a brush, it sticks nicely to the polymer clay.

So you can rub it nicely on the raw clay with the brush or using your finger. You can evenly spread it to get the shiny effect.  You can also brush mica powder across a textured pattern of polymer clay to get the desired pattern revealed.

However, if you apply mica powder directly using a brush on baked polymer clay it does not stick. It comes off right away from the baked Polymer clay piece.

How to apply it on baked pieces?

If you have already baked your clay and still want to add mica powder, then the best way is by applying with a thin coating of liquid clay or certain types of glue or even varnish. This  is because the baked clay does not provide a sticky surface for the mica powder to stick. So you can get a good shiny effect by adding additional elements to the mica powder so that it helps it adhere to the clay surface.

How to apply?

You can easily apply mica powder to polymer clay with your finger and spread it along to get a smooth effect. You can also use a brush to apply the mica powder to get more precise application.

This will help to evenly spread the mica powder on the clay which will eventually enhance and sparkle your clay project.

Can you mix mica powder with clay while conditioning?

You can definitely add mica powder to the clay while conditioning. For this purpose, you need to condition and flatten the clay. Then using a brush apply the required colored mica powder all over the clay surface.  Then you can knead the clay so that the mica powder is incorporated properly. You can repeat this process to get the desired shade.

End Results

Now you know that mica powder can be used in numerous ways on Polymer Clay. We always recommend using white raw polymer clay to get the best results. So let us know how you used it to get the best effect on your clay project.