That sounds like a very interesting book. :) I am interested in faux bone, especially, because I plan to make some skull jewellery in the near future. Bird skulls in particular are something I feel drawn to.. so anyway, I really look forward to anything clay related you post. Faux surfaces in clay can be very cool.

At the moment I'm using two products to get shine:



Liquid fimo on the right, and on the left a UK-based varnish called "polyvine". I'm going to change polyvine though, because I only got it due to money constraints and being in a rush to get something other than fimo's own brand of gloss. Liquid fimo is a really, really good product. If you haven't got some, get some! It does a million things, and bakes shinier than regular polyclay. It's also known as "TLS" (translucent liquid sculpey). It's a really good glue between baked and unbaked clay, as well, and quickly becomes indispensible in your work.

Adding any varnish on top of TLS gives you shine like the white of the egg:



But the very best glossy finish of all comes from using epoxy resin, which dries clear like glass. It can take up to a day to harden if you use some products, but there's a new product out called "magic glos" which doesn't require any mixing, is ready to use as squeezed from the tube, and dries more quickly, albeit needing UV light. Resin will give you an ultra shiny finish, if that's what you're after. Otherwise I've heard good things about "future floor wax" and "varathane" and will try those too. That's what the pros are using.

And thank you. I'm glad I found you too. :) I do click my reading page often, and read more than I comment. I like your posts. Rock on my dear.