Sculpting Tool Maintainence

[nat is me]

Hey guys, Ive bough me some nice new sculpting tools and they work like a charm. My question is, how would keep the in good condition and keeping them nice and polished.

Im already extremely careful making sure that I havent left any excess green stuff on them. Anything else you can recommend?

Cheers

Nat

 

[Shawn R. L.]

A little toothpaste and rub them with cloth will shine them real good.

 

[QuietiManes]

How does toothpaste work on stainless steel? I\'ve used it on silver and would not reccomend it. While it works a treat, the silver seems to tarnish alot faster afterwards. My body chemistry is really acidic though...so meh. Just curious.

 

[freakinacage]

well, being stainless, it shouldn\'t tarnish. i think the cleaning is done with a mix of physical and chemical erosion of the dirt.

 

[Spacemunkie]

Toothpaste is a very mild abrasive - in a similar way to Brasso (or Silvo...).

You can use it to polish plastics too - great for removing all the fine scratches on yer iPod....

 

[freakinacage]

there aren;t any fine ones. only large gouges and dents. look like it has been used as a weapon!

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by nat is me
My question is, how would keep the in good condition and keeping them nice and polished.

Steel? Plastic? Wood?

Einion

 

[bullfrog]

The best part of being a chick is that I can use my exfoliant scrub on my sculpting tools. Works a treat for getting greenstuff off. Doesnt damage or tarnish the metal.

As for between uses and storage you could rub then with a bit of vegetable or any plant based oil for protection. Just a light wipe over with a damp cloth will do fine.....no need to dip n shake.
Best part is that the next time you use them a light buff with a dry cloth will remove any oily resdue to tough but leave an unnoticable film that makes it harder for GS to stick.

If you don\'t use your tools for a while you might notice a faint black tinge to the metal parts. The oil may oxidise but not damage and is completely wiped off with a cloth or Kleenex.

 

[bullfrog]

Sorry...I don\'t like to double post but the above method works fine for all tools made of all materials.

 

[freakinacage]

click \'edit\' and you don\'t have to

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I\'ve heard rumors that Teflon tips on sculpting tools works well.............

 

[johnandtricia]

If you or someone in your home smokes you can use cigarette ashes mixed with a bit of water to bit of a paste or a little runny. Rub this on them it will polish them nicely

 

[minimaker]

I\'ve made all my main tools (apart from the clayshapers) of stainless steel. It\'s a lot more scratch resistant than the ordinary wax carver tools I had before. With both I will wipe them off regularly during sculpting to remove putty and afterwards I check for scratches. If there are scratches I will lightly sand it and polish it with my motortool afterwards.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
I\'ve heard rumors that Teflon tips on sculpting tools works well.............

No, do tell


Nat, help us out here mate - we still don\'t know what your tools are made from!

If they\'re steel it shouldn\'t be too much of a problem; it took well over a year of use before I really felt the need to repolish one or two of mine and in all honestly is was mostly for cosmetic reasons

Einion

 

[Shawn R. L.]

I used copper for a long time and it worked well. It was easy to shape and hard enough to keep it\'s shape.

 

[nat is me]

Sorry guys for the late reply, I had password problems and was unable to post.

Thanks to all those who have posted.

For those that are asking, I have stainless steel sculpting tools.

Cheers guys