Reviving Dried Out Gilders Paste with Paint Thinner
Video #466: Just because it’s all crumbly, does not mean you have to throw it away.
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IN THIS POST: — finishes — varnish — sprays — glaze — sealers — wax paste — rubs — gilders paste — paints — paint thinner — mineral spirits — dried gilders paste — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
Topics Covered In This Video:
- Gilders Paste… a waxed based finish.
- It has similar properties to shoe polish, including the strong odor.
- Solvents easily evaporate, leaving the paste dry and cracked.
- Rejuvenating Gilders Paste with Paint Thinners, Varsol, Mineral Spirits.
- Just a few drops will do. Too much will make a mess.
- Sneak peek…. Polymer Clay Journal Covers and Altered Books, antiqued and highlighted using Gilders Paste.
- Additional Gilders Paste Resource Video that shows you how to apply and use this wonderful finishing product on polymer clay.
00:00:03 –> 00:00:07 Hi guys, its Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor, and today’s Studio Tip is how to
00:00:08 –> 00:00:12 fix dried, cracked Gilders Paste.
00:00:12 –> 00:00:18 Now I’ve done a previous video on how to use Gilders Paste on your Polymer clay, and
00:00:18 –> 00:00:26 I am currently working on some Polymer clay journals and altered books for an upcoming
00:00:26 –> 00:00:32 tutorial, and I was working with my Gilders Paste and realized that some of it was getting
00:00:32 –> 00:00:36 all dry and crumbly, and I might as well show you how you can fix that.
00:00:36 –> 00:00:42 Now don’t throw it away it’s in perfect condition, you just need to rejuvenate it
00:00:42 –> 00:00:49 again, and the way to do that is to use some paint thinner, now this one happens to be
00:00:49 –> 00:00:55 a low odour Varsol, there’s lots of different types of paint thinners, you can also use
00:00:55 –> 00:00:57 mineral spirits.
00:00:57 –> 00:01:05 But what you need to do… now the Gilders Paste is a wax based product that we can use
00:01:05 –> 00:01:10 for finishes on Polymer clay, and it looks a little…and smells, and acts a little,
00:01:10 –> 00:01:18 like shoe polish, but it normally should be creamy, like this one is here, but after it
00:01:18 –> 00:01:24 sits around for a while, sometimes the solvents in it can be…can kinda dissipate out of
00:01:24 –> 00:01:27 the product and leave it dry and cracked.
00:01:27 –> 00:01:33 So every once in a while, what you wanna do is you wanna put a few drops of paint thinner…and
00:01:33 –> 00:01:40 I’ll just kinda scoop a little here, just a few drops of this paint thinner onto your
00:01:40 –> 00:01:45 Gilders Paste, not too much, you don’t wanna turn it into a sloppy mess.
00:01:45 –> 00:01:51 I’ll just put the lid on…this stuff is very smelly and flammable, so you wanna be
00:01:51 –> 00:01:58 careful with that, then what you do is you just sorta start crushing it up and working
00:01:58 –> 00:02:01 it back into a soft paste.
00:02:01 –> 00:02:06 Now it can take a little while, and you may need to add a few more drops of the paint
00:02:06 –> 00:02:12 thinner, but when you’re…when you’re all done mixing it in, you’ll get it right
00:02:12 –> 00:02:20 back to the nice creamy texture like this one here, then you can use it like you do…like
00:02:20 –> 00:02:24 I’ve shown you in the previous video, okay?
00:02:24 –> 00:02:29 So don’t go throwing out that dry crumbly Gilders Paste that you’ve got, you can just
00:02:29 –> 00:02:32 fix it right back up with a few more drops of paint thinner.
00:02:32 –> 00:02:37 I hope that was helpful for you, and if it was, click that like button that would be
00:02:37 –> 00:02:38 great.
00:02:38 –> 00:02:43 And my question for you today is, has this happened to you, and did you know about this
00:02:43 –> 00:02:44 little trick?
00:02:44 –> 00:02:46 Leave those comments in the comment section below.
00:02:46 –> 00:02:50 And don’t forget to subscribe, we have new videos that come out every week and you’re
00:02:50 –> 00:02:52 not gonna wanna miss a thing.
00:02:52 –> 00:02:53 We’ll see you next time, bye for now.
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Resource Links:
- Related Video: Gilders Paste
- Amazon: Gilders Paste **
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Hi,
This is probably a stupid question, but how creamy should this be? I’m more used to Inca Gold but I’m sensing this isn’t similar in consistency. I have a couple of colors of Gilders paste and they’re kind of dry (not much color comes away on my finger) but not crumbly. Can I throw in a few drops of thinner or is there a way to tell if I don’t need to?
Thanks!
Hi Krithika, the Gilder’s Paste should be the same consistency as a tub of new shoe polish. Not near as creamy as the Inka Gold.
Hi Cindy!! Guess what I saw this video I week back and the very next day I bought Gilder’s paste which was on sale. After coming home I saw it was dry!! And I was not disappointed seeing tatas I had ur solution before I face the problem. I just wanted to know if we can also use nail enamel remover which has almost same properties as varsol. Need to advise. Thank you.
Hi Lekha, I have no idea if nail enamel remover will work in place of the Varsol. Maybe you should test it on a tiny amount and see? Let us know what happens… I am sure everyone would love to know if it works!
Thanks, for the tutorial on gilders paste.
Thank you so much Morgan, and everyone else here who said such lovely things about our videos! Both Doug and I are really pleased that you are able to learn and get such good value from the videos we make for you. It is very rewarding to hear that you are having fun and making some good stuff out there! Keep it up and thanks again for sharing your kind feedback!
HI, Cindy!
I just wanted to tell you thank you for making so many wonderful instructional and informational videos available (for free!) on your site. I have been working with polymer clays for a while now, but I am by no means an expert. Your videos often cover techniques I already knew, but your instructions are so clear that several of them are easier now for me. Also, you have an absolutely charming accent which makes you fun to listen to. I don’t have any questions today, I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all of your efforts to make clay arts easier and more enjoyable.
Thanks again,
Morgan S.
Love your videos and lessons and hearing your great Canadian accent.
Cindy thanks for all you and Doug do. I appreciate your quick responses to praise and problems. Have a great day.
This vedio was much needed for me! I’m doing some new year cleaning in my studio and this was one of the things that I came across! Thanks !!! Off to get paint thinner!!!
I work in a bead store in Alameda, CA where we sell this product ~ owner does a LOT with Vintaj and all their related products. If we find this happening, I will be able to pass your knowledge along. Never know what i will learn when i come here ~ it has ALL been great and well produced!! Thank you again, marilyn
Somewhat off topic, but thank you for spelling “gilder’s” correctly. So many people spell it “guilder’s.” As an English major that drives me crazy!
Interesting, I have an old tube of “Rub and Buff” it is too hard to squeeze it out. I might just cut that tube open and try some paint thinner.
This is a great tip, I’ve had a couple of them dry out but luckily I had read on their website about adding paint thinner to resoften it. It did only take a few drops and I was back in business. Just have to remember to make sure I snap that lid on tight!
Oh yes, it’s happened to me when I opened a new can (jar? box?).
They told me (whom I bought it from) about this trick but I must have misunderstood them because I overdosed, It turned ALMOST liquid and I managed to use it somewhat. The roblem was that the next time I opened it it had dried up again. Next time I will try this.