Applying Gold Accents to PMC Clay

I promised to give some tips, from my experimentation of applying a gold appliqué to your precious metal clay pieces.
I use Aura 22 and have had great success with it.

The most important thing I can tell you is, once you pieces has been fired, do not, I repeat.. do not burnish or tumble!
I allow the pieces to cool down and am careful not to touch the areas that are to be painted with gold, as oils and dirt from your fingers can intefere with the adhesion.

If you find that the gold has hardened in the jar, place a couple of drops of media included and stir with a toothpick until the consistancy is simular to the thickness of nail polish. Lightly place a thin, even layer of paint, using a small paintbrush and allow to dry. I repeat this process 3 times. You can apply two layers, instead of three, but I happened to like the bright color using 3 coats.

I have read tips that prior to applying gold accent paint, to place a thin layer of silver overlay on your fired piece.I suppose to help with adhesion. I haven't tried this yet, as I have not had an issue with the gold not staying in place.


After you have allowed the coats to dry, place your piece back in your kiln, and refire for approximately 6-7 minutes at 1600 degrees.
Once your pieces has cooled down, burnish and tumble. You will be amazed at the beautiful results!

To see the results, view my post about my Silver and Gold Teardrop Earrings

Silver and Gold Teardrop Earrings

For my newest endeavor, I had the opportunity to try a new patina to add to my precious metal clay designs - Gold Overlay!
This was alot of fun to work with and I have future designs just swimming in my head, waiting to be created!

This design features a teardrop within teardrop cutout design, crafted from fine silver (.999), precious metal clay.
The earrings were patina'ed in two parts, half with an antiqued,aged look; the other half with sparkling particles of pure gold (91.6%) overlay.
Handforged sterling silver ear wires feature a twisted design.
Earring length: a tad over 1 1/2"

There are a few important techniques that one must follow to obtain this effect and I will be sure to post those in a couple of days, for those interested in trying this yourselves :)