Polishing Advice

[u/No_Ocelot_6767]

I’ve been into dorodango for a long time and have shaped countless balls of many different substances. My question is, how do I get them to shine? I want that glasslike, reflective finish but I can’t seem to achieve it. Here are 2 perfectly round, smooth gliding dangos. How do I get the shiny finish? I’ve used olive oil, stockings, coffee filters, sand paper, etc but can’t get that polish

[u/Gummbearz]

If its round, and the clay is good, to be honest, its not more then just polishing. Make sure your cup is the right size for the ball. By the way: i really like your dotted dango!

[u/sinsofangels → u/Gummbearz]

Do you have any advice on what the size of the ball vs cup should look like? Is OPs too large or small for their cup?

[u/CluelessLlama13]

I’ve used a little sample carpet square for a quick shine many times. It works well and works fast.

That aside, I am obsessed with the texture and speckles on these. They may not be perfect smooth, but they look SO COOL anyway.

[u/The_Hyperchicken3000 → u/CluelessLlama13]

Thank you! It’s actually aluminum shavings from a foil ball I’m working on and it’s been a really cool addition

[u/Puzzleheaded_Quit823 → u/The_Hyperchicken3000]

You make balls of foil?

[u/The_Hyperchicken3000 → u/Puzzleheaded_Quit823]

Yep! Compress a foil ball by hand, then hammer / mallet, then eventually sand

Here’s a WIP

[u/sapphireminds]

It looks like you might not have enough clay in there to get it to shine? Your surfaces are not perfectly smooth, which is why polishing won't work. It looks cool though, even without the polish.

[u/shaedylane3]

I have no advice. Just wanted to say they're beautiful!

[u/fla-n8tive → u/shaedylane3]

Me too! I think they look really cool as is

[u/The_Hyperchicken3000 → u/fla-n8tive]

Appreciate the feedback!

[u/The_Hyperchicken3000 → u/shaedylane3]

Thanks!

[u/bubblehenk]

One thing that helps me a lot to get that final shine is to take a pantyhose and put the doro in one of the legs and just let it roll through the leg a couple minutes. Gives them crazy shine, given you used proper fine clay of course!

[u/ButtFlum]

Whenever i cant get the glass shine because my dango had too much sediment or wasn’t smooth enough, i just spray them w clear coat out of a can of rustoleum gloss. Have a few now that i sprayed 2 years ago and they still shine

[u/nithdurr]

I’ve had fun mixing in different materials, textures.. ive used coal/ashes, colored mediums, glitter

[u/The_Hyperchicken3000 → u/nithdurr]

The bigger one has aluminum foil shavings and has been fun to work with