How do I keep lustre, AB, metallic, irridescent or pearl finish beads looking new?
After spending the extra dough to buy those gorgeous, sparkly beads and making a beautiful piece of jewelry, you find that the beads lose their sparkle or change color from use. One trick is to use Future acrylic floor polish. Yup. You heard right. Take your finished piece and dip it into a small bowl of Future and put it on a paper towel to dry. This will seal the beads and the thread for a longer lasting piece. Another trick for making the finish on your beads last is to spray the beads before assembly. Use a polyurethane spray to seal the beads. This is best for seed beads and smaller beads that can be “tumbled” after being sprayed to evenly coat them. Put the beads onto a paper plate and spray lightly. Then “stir” the beads around and apply another coat, repeat. Put beads onto a paper towel in a single layer to dry. Don’t spray too much or your beads will stick together.
