Will putting a metallic silver acrylic paint on black polymer clay make the finished product look silver?
You can use a liquid, metallic-colored acrylic craft paint on baked polymer clay, but all the colors will be a bit on the pearly side… which is usually fine. You’ll probably need at least two coats. You can add a coat of brush-on clear acrylic finish if the acrylic doesn’t have enough gloss for you. Don’t use an “enamel” metallic paint though … those may look more like “hard” metal but will eventually eat into the clay because of the petroleum-based solvents they contain. There are other options for making “faux metal” with polymer clay though: The most realistic would be a “real metal” powder –for example, the Mona Lisa brand called Authentic Metallic Powders or something like that, or Fimo’s metallic pulvers if you can find them. (Those are generally applied –rubbed in well– when the clay is raw.) You can also use a metallic wax like the Rub ‘N Buff mentioned above (usually done after baking), then buff it. That won’t be quite as bright as some of the others but can work. (A b
