I started the testing for this article intending to review Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Sealer. But I figured since I was running the tests, I might as well try various clays and various sealers, too. So this really turned out to be more comprehensive than just a review of a single product. I suppose this has become an article about polymer clay in the dishwasher.
It’s really funΒ to decorate and coverΒ glasses and utensils with polymer clay. So the question of durability always comes up. Most people do recommendΒ hand washing any hand-decorated glasses and cutlery. But is that necessary? What actually happens when you put polymer clay in the dishwasher? Does it crumble? Does it peel and flake off? Does it turn white and disgusting? And does a sealer make polymer clayΒ more durable? Well, thanks to the patience of my family over the past three months, and thanks to my dishwasher, we now have a pretty good idea. And honestly, it’sΒ not what I expected.
Test Conditions
The Votives
I used three straight sided glass votives. Each was covered with a thick sheet of polymer clay, leaving the top third of the votive bare glass. Black clay was used so that any deterioration of the sealer would be more visible. I used Fimo Professional, Premo, and Kato Polyclay. The clay was just smoothed onto the glass, no adhesive was used. I used a smooth sheet of copy paper to “texture” each votive so they would all have the same surface texture. All three votives were baked for an hour at their respective correct temperatures and then washed with rubbing alcohol to allow for optimal sealer adhesion.
The Sealers
The votives wereΒ marked intoΒ fiveΒ separate sections, each received a different sealer, and one left bare as a control. The sealers used were Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Gloss, Varathane, Liquitex Gloss Varnish, and Future. Three coats of each sealer were used and they were left to dry for 28 days, according the directions on the label of the Mod Podge. The sealers were used on the polymer clay and also on the area of glass directly above it. This was done to check if sealing the interface between clay and glass was necessary. I labelled everything with a Sharpie.
The Dishwashing
Each votive was placed over tines in the top rack of my dishwasher and just left there for three months. I have a typical GE dishwasher, nothing fancy, and it was always used with the potscrubber option enabled. Heated drying was not used. We used Finish dishwasher tablets for each load. My family was crazy busy this spring and we ate frozen meals or ate out a lot, so we didn’t run the dishwasher every day. I estimate that it went through about 60 cycles in the three months. And yes, my husband did ask, several times, how much longer we’d haveΒ polymer clay in the dishwasher!
Polymer Clay in the Dishwasher
After three months of being in the dishwasher, the unsealedΒ area of all three brands of polymer clay showed absolutely no wear. There was a slight film of some kind, which felt sort of waxy, but that was easily removed by buffing with a towel. I’m thinking this residue was something like soap scum. But all three brands of polymer clay had no crumbling, chipping, degrading, cracking, or obvious discoloration. Since I used black clay, I can’t tell if light colors would be discolored or not. Perhaps that’s an experiment for another day.
Sealers on Polymer Clay in the Dishwasher
Whereas the polymer clay looked pretty good after being in the dishwasher for three months, I can’t say the same thing for the sealers. They did not fare so well. Here are my observations.
Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Gloss
This sealer is marketed for glueing and sealing paper decoupage onto glass and ceramic plates and mugs. It’s also nice when mixed with glitter and applied to a mug. But I wondered if it would also be a good sealer for polymer clay and if it would be good to protect mica powder and paints on polymer clay in the dishwasher. Sadly, however, this sealer is very streaky and leaves very obvious and visible brush strokes. It does not level out and most certainly is not invisible on glass.Β Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe became sticky on Fimo Professional after one wash, though, it did bond well and can’t be scraped with a fingernail.Β But on Fimo the finish developed tiny white spots over time.Β Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe fared a bit better on the other two brands of polymer clay in the dishwasher. Although it didn’t discolor on Premo or Kato, it can be scraped off with a fingernail if you really dig at it.
Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Gloss stayed attached to the glass very well, however. Of the three votives, only one showed a small area of cracking.
Varathane
It’s no secret that I really like the way Varathane performs in a variety of situations and on a variety of clays. This, I now know, includes polymer clay in the dishwasher. I didn’t like the way any of these sealers performed, but the Varathane performed better than the others. The gloss finish of the Varathane remained glossy on Premo, but dulled considerably on Kato. On Fimo Professional, however, there were many tiny white spots. I’d think that Premo with Varathane would be the magic solution, but sadly, the Varathane can be easily scraped with a fingernail. Varathane was not easily scratched on Fimo Professional and Kato.
Varathane was remarkably clear on the glass, and I wouldn’t hesitate using it for sealing paper decoupage on glass. But not in the dishwasher. The coating of Varathane that was on the glass lifted off with the first wash and crumpled like a wet sack onto the polymer clay section of the votive, where it remained for the rest of the three months of testing.
Liquitex Gloss Varnish
Well, this sealer was a total failure across the board. On all three clays it becameΒ rubbery and tacky, similar to a latex balloon. On Fimo, it also developed tiny white spots. On Kato Polyclay, when I applied the Liquitex Varnish, it beaded up and even with three coats I couldn’t get a smooth finish. This varnish also sloughed off the glass part of the votive with the first wash.
Future
Future is the old name for very clear acrylic finish that is used on no-wax floors (ie. vinyl floors). It has changed names and labels many times as the product as been bought by new corporations. You can (I think) now find this product under the name Pledge FloorΒ Care. I have an old bottle that I’ve had for 10 years. But I believe it’s the same stuff. It’s a favorite of polymer clayers for its low cost, ease of application, and good shine. Durability, however, is its downfall.
That point was made very clear in this test. Very early in the three months of testing, this finish deteriorated and turned white and chalky on all three brands of polymer clay tested. Future is most certainly not a suitable sealer for polymer clay in the dishwasher.
Conclusion
I ran this test in hopes of identifying a good sealer to use to protect polymer clay in the dishwasher. I found that in all cases, the sealers deteriorated faster than the polymer clay. If you are going to cover glass or utensils with polymer clay and run them through the dishwasher, don’t seal them. From the limited time test that I ran in this article, the polymer clay holds up quite well to dishwasher cleaning and an occasional run through the machine isn’t going to hurt anything.
Here are some other points:
- Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Gloss is durable in the dishwasher but doesn’t give a very nice glossy finish. Lots of brush strokes.
- Varathane gives a better overall finish that than the other sealers I tested, especially on Premo. But It could be scratched with a fingernail.
- Liquitex Gloss Varnish is not suitable on polymer clay in the dishwasher.
- Future (aka Pledge Floor Care) is not suitable on polymer clay in the dishwasher and turns white rapidly.
- Bare polymer clay holds up in the dishwasher far better than any of the sealers I used on the clay.
- Don’t use a sealer on polymer clay unless you have to. And if you do, don’t put it in the dishwasher.
- If you do need to seal polymer clayΒ used on dinnerware, like if you are using mica powders that need to be sealed, don’t put them in the dishwasher! Hand wash them only.
- Sharpie didn’t hold up on the glass in dishwasher. It washed offΒ after 2-3 cycles.
- Durability of polymer clay in the washing machine had similar results.
- Note that each clay behaved differently with the sealers. This might explain why so many people report varying results with paints, sealers, and other chemicals on polymer clay. Maybe they’re using different brands of clay.
In summary, polymer clay appears to be fairly durable in the dishwasher, at least for the short term, and does not need to be sealed. In fact, the sealers don’t hold up at all. For maximal life, I still recommend that you hand wash any polymer clay covered dinnerware. But there’s no need to fear putting unsealed, sturdily built polymer clay in the dishwasher occasionally.
Email is the best way
to get updates
You will LOVE getting this email, which is packed full of polymer clay goodness. About once or twice a month.
54 thoughts on “Polymer Clay in the Dishwasher”
You mentioned that polymer clay doesn’t bond well with resin? can poly clay be used as an inclusion in a resin piece? Could you elaborate on what causes adhesion
problems between the two materials?
Thank you,
Theresa Z.
Yes, baked polymer clay makes a great inclusion for resin casts. As for bonding, the resin is just resting on the surface of the polymer clay. So if you use a layer of resin over your polymer clay, then flex the clay, the resin (being less flexible) can crack or separate from the polymer clay. When used in the presence of water, the moisture gets between the layers, further causing the layers to separate.
I have a couple of small expresso cups I want to decorate with polymer clay. I was wondering if u can seal them with resin and then they are dishwasher safe or will the resin chip off?
Resin will not bond well to polymer clay. It just lies on top of the clay. Water will get forced under the resin and it will lift. Just decorate with polymer clay only…no sealing is needed. All varnishes and sealers will degrade in the dishwasher. Polymer clay will withstand it, but it might discolor over time. Plus, the polymer may lose bonding with the ceramic if washed in the dishwasher. Hand washing should be just fine however.
Pingback: Wissenschaftliche Betrachtung: Was ist eigentlich Fimo und wie giftig ist es wirklich? | Lenyeds KΓ€mmerchen
Ginger, thank you so much for your test and for reinforcing my decision to not use a sealer on my utensil handles. In the past, I have had a few friends say that the clay cracked when they put it in the dishwasher, but found out that they were using the high heat drying cycle and the utensils were on the bottom shelf utensil rack. I agree with you that hand washing is still the best method of care, but the dishwasher with the no-heat dry cycle is ok, too.
Thank you for your exhaustive testing, and for sharing the results so clearly.
Pingback: KatersAcres WIP Wednesday in KatersAcres Polymer Clay Studio
So useful and interesting, as every article on this beautiful website…tons of precious review and tests… it is really a miner of treasures for clayer! Thanks for sharing Ginger!
Great blog post. I’ve been running similar sealant tests on metal clay and am concluding that I prefer the bare metal. Have yet to find a sealant that really REALLY stands up to long-term wear. That may be fine for a froo-froo piece of jewelry that someone wears once a year, but I want to make jewelry you can put on and leave alone for months on end (yes, I’m that lazy about wearing jewelry).
Lol you beat me to the test π I just bought a dishwasher π nothing fancy it does the job I want anyway π and I was going to run some tests to see how it went but I was going to spray my test pieces with PYM II as that turns paper water proof π same with photos and I have been using this on all my prices that have mica powder on them to ensure they are sealed π
Maybe as you have not used that for the test I will still run my own tests but I only use Kato and now Sculpey Premo as I love their colours π so my test will only reflect these two brands π but I will be using the colours as well as the black only because I wanted to make sure of which ones I could use or not for a special wedding gift I am making for a friend π once I have run my tests on my sample gift first π wanted to make sure it did not matter if they were plain or mixed colours as they are used in the project π
At least I know I am not the right track though thank you so much for your feedback on your tests π at least I now know not to varnish after I have sprayed them with the PYM II π
Have a great day Ginger π and ta π
I would worry that chemicals from the polymer clay may be released in the dishwasher’s water. Polymer clay is not supposed to touch food or our mouths. If one decorated a mug, for example (not near the top rim), with polymer clay, I would wash it by hand, BY ITSELF.
Polymer clay is vinyl. That’s the same material as aquarium and IV tubing, shower curtains, and vinyl siding on houses. You might want to read up on polymer clay safety here.
thanks for sparing us all that testing. so, did you need to buy a new dishwasher after all this testing? i’d be worried that deteriorating plastic would total ruin the dishwasher – even if it had a disposal feature. please mention that this testing is probably not safe for septic systems.
Oh goodness, there wasn’t THAT much deteriorating plastic. Just a couple of flakes of sealer that came off of the glass with the first wash. I knew to look for it, so there was no harm. I’m on city sewer here, but honestly there’s no reason why this would hurt a septic system. Now if I were doing industrial production, maybe! Though I will have to admit that a new dishwasher does sound nice. I want one of those stainless steel jobs with the super quiet super blasting features. Think I could convince my husband? π
Comments are closed.