Can you glaze air dry clay?

Yes, acrylic paints are the ones most often recommended to those who want to just paint on top of their baked polymer clay. Some other polymer clayers use alcohol inks as paints, and there are many other colorants that can be used that one wouldn't first think of as paints. Btw, oil-based paints --like artists' oil paints-- won't "come off" but they do take a looong time to dry completely so could rub off before that time--most are also transparent.

"Enamels" and other petroleum-solvent-based paints and clear finishes shouldn't be used directly on polymer clay though since they can begin dissolving the polymer clay over time; they could be applied over a coat of acrylic paint/finish though. Polymer clay *is* a plastic though (even though it doesn't look like it), so painting it is not quite the same as painting on various porous materials. The different brands and lines of polymer clay will have different amounts of "tooth" though to hold paints on**.

Generally, for complete and opaque coverage more than one coat of paint will be necessary (after properly cleaning the surface of any dirt or oils), or one coat of an opaque white acrylic or gesso, followed by at least one coat of paint. And keep in mind that the higher-quality paints like artists' acrylics will be more opaque than craft acrylics. More info here: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?... http://glassattic.com/polymer/paints.htm As for clear finishes, those should also be water-based (though there used to be one excellent alcohol-based finish put out by the Fimo people) if used directly on polymer clay.

Clear finishes can vary a lot though by their toughness, clarity, thickness, etc. ...Future (now renamed Pledge with Future Shine for vinyl or wood) is considered one of the best and toughest so not sure why yours is coming off, unless perhaps the clay hadn't been thoroughly cured, or you weren't waiting long *enough* between coats (especially if dipping). Future/Pledge is thin in consistency though compared to other clear finishes, and doesn't have UV protection if that matters to you. ...The clear gloss finish that's most favored by experienced polymer clayers is Varathane (indoor, gloss), one brand of polyurethane available at many hardware stores.

It's very tough (so won't scratch as easily as other clear finishes and won't turn cloudy from too much exposure to humidity), and has both UV protection and IPN which is a way to get down deeper into surfaces. It's also cheap and will last forever. (The *new* version of Sculpey Glaze, and certainly the old Studio by Sculpey Glaze it's replacing, are probably just Varathane rebottled--for much more money.) Both of those kinds of clear finish *can* actually be baked, or mostly they're "rebaked" if desired once dry on baked clay items to harden the surface even more than they were.

More info here in my answer and at one page of my site: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?... Varathane http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120323230957AADW6kU http://glassattic.com/polymer/Finishes.htm No gloss finish will stay totally glossy if it's handled a lot though. Micro-scratches will happen (less with Varathane and Future), and the oil from hands/etc will dull the surface a bit. (Many clayers choose to "sand-and-buff" their polymer clay items up to a high gloss, or only to a satiny sheen, rather than using a liquid gloss finish.).

You should purchase Sculpy Glossy Glaze. It works nice and gives it some shine. Can you help answer my question?

Please and thank you!

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.