Product Review: Magic Glos

I decided to try a new product for sealing pendants as I have not been thrilled with any of the water based glazes.

I have tried Crystal Effect and Diamond Glaze.

Neither hardens the way I want it to and neither should

be exposed to water...because they melt!

So I did some research and went with a more expensive product 

Magic Glos

This is a one step resin that is often used to seal polymer

clay jewelry. It is non-toxic and claims to be water proof.

At $9.99 for 1 oz bottle it is significantly more expensive

than the glazes I have been working with previously. But I 

think I would like a nice hard back seal on my glass pendants.

So I bought a bottle and tried it out.

The liquid is much thinner than Crystal Effects, it flowed quite nicely from the bottle onto the pendant. To achieve the hardened 

state you need to "cure" the whole piece in UV light. Here in 

Phoenix that meant the pendant went sun bathing for about 15 minutes.

The pendant did come out with a nice smooth, hard  flat back.

I like the finished results much better than with Crystal Effects.

I did notice the Magic Glos did sink into the paper more and 

made the white paper I used more transparent.

So here is my break down for 

Magic Glos

Pro's

• The bottle has an easy to use applicator top
• The product did not become sticky, thicker or tacky when I was working with it. Which meant I could take my time and get a nice even coat on the pendant.
• It only takes about 15 minutes in direct sunlight for it to harden. The product info says to give it about 20-30 is using a UV light bulb.
• After curing the surface is very hard and smooth much like epoxy. I did not test it but it looks way more durable them the water based glazes.
• No nasty odor, this product is darn near odorless and non toxic so no worrying about the cat!

Con's

• The product is thin and tended to pull away from the edges of my glass pieces. I had to use a toothpick to help nudge some of it to the edges.
• You have to use A LOT of this stuff to cover a pendant so this bottle is not going to go that far.
• It does sink into your paper so you have two choices. Let it sink in and get a more translucent look like my pendant above OR put a protective coating on your paper. Fair warning here I tried that with another pendant by brushing some watered down Diamond Glaze onto the paper. I apparently did not get a nice even coat and when I applied the Magic Glos it sank into the not so well protected areas and my pendant looked grease stained in the end. Thankfully the Mr. was able to salvage the glass for me.
• If you do not get a nice even seal you can get your finger under an edge and pry the entire piece of cured resin off the pendant. So remember this is NOT indestructible.
• This stuff is pricey and hard to find. Micheals does not carry it, Joann's only carries it online. At $9.99 a bottle plus shipping it becomes very expensive. I was able to find it at the local Hobby Lobby in the jewelry aisle. But if you are going to use this for items you intend to sell be aware this could bump the price of your finished good considerably.

With all that said I will continue to use Magic Glos for my

glass pendants but I think I will be keeping a sharp eye out

for some coupons at my local Hobby Lobby.