We're excited to have recently released Safe-Smooth solvent on the store! Though we've had it for sale at a few conventions, we haven't had it available online until now.
A better solution
A while back, when we were shooting the first tutorial video, we realized that the solvent we had to explain using was naphtha, which isn't the best thing to have on your skin. As far as art materials go it isn't high on the list of dangerous substances, but it is an organic solvent that should be used sparingly, and we didn't like suggesting that the best way to smooth your sculpture was to use lighter fluid. Also, it left a gummy, permanently changed surface that couldn't be sculpted again.
We wanted to create something better, that was safer for people to use, and more effective on Cx5 and Cx5s.
Safe-Smooth is a non-toxic solvent formulated to be quick acting, leave a clean non-sticky surface on your piece, and be non-irritating to skin. Safe-Smooth works by breaking down the surface layer of Cx5, which allows you to wipe it away and leave behind a smooth, clean finish that is nearly impossible to achieve with other sculpting methods.
Unlike other solvents, Safe-Smooth does not permanently alter the surface of your sculpture. You can go back into a surface smoothed with Safe-Smooth and continue sculpting. This makes solvent sanding a process that you can use at multiple stages of your sculpting, instead of just as a finishing move.
A guide to solvent sanding
Here are the easy steps you can follow to get the best solvent results on your piece.
- Spray Safe-Smooth onto a thin strip of a 3M Softback Sanding Sponge - the lightly abrasive sanding sponge will work the Safe-Smooth into the surface layer of your sculpture.
- Using Safe-Smooth on your sanding sponge, use circular motions across the surface of your sculpture to create a slurry of Cx5 and solvent.
- Wipe away the slurry with a lint free paper towel, exposing the smoothed Cx5 surface below.
A few tips
- Work in small areas. Don't coat the entire sculpture, just work on one section at a time.
- Wipe the solvent off after you've smoothed a small area. Don't let the solvent sit and soak into the surface, this will cause it to become gummy and unworkable. Wipe it off right away, and you can always go back in and continue sculpting on a smoothed area.
- Safe-Smooth is meant to remove the surface layer. Use it to create a slurry and then wipe off that slurry to reveal the smoothed Cx5 below.
We're really excited to finally have Cx5 available for sculptors, and we're working to find a way to supply customers who live overseas. Since Safe-Smooth is a solvent it cannot be shipped by air, so currently we can only ship by ground to customers in the contiguous USA, Canada and Mexico. We're working towards getting Safe-Smooth into the hands of customers everywhere, and will keep you all up to date!