clay tumbling question

Candace's post about buying Sculpey reminded me of a couple of questions
I wanted to ask any clay artists here who tumble their beads.

Do you prefer grit or sandpaper? And why?
How do you keep translucent clay from discoloring?
Is there a way to get rid of fingerprints without tumbling? Maybe prior
to baking?

I know some of this info is available on the Glass Attic website, but I
feel like I get more in-depth information here, from folks I "know".

TIA!

Cheers,
Carla

There are some ways to get rid of fingerprints before baking. Use gloves,
rubber or latex to avoid getting them on your piece, then you dont need to
mess with sanding them afterwards.
Sanding after baking is another way to get rid of those pesky
fingerprints. Smoothing the clay before baking is another way, use a soft
bristled paint brush to gennnnnntly get the prints off.
There is a usenet group for polymer clay. rec.crafts.polymer-clay.
Itsnot as active as this group but a couple of people with real skill with
clay do stop in from time to time and they are happy to share their
knowledge of polymer clay.
Diana

"Carla" wrote in message
nk.net...
Candace's post about buying Sculpey reminded me of a couple of questions
I wanted to ask any clay artists here who tumble their beads.

Do you prefer grit or sandpaper? And why?
How do you keep translucent clay from discoloring?
Is there a way to get rid of fingerprints without tumbling? Maybe prior
to baking?

I know some of this info is available on the Glass Attic website, but I
feel like I get more in-depth information here, from folks I "know".

TIA!

Cheers,
Carla