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Mica Powder

Made from tiny particles of mica, mica powders provide a pearly, metallic look without metal.

Mica powders are non-toxic and color fast, with a neutral pH, and though you wouldn't want to purposefully inhale them, they are less dangerous than metal pulvers. Available in a wide array of colors, mica powders have numerous uses for polymer clay artists as well as those who work in other media. They can be applied dry to the surface of raw clay, mixed into raw clay, painted onto raw or cured clay (though most will have to be mixed into a moist medium, first), and so on. Most surface applications will need a coat of polymer clay-friendly finish to prevent the powders from gradually rubbing off.

Examples

Pearl-Ex, from Jacquard--
Available in 40 colors, including pearlescents, interference colors, and duo-colors. Comes in .5-oz., .75-oz, 4-oz., and 16-oz. bottles, or in sample kits, usually with 3-gram bottles of twelve different colors.
http://www.jacquardproducts.com/products/pearlex

Powdered Pearls, from Lemon Tree--
Available in 39 lovely colors, including duo-tones, interference colors, and "midnight pearls" (very dark interference colors). Find them on-line.
http://www.powderedpearls.net

Perfect Pearls, from Ranger--
Available in six different 4-color sets, which includes one set of interference colors. Unlike other mica powders, Perfect Pearls has a built-in resin binder. This helps them to bond to clay during curing.
http://www.rangerink.com/product_perfectpearls.html

PCE Powders, from PolymerClayExpress.com--
Available on-line in 10-gram jars from www.polymerclayexpress.com. Comes in six different metal colors, in varying coarsenesses.

Availability


Though mica powders are not cheap, a little goes a long way. Find them in the stamping or polymer clay section of most major craft stores, or look on-line.