Hi. I'm trying to get advice on what's a good clear coat to use for jewelry. I do mostly copper, silver, and bronze work, and I'm looking for something more than just a wax to really seal in my patinas and protect the skin of the person wearing the piece.

Hi. I just started experimenting with metal clay. My test batches came out of the kiln completely black. I tried pickling a copper piece with Sparex (I think #2). All the black went away and left a perfectly smooth reddish orange color, but my piece didn't look metallic or shiny at all, more like a dried clay. As it continued to dry, it got all splotchy with strange ugly colors. I'm so confused. How do I get my copper to look like copper? Can anybody help?