Finishing Raw Dice

A Comprehensive How-To Guide by The Griffon’s Nest

Hello Adventurer!

Whether you’ve managed to snag one of my DIY Dice Kits or another set of raw dice from another maker – or you just want to try out dice-making for yourself – you’re in the right place! Welcome! I, Katie, will be your guide on this quest to finish your dice. 

Although the journey is well worth it, beware, for finishing dice is time-consuming, sometimes frustrating, and has a learning curve. But with patience, determination, and this guide you will have shiny click-clacks soon! 

This tutorial will follow my process for polishing dice. Many other methods work equally well, but this is the process I’ve found that works best for me.

If this is your first time, I strongly recommend reading through this guide, including my tips and mistakes-to-avoid section.

Step 1: Gathering Materials*
To get started, you’ll need the following:

  • 800-Grit Sandpaper: Wet/dry sandpaper for smoothing the roughest  surfaces of the dice
  • Zona Polishing Papers: A set of papers with progressively finer grit (usually from 15 microns down to 1 micron) to achieve that glossy finish.
  • Polish: to help get even more shine and inhibit scratches
  • Acrylic Paint & Paintbrush: For inking numbers.
  • Water: a small cup of water to reduce the amount of dust in the air.
  • Dust Mask & Gloves: Polishing dice produces resin dust. Nitrile gloves and a dust mask are great for protection. Even though we will be wet sanding to limit the dust in the air, it doesn’t hurt to be safe!
  • Smooth Surface: like a piece of glass (from a picture frame, a smooth glass coaster, etc.) or mirror.
  • (Optional) Paper Towels: Super handy for cleanup, though.

*If you have purchased one of my DIY Dice Kits, it will come with all the necessary tools, minus a paintbrush, glass/mirror, and water.

Step 2: Set Up Your Workspace

When I sit down to polish, I know I’ll be there for a while, so I find something to entertain me while I work – a podcast, an audiobook, a TV show, or movie, etc. Bonus points if you have a comfy chair to use! Find a comfortable, well-ventilated area with good lighting and lay your materials on a smooth surface. (I recommend working over a glass pane or similarly smooth surface.) 

Put on your gloves and dust mask to protect your hands and lungs from resin dust. I use a small cup that I use exclusively for sanding dice; do NOT reuse it as a drinking cup, please! 

Step 3: Sanding

We begin by making sure the dice are flat on all sides. Sanding is where we remove the largest blemishes or mold marks on the dice.

  1. Wet Sandpaper: Place or tape the 800-grit sandpaper down on your smooth surface and dab on a little bit of water. This will keep the process smooth and reduce dust. Add a little bit of the polish compound and gently sand any uneven or rough areas on the dice, using gentle, circular motions. Make sure to keep the die face flat. Don’t worry. Just go slowly and don’t put too much pressure and you will be fine.
  2. Check Your Work: Pause after every few circles or so to check your progress and make sure you aren’t removing too much from the face of the die. Too much pressure or sanding and you can remove the numbers. Once the roughest edges or major blemishes are gone, it’s time to move on to the next step!
  3. Rinse & Dry: After sanding, you can rinse your dice with soapy water and dry them to remove any leftover dust, ensuring a clean surface for polishing.
  4. Note: After sanding, your dice will be matte and dull. That’s okay! In the polishing stages, we will shine them back up.

Step 4: Polishing

Now that we’ve removed those rough spots and have smooth, matte dice, it’s time to shine them up! You will begin with the coarsest zona paper (green) and work up to the finest (white). 

  1. Prep Your Zona Paper: Place or tape your green zona paper on your work surface. Lightly wet it and add a dab of polish to it.
  2. Work Slowly & Gently: With little pressure, rub the faces of the dice you sanded in the previous step using small, circular motions. I move the die in a circle clockwise for 10-15 seconds then counterclockwise for 10-15 seconds. Repeat this for ALL sanded faces of each die! 
  3. Check for Scratches: Before moving to the next paper, make sure there are no visible scratches. If you notice any, go back to the previous zona paper to smooth them out.
  4. Use all the Zonas: Once you’re done with the green zona, you will repeat steps 1-3 with the remaining zona papers in order: Green, Grey, Blue, Pink, Aqua, and White. You will see your dice get progressively more shiny with each piece of paper.
  5. Final Rinse: Once you’ve finished with the finest paper, it’s time to give them a bath. I know, I know, but otherwise, you will have lots of sanding residue in your numbers. So, give your dice a final rinse in warm water with a drop or two of dish soap and scrub with your hands (or a soft toothbrush or paintbrush) to remove that icky residue. It might take a while and can be annoying, but don’t give up just yet! The end is in sight!

Step 5: Inking

Whew! Now that your dice are sanded, polished, and cleaned you can rejoice! Next comes the fun part: inking the numbers so they’re legible. Grab your paint if it came with your DIY Dice Kit – or pick out whatever paint color you want for your dice – and let’s get started!

  1. Paint the Numbers: Using a fine brush, dab paint into each number with acrylic paint. Don’t worry about making a mess or overfilling the numbers paint. Just softly wipe away excess with a damp paper towel for a crisp finish. The beauty of acrylic paint is that even after it has dried, you can still wipe it away. 
  2. Dry: Allow the paint to fully dry before handling.
  3. BONUS STEP: If you still find dried paint residue on your dice, you can grab that white zona paper again, rinse off any of the polish/dust from before, and “polish” the excess dried ink off your die faces. Just add a tiny bit of water to the zona paper and use a few quick swipes on the faces that need it. 

Now you have successfully saved the day and have a beautiful polished set of dice as your reward. Congratulations and Happy Rolling! 

 🎉QUEST COMPLETE! 🎉

It’s time to take your dice and enjoy them. Use them in your next game, show them off on your shelf, or hey – you could post a picture or video of them in all their glory and tag me on Instagram or TikTok (@thegriffonsnest) so I can celebrate with you! 

Tips and Mistakes to Avoid

  • Break Time: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: polishing dice takes time. Feel free to take breaks if you get tired. A tired arm means uneven pressure which means uneven sides. It doesn’t hurt the dice to pause between steps. 
  • Pressure & Over-Sanding: Many newbies think more pressure = better dice. The opposite is true. Too much pressure can make for uneven sides and can remove numbers or icon details. The same with over-sanding. This can misshape your dice. It’s better to go a few rounds and check your work to avoid this and keep a gentle, even pressure across the face of the die. 
  • Keep Your Paper Damp: As you polish, you will need to add more water/polish. I often add another drop or two of water when I switch faces. Use polish sparingly as a little goes a long way. 
  • Slipping Paper: If your sandpaper or zonas slip while you work, you can use some tape along the edges to secure it in place. 
  • Learning Curve: If your dice didn’t turn out how you hoped they would, it’s okay! I promise, every dice maker has been there and you will get better with practice! That said, if your dice are overall nice and you want a little more shine, you can VERY GENTLY go back to the pink/aqua zonas and redo the process to see if that helps. 
  • Incremental Inking: I like to ink a few sides at a time, and then wipe them off with a damp cloth. You can also wait for those sides to dry while painting a few faces of each die at a time to minimize the mess you make. 
  • Acrylic Ink: I always recommend using acrylic ink over enamel as it is easier to use (in my opinion), cheaper, and works just as well. 

I hope you had a lot of fun on your dice-finishing journey and you are proud of what you accomplished. Thank you for letting me be your guide!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at griffonsnestshop@gmail.com. I am happy! 


Katie <3
The Griffon’s Nest