All you need to do is search the web for assistance on how one can bake polymer clay. You will notice a lot of unsuitable and incorrect directions on how to do that. However let’s be sincere: each artist does this in a different way and each artist has their very own system that works for them. What works for me, might not give you the results you want. And the most important factor with polymer clay … the baking instances are totally different for nearly each model of clay and oven. As we speak I’m going to present you a number of tips about how one can bake polymer clay objects at residence in your individual toaster oven.
Learn Your Polymer Clay Bundle
Step one is a very powerful, you should learn the directions in your bundle! Each model of polymer clay is totally different and has totally different specs. Each single bar of clay can have totally different baking directions on the bundle. Baking directions fluctuate per model and per sort of clay. What works for one model and sort of clay is not going to work for one more model and sort of clay.
TIP: As a normal rule of thumb it’s all the time greatest to bake your clay for a longer period of time than your bundle recommends however not the next temperature than your bundle recommends to keep away from scorching your clay. NEVER bake your clay at a decrease temperature, it will do nothing to make sure that your clay is correctly hardened.
Know Your Clay
As a result of each clay is totally different, additionally, you will discover that the identical model of clay can fluctuate in baking instances throughout colours. What I imply by that is that many colours of clay (particularly within the Premo! model) will darken after baking; particularly when baked at too excessive of a temperature. And once more, I can’t stress this sufficient, observe the really useful time & temperatures for every bundle and model of clay. Some clay colours will do a lot better to be lined when baking to stop the colours from darkening.
TIP: Every part I bake in my residence studio is baked ceramic tile-lined metallic pan and lined with a metallic baking pan. This retains my colours as true as potential, even my reds (which darken) and whites (which yellow) when baking.
Common Rule of Thumb
I combine my clays and types on a regular basis. I combine Sculpey III, Fimo, or Tremendous Sculpey with Premo! on daily basis in my studio. There’s no “magic components” to discovering what works for baking instances as each oven, craft oven, and toaster oven is totally different. As for me and all my sculptures, I bake all my items at 275 levels for 60-90 minutes. If my piece goes by way of a number of baking steps, I nonetheless bake my merchandise at 275 levels, however just for about 60 minutes for the primary bake, simply to “agency up” the clay. Then I proceed engaged on the piece and proceed baking in 30-minute increments. Nonetheless, for the ultimate bake (when my piece has had a number of bakes) I bake the piece for a minimum of a further 90-120 minutes relying on its dimension.
The way to Preserve Clay from Burning
Probably the most frequent issues with polymer clay is the burning of the piece. (I’ve written one other article on this right here, be happy to learn it too). I’ve on a number of events up to now, burned my sculpture … and it has not made me pleased. How and why did that occur? As a result of I let it in too lengthy, or it was too near the aspect partitions/prime of the oven, and parts on the sculpture burned. To maintain this from taking place, use foil sheets (or foil pans) to cowl your work. These are the foil sheets that I’ve in my studio. You need to use them to cowl most objects or connect two sheets collectively to cowl a big object. They can be reused a whole bunch of instances. I nonetheless have one sheet that I reuse over and over and over, it’s a couple of yr outdated now. This one field ought to final you at the least a yr, if not longer. As well as and as a aspect word, I cowl all the pieces! There’s nothing that goes into my polymer clay oven that isn’t lined. I work too lengthy and too onerous on my items to have unintentional burning!
Stabilize Your Unpredictable Toaster Oven
In case you use a toaster oven, the oven is most definitely extremely unstable and liable to spikes in temperature. When this occurs, it’ll trigger your polymer clay piece to crack or burn. And that is unhappy, very unhappy. There’s a simple method to forestall this from taking place. On the left is an image of my toaster oven. Check out what I’ve finished to the within of my oven, not solely does it have an oven thermometer inside, however additionally, you will see a number of various sizes of ceramic tiles. I bought ceramic tiles at my native ironmongery shop and acquired them to suit the within of my oven. This helps to behave as an insulator to maintain the oven at a extra secure temperature. I even have a 12×12 ceramic tile block (additionally from my native ironmongery shop) sitting on the highest vent of my oven, once more to assist insulate and preserve the temperature secure.
Please take word, that is not my concept to make use of ceramic tiles in your oven. I’ve seen this on a number of web sites, blogs, and even floating round Pinterest. I do not know the place this concept originated or who to present credit score to, however, alas … it isn’t me. However thanks for considering that I’m really that sensible!
Thanks for being part of the Kater’s Acres Household, Sculpting Blessings,
