Can Your Turn Hardened Clay Soft Again
You gather your clay tools and excitedly pull out your favorite colors of polymer dirt to commencement a new craft when you discover the clay begins to crumble in your hand. While you're used to clay feeling a petty potent earlier conditioning from previous projects, this clay feels harder than it should exist, and you wonder if information technology'southward still OK to use.
Clayers and crafters often inquire near what to do with polymer dirt that'southward become too hard. Can clay become too house to the signal where information technology's unusable? The answer is yeah and no. The good news is that y'all can bring that clay back to life, making it good as new in most cases! Acquire how to revive dry, extra-firm and crumbly clays with these super helpful polymer clay softening tips.
Issues of Working With Hard Polymer Clay
Sometimes, you can store polymer clay for years and it'll even so exist supple when you pull it out. If stored properly, polymer clay will last a reasonably long time. If you find your clay is too hard or brittle, it'due south essential to return information technology to a soft polymer modeling clay consistency before use. Here's why:
- Manus fatigue:Stiff clay affects your clay-shaping feel. Hard clay causes hand fatigue, requiring more force to condition, smooth and work it properly.
- Blending difficulty:Crumbling clay won't alloy seamlessly, even if you utilise the best tools for the job. Dry clay makes information technology difficult to remove visible seams from clay pieces.
- Poor projection quality:Baking likewise-hard dirt tin can atomic number 82 to cracks and weaknesses in its terminal form. Even if the baked slice looks OK, the clay is more susceptible to breaking and fries long term.
Because of the nuanced nature of clay and the diverse factors that tin can cause it to stiffen, we've put together some tips and tricks on how to soften modeling dirt.
Why Is My Polymer Clay Hard?
Possibly y'all've opened a box of sometime polymer clay and found that information technology's stiff as a stone. Or, mayhap your clay is just slightly hard and crumbly. Can y'all soften hard polymer clay? The answer is yeah — as long as the hardness is non due to the clay being cured.
Considering oven-broil polymer clay cures at low temperatures, information technology'southward possible for clay to "broil" partially if it'southward left in a hot identify for as well long. It'south a rare occurrence, but if dirt reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter for an extended flow, it tin can accidentally "melt" beyond the betoken of saving. If you leave dirt in a hot machine during a summertime heatwave or in a sunny attic for weeks on stop, the resulting hardness may become permanent.
Test the Clay Stiffness
Before adding whatever materials to the clay, first test its hardness past giving it a hard clasp, or a "squish examination." With workable clay, even if it'south a bit cold, you should at to the lowest degree exist able to round off the corners and edges with minimal effort. If yous cannot round off the corners, or the cake of clay isn't squeezable in the slightest, and so information technology'south too hard and needs to be softened.
Fortunately, the near mutual reasons for clay hardness are a lack of conditioning or the loss of plasticizers, both of which are easily fixed! Larn how to make polymer clay soft again using the following strategies.
Five Means to Soften Difficult Polymer Clay
Polymer clay that is too old tin can adopt a stone-similar consistency that makes it incommunicable to shape — at first. With a niggling work, your dirt can bounce back!
Here's how to soften hard polymer clay in five different ways:
1. Smash and Soften
This technique is best to soften older polymer clay that is only a bit firm and just needs to exist conditioned well before utilize. Place the dirt inside a plastic purse and pound it with a mallet or rolling pin to "smash" it until information technology starts to move. In one case the clay is warm and broken up, condition it further past mitt or with a conditioning machine.
2. Use a Conditioning Machine
Sometimes all clay needs is a good conditioning session to make information technology workable, specially if it has been sitting on the shelf a long time. With some elbow grease, you lot could try to knead the dirt by hand and use a dirt roller like our Sculpey ToolsTM Acrylic Clay Roller to soften it.
We recommend passing extra firm polymer clay through a pasta car or clay conditioning motorcar several times. Our Sculpey ToolsTM Clay Conditioning Automobile does the majority of the workout piece of work for y'all, quickly pressing hard clay and removing trapped air to create a flexible canvass of dirt.
3. Mix Information technology With a Dirt Softener
Conditioning dirt alone may not exist enough to soften information technology, in which case, it'southward time to add a plasticizer. Besides known as dirt softeners or conditioners, these plasticizers and oils tin can reconstitute your clay:
- Liquid clay softener:Add 2-four drops of our clear Sculpey® Liquid Clay Thinner & Softener per ii oz. of clay to soften it without affecting the color quality. Slowly add together one drib at a time, mixing and kneading later every drop until the desired clay flexibility is achieved.
- Solid clay softener: Pinch off a small slice of our solid-form Sculpey® Oven-Bake Clay Softener and mix it into your dry out clay, slowly adding pocket-sized amounts until reaching the advisable level of softness.
- Compatible oils: If y'all only need to increase the softness a tiny amount, yous tin add 1-2 drops of pure mineral or baby oil. If the clay requires more liquid to bounce dorsum, use Sculpey® clay softeners to ensure the final clay formula isn't diluted.
If you add together too much softener and find you now have mushy clay, at that place's an easy solution! Some of the conditioner tin be leached out past using a heavy book to press the clay between several sheets of ink-free white paper for a few hours. Protect your work surface and the volume from conditioner transfer with a wax paper or aluminum foil barrier.
iv. Combine With Softer Clay
Another pick to revive stiff clay is to combine it with fresh, soft polymer clay. While adding new clay makes the old dirt pliable, it tin can besides affect the colour. If y'all don't have the same color on hand, mixing the former clay with a similar hue will subtly lighten or darken your clay.Translucent clays are commonly softer than opaque ones, making them a great alternative to mix into your old polymer clay. Proceed in mind this will increase your clay's translucence.
v. Utilise a Food Processor
If your polymer clay is extra dry, brittle or hard equally a brick, try crumbling it into a crafts-designated nutrient processor and gently pulse the auto to create evenly sized clay pieces. Add your plasticizer of choice little by fiddling, pulsing the processor to blend it with the crumbles.
Remove the plasticized clay and seal it in a plastic bag. Let the dirt sit for several hours or a few days, depending on the severity of the dryness. Then squish and knead the clay to decide if it's soft enough. Add more softener every bit needed and condition the dirt thoroughly earlier utilise.
Shop Sculpey® Polymer Dirt Softeners and Conditioning Tools
Nosotros are proud to offer crafters the highest quality polymer clay, tools and clay conditioners on the market place. Shop our innovative clay softeners and conditioning tools online to keep your drove of long-lasting Sculpey® clays soft, pliable and gear up to utilise for your next artistic project!
Source: https://www.sculpey.com/create/blog/how-to-soften-polymer-clay
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