How flexible should polymer clay be?

How flexible should polymer clay be? - The Blue Bottle Tree

Рет қаралды 18,023

3 жыл бұрын

Polymer clay is naturally flexible after you cure it in the oven. When thin, it will bend easily. It also should not break easily. See in this video how flexible properly baked polymer clay can be.
If you're struggling with properly baking your polymer clay, even when you bake long enough and hot enough, then your baking setup needs to be addressed.
Learn more about that here: learn.thebluebottletree.com/c...

Пікірлер: 47

@power-oe7tr 3 жыл бұрын

I love your website! So glad to find you have a KZfaq channel, so helpful thank you! 💜

@deniseosborne4045 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you. Great explanation

@divyagaikwad3190 3 жыл бұрын

Very veryyyy good explanation!! Thanks a lot Mam! I had been reading your blogs from so many days. They are very helpful! Keep up the good work! 😘❤️🙌

@davideiotti9725 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks.. Very helpul!

@youknow3219 3 жыл бұрын

Wish I would have watched this yesterday

@tahlitiacooper3927 3 жыл бұрын

Same here! Ditto that

@MACdollMel 3 жыл бұрын

Hi , I'm new to polymer clay earing and I cannot seem to get 3mm and 5mm premo or souffle to not be brittle any tips is it possible to have flexibility at this thickness of so how can I achieve this im getting so discouraged from the amount of clay I'm wasting 😓

@petrac2840 3 жыл бұрын

Good information. But I just want to add that Super Sculpey cures hard and is non flexible.

@sirt358 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info. Sculpey premo and soufle should be like that flexible too?

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

If you'll notice, I included pretty much every brand of clay in this, including Premo and Souffle.

@amethysttadpole 2 жыл бұрын

What baking Temps and times should we be using? I made some 6mm earring studs that were about 1/16 inch thick. I baked them at 275!for 15 Minutes, they came out looking fine but are hard.

@thebluebottletree 2 жыл бұрын

Always use manufacturer's temp, but your oven may be incorrect. The time will vary depending on the size and your baking setup. You can learn how to finesse all this in this tutorial: learn.thebluebottletree.com/product/baking-polymer-clay/

@bigfoot8085 2 жыл бұрын

What using scruples 3 to mix with premo?

@charmedlife7758 3 жыл бұрын

How do you bake them longer without burning or scorching color?

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

learn.thebluebottletree.com/product/baking-polymer-clay/

@marianeylagan7064 3 жыл бұрын

How flexible should it be if the piece is around 3-4mm thick?

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

It will depend on the brand of clay. But at that thickness you should still be able to bend and flex it quite a bit. The important point is that it doesn't snap in two when you try.

@SarahAndPetes 2 жыл бұрын

Hi I used sculpey original. If I've already baked a piece and it's broken. If I use liquid sculpey to glue it back together and then rebake longer will the brittle clay become softer?

@thebluebottletree 2 жыл бұрын

It's worth a try. But Sculpey Original is an exceedingly brittle brand of clay.

@laurenlombardo6775 3 жыл бұрын

Please help! I thought after viewing this video that all i needed was to bake more and I’ve done another couple of 15 min rounds then 30 min and my pieces are still brittle. Is it because I am doing things too thin?

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

Baking time is not cumulative. 15+15 does not equal 30. Did you follow the link? learn.thebluebottletree.com/courses/baking-polymer-clay/

@tracycontestabile3572 3 жыл бұрын

Can I use cling wrap to cover my wire armature for a polymer clay woodland

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

Please don't bake cling film.

@allisonkeevers1969 3 жыл бұрын

At the end you say don't use Sculpey 3 that thin because it will break. So what if you use Sculpey 3 thicker. Say between 5 - 10mm thick. Will it then hold a jump ring ? I'm asking because I've been given blocks of Sculpey 3 from someone else that didn't carry on with clay, and I want to make jewelry for myself.

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

Sculpey III is a fine clay for what it's supposed to be, which is a children's bakeable modeling medium. It's perfect for chunky beads, little characters, small bowls, etc. Nothing thinner than 1/4" or so. You don't want it to be thin enough to flex, because it will snap. And remember that when you drill a hole in it, you've just made it "thinner" because you've created an area that's weaker. So yes, it would crack there. Use stronger clay for jewelry.

@Kelly-lo6cz 3 жыл бұрын

Hello, I just started using polymer clay. I preheated the toaster oven and got it to 275 in advance (I bought a separate thermometer and placed it in oven). I placed my piece on a piece of copy paper with a ceramic tile under it with a foil tent. I baked for the recommended time for Sculpey Premo (275 F). My piece broke when I tried to bend... I tried it for a little longer the second time... it broke again. I then kept it in there for an entire hour.. it STILL broke. I was monitoring the temp the whole time and made sure it stayed in the correct range. Every tutorial I watch says if it breaks, it hasn't cured long enough. I had it in there an entire hour! What am I doing wrong here?

@MYDASTARKHWAN 2 жыл бұрын

Hi I have the same issue I wonder if you have found a solution for that or no ? Please share your experience with us.

@danielleplant8739 2 жыл бұрын

You need to properly condition your clay too.

@NataliaArtist 10 ай бұрын

What temperature should you then bake fimo professional to get it flexible and strong??? Because PolymerClayTutor and she baked at 230 F and followed the exact time and temp on the instructions and all pieces broke. Making fimo professional appear like a bad choice but I know that’s not true because I’ve read almost all your articles but I can’t remember how long fimo should be baked? Some say to double bake? First at low temp of 200 F and then cool down and bake at right temp as on the instructions for 10 min???? But I’m using fimo pro and premo mixed together so I’m thinking of doing 275? But I also heard fimo pro colors darken when baked at higher temps? I don’t want to use premo only because I live in a hot place and I need a firmer clay since I like doing very detailed sculpted jewelry and I need it to hold its form plus want to make canes Anyone help please?? I’m new to this but I’m really good at modeling clay after taking many figure modeling clay classes for my undergrad BFA program.

@thebluebottletree 10 ай бұрын

The baking temperature and time is what controls the fusion of the particles that make up the clay putty. The longer you bake, the stronger it becomes (within reason). But Fimo also tends to darken when it's baked longer/hotter. So you have to find a happy medium. Cindy probably followed the instructions on the package, which IMHO don't give the optimum strength. But you always have to be careful baking longer/hotter that the package says. You need to be VERY sure of the temperature (don't guess) and have good ventilation. It's a complex topic. But you are correct, Fimo Pro can be very strong.

@Chezyxxx 3 жыл бұрын

I am having issues with my earrings snapping after bending. I am using femo soft and my last attempt, I baked at 125c for 1hr 45 and my piece still snapped when I done a bend test. They bend a little then just snap. I place my pieces in a pre heated oven. My earrings go onto a grease proof piece of paper on a ceramic tile inside a tin foil tray which I have on the top and bottom. I also have 2 oven thermometers and I can't get it right. can you advise me on anything that I may be doing wrong as I really want them to bendy before I start selling my earrings. thank you xxx

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

Bottom line, they're not being baked well enough. Don't forget that the tile takes a long time to warm up. Try baking a batch on a metal tray without the tile and see if it improves.

@Chezyxxx 3 жыл бұрын

@@thebluebottletree thank you so much for responding. I thought that if I’m having to bake them for 2 hours or more then there must be something I’m doing wrong. Especially for earrings. I’m not pre heating my tile so I might try without the tile. I’ll report back once I do this. Thank you again xxx

@Chezyxxx 3 жыл бұрын

@@thebluebottletree I have been having a play about with different ways of baking. I have found my best way so far has been using a Pyrex casserole dish with a ceramic tile inside. I have pre heated my oven with these 2 inside at 130c for about 10-15 mins. Then I have placed my tester pieces ontop of the ceramic tile with some baking paper in between. I then added some card paper over the top and baked for 1 hour and then left them to cool in the oven. Iv done my bend test. One was femo soft and one was premo. Both 2.5mm thick. Femo was the most flexible as bent it back and forth 2-3 times but looked abit crumbly when snapped whereas premo snapped nice cleanly after one bend. Am I just over bending do you think snd forcing a snap? I see people on KZfaq bend them all over the place and I don’t know if I’m just over thinking things. So sorry for the essay 😂🙈. I just want them to be perfect xxx

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

@@Chezyxxx It's underbaked. That's not enough time for all that stuff to heat up. Skip the dish. Just use the tile. Your clay should never snap. It's not important so much that the clay is flexible. But it should never snap.

@Chezyxxx 3 жыл бұрын

@@thebluebottletree thank you. I’ll keep working on it xxx

@NataliaArtist 10 ай бұрын

Can fimo professional clay be strong and flexible? Because polymerclaytutor did test tiles with fimo pro clay and all tiles snapped????

@thebluebottletree 9 ай бұрын

Yes, it can. It depends on how long it's baked and how hot. The label directions are on the low side, so if you want it strong, you'll likely need to bake a bit higher. Look on the back for more instructions.

@NataliaArtist 8 ай бұрын

Thank You 😊

@cherylerickson146 3 жыл бұрын

So how long and how hot??

@thebluebottletree 3 жыл бұрын

That's because it's not a simple answer. It depends on your oven, your project, your brand of clay. That's why I gave a link to my baking tutorial in the description of the video. learn.thebluebottletree.com/product/baking-polymer-clay/

@susane945 10 ай бұрын

How hot and how long?!!

@coopersurgical1 Жыл бұрын

Hi, I would like to know how long you bake those.

@thebluebottletree Жыл бұрын

Baking time depends on many factors, including your oven, the material of your baking surface, how fast your oven reheats after the door opens, etc. You can learn more about baking here: thebluebottletree.com/baking-polymer-clay/