Boiling Polymer Clay???

[Vicky]

Does anyone here know of a good tutorial on how to boil polymer clay? I Google it but only come up with boiling small objects like jewlery, and I would like to boil a doll sculpture...any info would be greatly appreciated. Sorry just had to throw in this little guy just for the fun of it. He's just too darn cute.

[Tombo]

A lot of controversy about this. There are some well known and amazing sculptors who recommend boiling. I see no reason not to boil if your plan is to use that sculpt for making a mold. But... and I really hesitate to jump in on this, I and many others who have been using polymer clays for more years than I care to remember caution against it for one of a kind pieces. Here is the reason:

The compound that we call polymer clay must achieve a certain core temperature in order to fully polymerize or cure. I believe the very lowest temperature at which any commercially available clay fully cures is 248 degrees (f). That is Pardo professional art clay. Others do so at 265, 275, and even in the case of new formulations of Kato Polyclay at 300 degrees (f). Now it may seem cured but full polymerization has not taken place and over time the remaining plasticizers can cause the product to become brittle and crumbly.

There are many factors that can go into this and there are folks who have never had a problem. On the other hand, there are those who have sold pieces for a handsome sum and gotten letters from disappointed patrons when their doll or statue has started to 'decompose' at some level or another.

So do what you feel, but know that no polymer clay chemist will tell you that your clay will fully cure at 212 degrees. What they will tell you is that it may feel cured, it may look cured, it may even drill and carve like it's cured... but it isn't.

So there you have it. I won't say more on the subject because the debate is probably a waste of time that could be better spent creating cool things.

Tommie

http://tommiej.wordpress.com/the-ult...culpting-tool/

[Vicky]

Thanks so much for the quick reply...I will take you'r advice and not boil...you are the pro here and I am more of a newbe. I was asking the question because I have a problem with fingers and toes becoming darker than I wish. I use Kato clay...do you have a solution to this...and sorry to be a pest but do you series bake and if so how? I would like to series bake to prevent damage as I progress on the sculpt. Thanks so very much for the help....Vicky

[Tombo]

It used to be that one of the good things about Kato was that it didn't darken. Now most of the clays have changed formula and this isn't always the case. Now some things that will help. First off I do series bake. Some parts of my pieces wind up being baked a couple of dozen times by the time I am done. I usually wind up painting so if something darkens a bit it is not a big deal, but often a person doesn't want to paint. If your doll will be wearing sleeves, you can bake the hands on their own for the minimum baking time and the minimum temperature. Once everything else is done just drill into the arm and into the hand and using super glue and a rod or wire you can attach it under the sleeve. You can also try covering the hands with foil and that should help out.

What colors are you using for the parts that darken? I will write to their chemist and see if there is a current formula issue.

Tommie
http://tommiej.wordpress.com/the-ult...culpting-tool/

[Vicky]

I just use the natural color of the flesh clay for the major skin tone then put several layers of very very thin red than pink paint to get a more natural look. The area I have the most trouble with are the fingers because they are so small they tend to get darker than I would like them to be. I will try the foil method. Thanks so much.

Vicky