Boiling sculpey

[hazmatt]

I'm no sculptor, nor have I read this thread in it's entirety, but I wonder if a convection oven would give a more even cure. If this is a dumb suggestion, forgive my ignorance
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Convection ovens or fan ovens or turbo ovens augment a traditional oven by circulating heated air using a fan....
By moving fast hot air past the food, convection ovens can operate at a lower temperature than a standard conventional oven and yet cook food more quickly. The air circulation, or convection, tends to eliminate "hot spots" and thus food may bake more evenly.

[moore_000]

Originally Posted by hazmatt

I'm no sculptor, nor have I read this thread in it's entirety, but I wonder if a convection oven would give a more even cure. If this is a dumb suggestion, forgive my ignorance
--------
Convection ovens or fan ovens or turbo ovens augment a traditional oven by circulating heated air using a fan....
By moving fast hot air past the food, convection ovens can operate at a lower temperature than a standard conventional oven and yet cook food more quickly. The air circulation, or convection, tends to eliminate "hot spots" and thus food may bake more evenly.

I think part of this thread is about using alternative methods to eliminate the odor problem when using the oven to heat Sculpey especially inside the house. Convection ovens would work too. I steam and boil the Sculpey in the backyard.

[cenobite]

I would expect sculpy to crack more with steam due to steam being able to be quite a bit hotter than boiling water. Hotter temperatures can cause cracking with sculpy.

My experience with sculpy (just like when working with glass) is that you want to cook it at a slightly lower temperature (than listed by Sculpy) for a longer period of time and let it cool down slooooowly inside the oven for several hours (without opening the oven) so no cracks form. I would expect the same with boiling it. You should not remove it from the boiling water, just turn off the heat and allow it to cool in the water for a long period of time to avoid rapid cooling which causes cracking.

[rAd]

Originally Posted by cenobite

I would expect sculpy to crack more with steam due to steam being able to be quite a bit hotter than boiling water. Hotter temperatures can cause cracking with sculpy.

My experience with sculpy (just like when working with glass) is that you want to cook it at a slightly lower temperature (than listed by Sculpy) for a longer period of time and let it cool down slooooowly inside the oven for several hours (without opening the oven) so no cracks form. I would expect the same with boiling it. You should not remove it from the boiling water, just turn off the heat and allow it to cool in the water for a long period of time to avoid rapid cooling which causes cracking.

thanks for the tip

[Wayne Enterprises]

I wanted to resurrect this old thread and see if anyone has any more info. I've tried this and it seems as long as I've let the piece heat up and cool down with the water.. all goes ok. This was a great tip! Any others put it to more tests?

[moore_000]

Originally Posted by Wayne Enterprises

I wanted to resurrect this old thread and see if anyone has any more info. I've tried this and it seems as long as I've let the piece heat up and cool down with the water.. all goes ok. This was a great tip! Any others put it to more tests?

Just completed boiling this one. And yes, heating up and letting the Sculpey cool down in the water seems to minimize cracking. And it appears if the Sculpey was kneaded solid, it did not crack when boiling and cooling in the water.



WARNING!!! Make sure you use heat gun to quick seal the surfaces before putting it in the water as Sculpey might float around in boiling water and bump into the surrounding area and messing up the sculpt.

[moore_000]

Originally Posted by hazmatt

I'm no sculptor, nor have I read this thread in it's entirety, but I wonder if a convection oven would give a more even cure. If this is a dumb suggestion, forgive my ignorance
--------
Convection ovens or fan ovens or turbo ovens augment a traditional oven by circulating heated air using a fan....
By moving fast hot air past the food, convection ovens can operate at a lower temperature than a standard conventional oven and yet cook food more quickly. The air circulation, or convection, tends to eliminate "hot spots" and thus food may bake more evenly.

Tried the oven with fan build in on side and there is a hot spot in front of the fan that it burned the Sculpey near that area.

[Koger]

hey friends! i posted this in the baking sculpey stickey and Moore was kind enough to redirect me, so i figured i'd drop my boiling experience in here at the proper juncture:

"Hi guys! new to the forum, but it's already been a huge help to me. i tried the boiling method recently for a small bust i made and it turned out fantastically. on the two test pieces, a sphere and a long taper, i was pleased with the complete bake through in ten minutes flat. i even shattered the thickest sphere with a hammer in a sock and it was perfect throughout with no burns etc. i'm not sure what the long term effects on the structure of the clay are, but it took paint well and seems to be holding up fine. thanks again for the helpful tips, it was a relief and a huge improvement in my work flow for test pieces etc. now that i don't have to spend hours waiting on a single piece that might turn out worthless no matter the time spent sculpting."

[pdxDaniela]

I used boiling as well after reading this thread and it worked great. for a 11.45 inches figurine and a small head piece.
This is a great way to treat sculpey and NO odor.
Also...my sculpey did not float at all. But to prepare for that I had tossed a towel in the water.

[iceprince_x]

has anyone tried boiling a primo clay that is transparent?

i am doing a small statue of Rachel Summers using sculpy studio for the body but the head will be the transparent clay... will it be okay to use?