People are always asking me what’s the best polymer clay to try, where can I get ideas for polymer clay projects, where can I buy polymer clay, and what are the best polymer clay tutorials?
The best polymer clay for you depends on what you’re using it for. Everyone knows that Sculpey III is soft and not very durable when cured. But it comes in a rainbow of colors. It’s best suited for children’s projects.
Cernit is becoming more popular in the United States and for a good reason. The array of colors are stunning, and it is sturdy and beautiful when cured properly.
Kato Polyclay is known for its strength and ability to hold its shape making it ideal for caning. I’ve used Kato clay in the past with great success. It can be a little challenging to condition, but the results are worth it.
I generally use Premo Sculpey which is durable, flexible, and very strong when properly cured. I blend my own colors, although they do have a large number of colors for people who don’t care to mix their own.
You end up with scrap when you work with polymer. There’s really no such thing as “waste clay” because everything can be used. But sometimes I forget to separate my colors (here’s a video showing how that’s done) and I end up with a lot of mud.
So I was thrilled when Donna Kato announced a new product, Kato Blackout Clay, at Clayathon. (Here’s the video.) Blackout clay turns any color of polymer clay to black. I’m always using black. I was excited!
But was there a problem? Like I said, I use mostly Premo which cures at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Kato clay cures at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. How would the blended clay hold up if I mixed them together? My friend Patty came over the other week and mixed up a bunch of clay and we tested. Here are the results.
We mixed Kato Blackout clay with Premo. The Kato was 12.5% by size. (I trust Patty on this. She can recite Avogadro’s Law from memory. And it’s been a long time since high school.) She cut out 1 1/2 ” circles of thicknesses ranging from #1 on my Atlas pasta machine (about 1/8″) to #9 (thinnest setting). We baked them on a tile at 275 F for an hour, let them cool, and then I tried to destroy them. I could not.
As you can see, I was able to bend each circle almost in half. I don’t have a picture of the thinnest disc, but believe me, it didn’t break. I don’t recommend you do this with all of your clay, but I wanted to see how well the Premo and Kato Blackout clay worked together. The answer is, “just fine.”
I also tried a little of the Kato Liquid Gold clay. I smeared some on some previously-cured Premo clay and liked the effect.
You can buy Kato Blackout Clay and Kato Liquid Gold here.
Ornamento 