Firm Up Soft Polymer Clay by Leaching Out Placticizers
Video #399: When your clay is too soft, sticky or squishy… there are quick and easy ways to firm it up.
More...
IN THIS POST: — soft polymer clay — leaching — sticky — plasticizers — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
Topics Covered In This Video:
- In a previous video not too long ago, I talked about buying fresh polymer clay. Sometimes that means the clay is very soft and squishy, and may be difficult to work with for some polymer clay techniques, especially caning.
- In this video I will show you how you can remove the excess plasticizers and oils (leaching) making the clay much firmer.
- Roll out your soft, squishy clay with your pasta machine to make a sheet.
- Place the sheet of clay between two sheets of plain white office paper (no printing on it) and set on a non-porous surface for a day or so, for the excess oils to soak into the paper, making the clay firmer.
- Don’t set your clay and paper onto a porous surface like a wood table or a stack of books… or they will get stained by the oils.
- I like to weight mine down with some ceramic tiles, to speed up the leaching process.
- For a faster way, roll out your sheet of soft clay and put it in between a folded piece of paper, and run it through the pasta machine (paper and all), to force the paper to soak up the oils more quickly. You may need a clay blade to scrape the clay off the paper, but you will find this quick method to be much faster than having to wait for a day or so for the leaching to happen on its own.
Have you ever had a soft, squishy block of polymer clay that you didn’t know what to do with? And do you think this tip would be helpful for you?
I look forward to hearing from you.
00:00:03 –> 00:00:07 Hi guys, its Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor, and in today’s Studio Tip, we’re talking
00:00:08 –> 00:00:12 about soft Polymer Clay and how to deal with it by leaching it to make it firmer.
00:00:12 –> 00:00:18 Now in a previous video, I talked about buying Polymer Clay and getting fresh clay, now sometimes
00:00:18 –> 00:00:23 that means that you’re gonna get a soft, squishy clay, especially if you were working with
00:00:23 –> 00:00:25 Premo! or Fimo, some of the softer brands.
00:00:25 –> 00:00:30 Now if the clay is too soft and squishy to deal with, especially when making canes, what
00:00:30 –> 00:00:37 you can do is remove some of the excess plasticizers and oils from the clay and make it firmer.
00:00:37 –> 00:00:42 Now what you can do is…its’ really easy, you just have to roll out your soft squishy
00:00:42 –> 00:00:50 clay with your pasta machine, and then put it in between a sheet of White office paper…no
00:00:50 –> 00:00:55 printing on it, you don’t wanna transfer the printing over, and then you put it between
00:00:55 –> 00:00:57 something that has a little weight to it.
00:00:57 –> 00:01:02 Now I’ve got mine stacked between some tiles here, something non-porous is important, you
00:01:02 –> 00:01:09 don’t want these excess oils that leach out of the clay to stain your beautiful wood table
00:01:09 –> 00:01:14 or your lovely books or anything, so make sure to put it between something non-porous,
00:01:14 –> 00:01:18 and what will happen is the oils will leach right out into the paper.
00:01:18 –> 00:01:22 And you can see it works really well, I have mine sit for about a day or so.
00:01:22 –> 00:01:27 Then what you end up with is a clay that is much firmer, it’s not near as squishy, and
00:01:27 –> 00:01:30 you can deal with it much easier.
00:01:30 –> 00:01:37 Now that’s the slow way, to speed that up, I figured out a quick way of doing it.
00:01:37 –> 00:01:42 What you do is you take the same clay, soft squishy clay, you put it between the same
00:01:42 –> 00:01:47 sheet of paper, only this time we’re gonna put it close to the bottom of the paper, fold
00:01:47 –> 00:01:50 it over and run it through the pasta machine.
00:01:50 –> 00:01:56 Now what this does…we’re starting at the thickest setting to start, and what this does
00:01:56 –> 00:02:02 is it forces the issue, it just forces the clay against the paper and speeds up the whole
00:02:02 –> 00:02:03 process.
00:02:03 –> 00:02:08 Now I’m just tightening it up a little at a time and I’m gonna just keep forcing the
00:02:08 –> 00:02:15 clay through, it gets a little stuck sometimes, like that, and you just keep going and going
00:02:15 –> 00:02:23 until you can’t do it anymore, and then what happens is it kinda speeds up the process
00:02:23 –> 00:02:26 and gets that oils coming out of the clay right away.
00:02:26 –> 00:02:33 Now, you keep going and what will happen is, you may have to peel it off with your blade…where
00:02:33 –> 00:02:39 did I put it, peel it off, but it will be a lot drier right away, and it makes it a
00:02:39 –> 00:02:43 lot quicker than waiting the day or so for that process.
00:02:43 –> 00:02:48 So I hope that was helpful for you, if it was, make sure to click that Like button,
00:02:48 –> 00:02:50 we really appreciate it.
00:02:50 –> 00:02:53 And don’t forget to subscribe, we have new videos that come out every week and you’re
00:02:53 –> 00:02:55 not gonna wanna miss them.
00:02:55 –> 00:03:00 Now my question for you today is have you ever had a soft squishy block of clay that
00:03:00 –> 00:03:04 you just didn’t know what to do with and do you thing this tip will be helpful?
00:03:04 –> 00:03:09 Leave your answers in the comment section below, and we love to hear from you.
00:03:09 –> 00:03:11 So we’ll see you next time, bye for now.
Our goal is to translate these videos into as many languages as possible. If you are interested in helping with this initiative, then please do contact us and we will figure out a way to make it worth your while :)
Resource Links:
- Related Video: Buying fresh polymer clay
- Related Article: Clay Gets Too Soft On Hot Summer Days
- Related Video: Seven Summer Tips For Working With Polymer Clay
- Related Video: Buying Polymer Clay Tips And Tricks
- Related Article: New Premo Formula a Problem for Canes
- Related Video: How To Keep Bubbles Out Of Your Polymer Clay
- Related Article: 5 Polymer Clay Cane Slicing Tips
Resources marked with a double ** asterisk are affiliate links. If you click on them and decide to buy something, we may receive some compensation. This does not affect the price you pay in any way. What it does do, however, is helps us to continue providing free videos for you, here at the PcT website. Using our links to purchase your tools and supplies, is always greatly appreciated.
Sponsored Ads & Special Promotions
Shareable Images
To share this full blog post anywhere on the web that allows links in comments, here's a shortened url to copy and paste...
>> https://mypct.ca/v399 <<
Want to chat about today’s post? That’s what the comment section below is for. Scroll Down… We’d love to hear from you!
Or... if you would like to request a topic for a future post, here is the link to do that… PcT Suggestion Box
THANKS CINDY.
YOUR FIRM-UP VIDEO # 399 WAS VERY HELPFUL.
I HAVE USED THIS TECHNIQUE IN THE PAST AND HOPE IT WILL HELP.
I THINK TH WEIGHT ON THE PAPER AND CLAY IS CRITICAL.
THANKS, GEORGE M
Just glorious low temps today, yay!
Along the leaching lines, really had mush yesterday, too much MixQuik, and needed to finish so grabbed #6 melitta filter cone, made the clay a triangle, and just put a cookbook on it for an hour.
I was amazed how much and how quickly it pulled out the excess. Caution because some of the filters out there are fibrous and might not work, but, Melitta puts out a good product.
Thanks for this great tip Cindy. Yes, I’ve had problems simply putting clay through the pasta machine at a thin setting where the clay keeps sticking to itself and getting into a real mess. I did think about getting some Kato clay as it’s supposed to be far less sticky, but it’s not so easy to get here in the UK, so you’ve solved two problems for me! Thanks again – Marion
Hi Marion,
When working at thin settings on my current (Atlas 150) pasta machine with softer clay like Premo, I let the clay rest/cool for a while before the first thin rolling, and also for a little while between subsequent thin rollings. That makes a big difference in avoiding the clay sticking to itself without needing to leach it.
I didn’t have to do that with most of my other pasta machines, but the metal on the rollers of the Atlas is different so that may be a factor. (On the plus side, however, the metal on the Atlas rollers doesn’t cause the chemical reaction-based clay discolouration that I’ve experienced with almost all of the other pasta machines I’ve gone through.)
I also don’t have to do that with Kato, but as you noted you might not be able to get it easily, and in any case even Kato-philes like me use other clays at times. :D
Sue
HI sue,
I have never heard of the discoloration problem,….I will try putting the clay in the fridge before I need to roll it out at a 7 or smaller, thanks for that adviceas well as the rest you always have such good and helpful things to contribute As for now I’m going to take a break for a couple of days and finish the mosaic on the seat and back of an antique wooden side chair for my daughters b-day.
I wonder if the problem I am having this morning id related to the topic, I bought a new 8 oz block of premo black and every time I run it through the pasta machine it sticks to the rollers and I mean STICKS, I have to scrape it off, if I rub a little baby oil on then I can run it through a couple of times before it happens again. I tried other clay and it now it too sticks, was there something in the black that coated my rollers or is there something wrong with them? I only use baby wipes and alcahol to clean them so I don’t know of anything I could have done to ruin them. Has anyone else had this problem. It is just the right consistancy but I wonder if I should try leaching anyway just a little. Boy do I need help, that is even more than usual, lol
Hi Cheryl,
Don’t use baby oil, because that’s actually effectively a solvent and a softener for polymer clay, so it’s probably making the problem worse once it starts getting worked into the clay.
There is possibly a build-up of clay (and baby oil now) behind the scrapers at the bottom of the pasta machine, contributing to causing the other clay to stick. Depending on the type of pasta machine you might be able to remove them for cleaning, but that can be tricky, as can getting them back on! I’ve also had quite a bit of success at cleaning those areas using the blunt end of a bamboo skewer, stuck in from underneath.
Once you’ve cleaned out any residual clay and baby oil as best you can, you could try cooling the clay a bit before rolling it through the pasta machine if you don’t want the clay to be firmer from leaching for when you work it.
The Makin’s Ultimate Clay Machine has non-stick, slightly textured rollers, which might also be an option. But be aware that I’ve found them to be the most easily broken “pasta” machine that I’ve ever used… and I’ve broken a lot of them! (I use firm Kato clay, however, which stresses them a lot more than softer Premo.)
I hope that helps,
Sue
Great advice for Cheyrl, Sue! Thanks for helping her out!
Thanks Sue, I did clean it out and used rubbing alcahol then left it alone for a couple of days. I tried it again tonite and it worked well until I got to a 7 setting then stuck again, I have the sculpey with the lgst setting being at 1 and until now never had a reason to go past 6 I guess I just won’t go that thin again and can’t imagine needing to most of the time, at a 7 you can practically see through the clay. I used the baby oil to loosen up the clay stuck behind the rollers and finally got enough out to make a REALLY big ball of scrap clay and then used the rubbing alcahol to clean the baby oil away..I have an extra kitchen pasta machine in the pantry that has never been used and can always get it out if I need to but for now the sculpey works just fine, that is, up to a 6, so far I have had no problems and I have put some pretty thick pieces through it.
I have a question…my problem is total opposite…what do you do when the clay turns to total dust. I had a package of premo 18k gold; it was very hard so I put it in the food processor with some sculpey clay softner hoping to soften it up of course. But lo and behold it turned to dust. Tried using as an inclusion but it didn’t do anything. So any other ideas?
Wow, Teresa, that is some nasty clay, lol. Two things have worked for me.
First, scoop up the clay and put it in a Glad sandwich baggie and add more clay softener, squeezing until you get the mixture to start combining. Sometimes, if you leave the clay in the bag with a softener well mixed through for a couple of days, it brings it together.
The second thing I’ve done is to mix it with 1/4 as much soft translucent clay. Again, if it doesn’t start combining in the baggie immediately, let it sit for a bit.
If it still doesn’t soften to run through the pasta machine, you could just chop it up and use the inclusions in Cindy’s lovely Jupiter Beads. Little gold bits scattered through out the extruded snakes would make scrumptious beads.
Or, you could chop it up with other colors and make some great Mirror Image Heart Beads.
Once all the clay is baked, it’s easy to sand.
Wish you success….
Perfect advice for Tereasa… thanks Jocelyn!!
I normally use a variation of the first approach: I sheet the clay thinly to start with (to maximise the clay/paper contact area), and I also use several sheets of copier paper (usually four) on each side of the sheeted clay. I pile heavy books on top (probably 5kg worth; maybe a bit more).
Using several sheets of paper makes quite a difference to the plasticiser absorption rate, at least with the brand of copier paper I buy (Reflex). When the first sheet becomes saturated there is other equally aborbent material in contact across the whole of the saturated area, versus just at the edges of that area as is the case when you have a single sheet of paper with a non-porous surface right next to it. (An analogy is using kitchen paper towels to soak up oil from deep fried food: you can put a single sheet on top and press and wait and press some more, but if you put another sheet on top of that you’ll quickly absorb more oil.)
The time I leave it depends on how soft the clay is to start with, but it’s often somewhere between 1 and 3 hours. On the two occasions I left it overnight the clay was so over-leached that I had to work a whole lot of liquid clay into it to get it back to a workable-but-firm consistency!
I do use the pasta machine approach sometimes, mainly when I’m in a major hurry and need somewhat-leached clay instantly. It’s definitely quicker if only a small to moderate amount of leaching is required, but I generally prefer to avoid the pasta machine wrangling involved.
Thanks Cindy for that great tip for leaching clay. I never would of thought to put it between paper and run it through the pasta machine. I’m so glad you have these little studio tips, they are real gems!
Great tips for leaching! Thank you for both techniques.
Hope everyone here at PCT is enjoying their summer (or winter if you live in the Southern Hemi), lol!
Thanks Cindy. I use this method (the slower method) and it works very well. I hadn’t thought of the quicker method, great idea! I recently purchased some Kato clay and love it for making canes. The smell isn’t great, but the consistency is awesome. I think everyone who works with polymer clay should sign up and be a paid subscriber to your site, it is inexpensive and you share a wealth of knowledge. I made a hair/mirror mini mosaic yesterday, and it turned out great. Thank you. Melodie
When faced with my ding-ness (by miss spelling my own name of all things- repeatedly thanks to auto-fill—BTW a Big Thank You to Doug who figured it out ) I decided to go ahead and change my Gravatar photo to this years visit with my nephew, Jason, from Germany
Tante is German for aunt and for the last six and a half years he has been the only one — that is till sometime around the end of this coming Aug. when they are due to have another little one:)
Any who (I just love that Cindy-ism ) Doug said this would be a good time to change my name here also as he would be on the lookout I really thought about just using Sherry L but I have an Etsy shop named Tantesherry’s Shop & even though it is empty now who knows what the future holds….hopefully I’ll be able to separate my name over there as easily as here
You are very welcome. Thanks for the kind words.
And thank you for posting about your Polymer Clay donation activities. It is wonderful to see that Polymer Clay is playing such a significant role for you and your charity.
I’m egging you on to keep up the great work :-)
Thanks for your email, Cindy! I got it!! Sorry to cause more work for you, but when I can’t get my Friday Polymer Clay Tutor I am depressed… love being able to learn from you.
By the way I received almost $ 900.00 in donations for the American Belarussian Relief Organization (my family sponsors a child every summer) from the polymer eggs a friend of mine and I did this spring! That is almost a full plane fare for one. We had 32 polymer clay covered, blown, chicken eggs. Went home without even one left!
~Carol