Polymer Clay Baking Tips and Tricks Delicate structures need to be supported during baking, so use a bed of cornstarch or polyester fiber for this. Toilet paper or paper towels also work well. When baking on tile, to keep the back of your item from being shiny, bake on a piece of copy paper or cardstock.
Cover the clay with a tented piece of aluminum foil or cover it with an upside-down baking pan. Bake using a conventional home oven or a toaster oven and adhere to the time and temperature listed. In most cases, you can bake polymer clay at 275 degrees F for 15 to 30 minutes per ¼ inch of clay thickness.
The usual way of keeping clay items flat while baking is to put them between two (non-glazed) tiles, or to weight them in some other way just at the corners, edges, or anywhere needed. And that usually works just fine. Letting them cool like that can be important sometimes too.
Bakeable Glues or Bonding Agents
But bonding agents and bakeable glues are generally recommended when bonding raw clay to baked clay or when baking baked clay to another piece of baked clay. While some products are specifically marketed for this purpose, there isn't much difference, chemically, between them.
Sculptors often turn to using armatures, and modeling stands, to assist them during the sculpting process. Armatures, internal support structures often constructed from aluminum, help in building your clay model which may not support their own weight.
You can bake clay on any object that will withstand the relatively low temperatures polymer clay is baked at. Wood, cardboard, glass metal and many plastics are suitable. For plastic items, you can try running them through a dishwasher (hot settings) to test its melting temperature.
You can use your regular home oven – it's perfectly safe. You don't need to buy a dedicated clay oven or kiln. If you don't have a regular home oven, you can use a toaster oven. If you want to use a toaster oven, choose a model that can hold a steady, accurate temperature — we'll talk about this more below.
Do not ever try to microwave your polymer clay. Sculpey Clay can be baked on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or cardstock. Some people like to use ceramic tiles or glass that can serve as both a work and clay baking surface.
When you bake polymer clay on a baking sheet, the bottom changes during the curing process and becomes shiny. If you want to avoid this, be sure to line your baking sheets with parchment paper. This can ensure the bottoms of your creations keep the same sheen from top to bottom.
Once you have cut out your slab, place another flat piece of plywood on top of the slab. This will sandwich your clay between two boards, and keep it flat as it dries. You can add a little pressure to the top board by putting something on it. Something like a pot of glaze would be fine.
The short answer is no. It's not necessary to seal polymer clay pieces because polymer clay is both durable and water resistant. Depending on the look you want to create, you may only want to sand and buff your polymer clay pieces. Only when you use additional effects such as resin is it necessary to seal the piece.
Cover form with a ¼” thick layer of clay. Bake for 15 minutes at 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Add a second ¼” thick complete layer (like a skin), which can be built up slightly to show contours. Re-bake for 15 minutes at 275 degrees F.
Most air dry clays are sticky, and you don't want that on your work surface. We recommend protecting the work area with items such as wax paper, silicone baking mats, or vinyl placemats. This will keep your table protected and make clean up much easier!
Concrete/ Cement
Cement works well because it does not stick to the clay or suck too much water from it, and it's quite durable. Unlike plaster, it won't contaminate your clay with chips and cracked bits. You can use pourable concrete as your work surface.
Bases can be made from any number of materials; stone, concrete, plastic, metal, etc. Conversely they can also be sculpted from clay. For a modern look, I find that my Creative Paperclay sculptures are best complemented by a solid wood base.
In sculpture, an armature is a framework around which the sculpture is built, when the sculpture could not stand on its own. This framework provides structure and stability, especially when a plastic material such as wax, newspaper or clay is being used as the medium.
CASES: Wet parts. The first thing you learn in ceramics is "score and slip." To attach 2 wet pieces of clay, you score both sides with a needle tool or fork, apply water or slip, and mush them together.