Combining Clays, Redux

Well, that shipment of round tuits finally arrived, and I've started
fiddling around with the polyclay I've accumulated over the past couple
of years.

I noticed that I wasn't buying clay with any particular purpose in mind,
so I found that I have, say, 4 blocks of translucent, and 3 of silver, a
couple of beige, etc.. I did an inventory this morning, and discovered
that I also have different types/brands of clay -- depending on whether
or not that type had a color I *thought* that I needed at the time.... )

I've worked with Fimo in the past, but it doesn't seem to be as
available as the Sculpey products. Consequently, all of the clay I have
now is Sculpey -- and Sculpey III, Premo and Granitex.

All the baking times/temperatures appear to be the same across the
different types. So, other than the price (Premo seems to be the most
expensive, comparatively speaking), what is the difference in the clays,
and how much trouble am I likely to get into (either now or down the
road) when I combine them?

Arondelle
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The difference in the clays seems to be one of hardness. Sculpey, the bulk
white stuff is almost as soft and easy to break as chalk. Sculpey lll is
almost that soft too. The troubles you may have will depend largely on what
you want to do with the stuff. Are you talking about combining the clays as
in mixing two clays of different types together to make a new color, or as
in using two clays in the same project?
Premo and the other more expensive brands tend to flex rather than break
*for small bits like fingers*.
HTH
Diana (yep, that Diana)

--
Queen of FAQs
Royal Peace Maker
http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44
"Arondelle" wrote in message
...
Well, that shipment of round tuits finally arrived, and I've started
fiddling around with the polyclay I've accumulated over the past couple
of years.

I noticed that I wasn't buying clay with any particular purpose in mind,
so I found that I have, say, 4 blocks of translucent, and 3 of silver, a
couple of beige, etc.. I did an inventory this morning, and discovered
that I also have different types/brands of clay -- depending on whether
or not that type had a color I *thought* that I needed at the time....
)

I've worked with Fimo in the past, but it doesn't seem to be as
available as the Sculpey products. Consequently, all of the clay I have
now is Sculpey -- and Sculpey III, Premo and Granitex.

All the baking times/temperatures appear to be the same across the
different types. So, other than the price (Premo seems to be the most
expensive, comparatively speaking), what is the difference in the clays,
and how much trouble am I likely to get into (either now or down the
road) when I combine them?

Arondelle
--
================================================== =========
To email me, empty the pond with a net
Shop eBay with me: http://snipurl.com/3usr
Visit Arondelle's Dream Worlds at: http://www.arondelle.com
Read my Blog: http://www.angelfire.com/blog/arondelle/index.html

Most of the literature I have seen suggests that clays are similar enough
chemically to mix. They also say to expect mixtures of cheaper clays with
"better" ones like Premo or Fimo to be intermediate in durablity.

I would prefer to use Premo, as it is supposed to be stronger. But it is
easy to overwork and gets too soft and sticky. I have found that combining
Fimo and Premo gives a material which is easier to handle. Note: this works
best if you break or cut up equal amounts of both, work them together (use
the softer Premo to keep picking up crumbs of Fimo) and work them by hand
until soft enough to run through the pasta machine a few times. Let the
mixture sit overnight and then later, it will be easier to work - not as dry
and crumbly as Fimo, not as soft and sticky as Premo (I think the
plasticizer has to equilibrate throughout the mass of clay). If there is a
Michael's craft store in your area, they carry Fimo and often have sales.

---Ray Jones---

All the baking times/temperatures appear to be the same across the
different types. So, other than the price (Premo seems to be the most
expensive, comparatively speaking), what is the difference in the clays,
and how much trouble am I likely to get into (either now or down the
road) when I combine them?

Arondelle

Diana Curtis wrote:

The difference in the clays seems to be one of hardness. Sculpey, the bulk
white stuff is almost as soft and easy to break as chalk. Sculpey lll is
almost that soft too. The troubles you may have will depend largely on what
you want to do with the stuff. Are you talking about combining the clays as
in mixing two clays of different types together to make a new color, or as
in using two clays in the same project?
Premo and the other more expensive brands tend to flex rather than break
*for small bits like fingers*.
HTH
Diana (yep, that Diana)

Hi, Diana!

I'll be mixing colors, adding translucent to flat colors to make them
"glow" or using two different colors for a marbling effect. I'll mostly
be making cabs and faces, so there won't be very many small bits or thin
spots that might break off.

Fimo is *very* rubbery, once baked, but still prone to breaking. You can
cut the stuff with scissors, but sanding is not an easy thing to do. My
Sculpey test pieces (so far) are harder and more ceramic-like, and
ultimately sandable (which is a good thing, since I need to sand the
backs of the cabs flat). I haven't gotten into the Premo yet.

Do you suppose that adding "elasticlay" to regular Sculpey would make it
less brittle?

Arondelle
--
================================================== =========
To email me, empty the pond with a net
Shop eBay with me: http://snipurl.com/3usr
Visit Arondelle's Dream Worlds at: http://www.arondelle.com
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Ive never tried elasticlay so really cant guess what it might do to Sculpey.
For making cabs mixing the clays really shouldnt be a problem. One thing
to consider too is how the different clays react to buffing. Sculpy will get
a matte shine while the other clays get a more high gloss. Thats nice if you
dont want to use a sealer on it, and just buff it to glossiness.
Have you taken a look at www.glassattic.com ? They may have all the answers
youre looking for there.
Diana


--
Queen of FAQs
Royal Peace Maker
http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44
"Arondelle" wrote in message
...
Diana Curtis wrote:

The difference in the clays seems to be one of hardness. Sculpey, the
bulk
white stuff is almost as soft and easy to break as chalk. Sculpey lll is
almost that soft too. The troubles you may have will depend largely on
what
you want to do with the stuff. Are you talking about combining the clays
as
in mixing two clays of different types together to make a new color, or
as
in using two clays in the same project?
Premo and the other more expensive brands tend to flex rather than
break
*for small bits like fingers*.
HTH
Diana (yep, that Diana)

Hi, Diana!

I'll be mixing colors, adding translucent to flat colors to make them
"glow" or using two different colors for a marbling effect. I'll mostly
be making cabs and faces, so there won't be very many small bits or thin
spots that might break off.

Fimo is *very* rubbery, once baked, but still prone to breaking. You can
cut the stuff with scissors, but sanding is not an easy thing to do. My
Sculpey test pieces (so far) are harder and more ceramic-like, and
ultimately sandable (which is a good thing, since I need to sand the
backs of the cabs flat). I haven't gotten into the Premo yet.

Do you suppose that adding "elasticlay" to regular Sculpey would make it
less brittle?

Arondelle
--
================================================== =========
To email me, empty the pond with a net
Shop eBay with me: http://snipurl.com/3usr
Visit Arondelle's Dream Worlds at: http://www.arondelle.com
Read my Blog: http://www.angelfire.com/blog/arondelle/index.html

Premo can be too soft when you have a fresh batch of it. Leaching it makes
it easy to work with.
Dawn Stubitsch
http://www.thumbprintkids.com
http://www.thumbprintkids.com/pages/caketoppers.html
"Ray Jones" wrote in message
s.com...
Most of the literature I have seen suggests that clays are similar enough
chemically to mix. They also say to expect mixtures of cheaper clays with
"better" ones like Premo or Fimo to be intermediate in durablity.

I would prefer to use Premo, as it is supposed to be stronger. But it is
easy to overwork and gets too soft and sticky. I have found that
combining
Fimo and Premo gives a material which is easier to handle. Note: this
works
best if you break or cut up equal amounts of both, work them together (use
the softer Premo to keep picking up crumbs of Fimo) and work them by hand
until soft enough to run through the pasta machine a few times. Let the
mixture sit overnight and then later, it will be easier to work - not as
dry
and crumbly as Fimo, not as soft and sticky as Premo (I think the
plasticizer has to equilibrate throughout the mass of clay). If there is
a
Michael's craft store in your area, they carry Fimo and often have sales.

---Ray Jones---

All the baking times/temperatures appear to be the same across the
different types. So, other than the price (Premo seems to be the most
expensive, comparatively speaking), what is the difference in the clays,
and how much trouble am I likely to get into (either now or down the
road) when I combine them?

Arondelle

You shouldn't have any problems mixing the different brands of clays.
I do it all the time and have not had any problems. What you should
watch for is purchasing the clay in the summer, late summer. It tends
to be much stiffer than it is in the winter. It sits in those hot
semi-trucks and starts to cure. I prefer to purchase my clay in the
winter, it's always much fresher. But if you do get some hard
slightly cured clay, you can always add one of the softer brands to it
and soften it up. I do that by taking one part translucent to 3 parts
of the problem clay and it blends in just find and the color had not
changed much at all.