First time with polymer clay

[SKEETERPROV]

Hi guys I heard alot about pens from poly so i thought i would give it a try...wow nice easy media to work with I am sold....Took a short drive to michaels today and they had all 2 oz makes on for 2 for $4.00, I thought that was not to bad when it is hard to find aroud here... I used a full block of yellow and a quarter block of black and was able to make 6 half blanks...thanx for the view..

 

[ZanderPommo]

thats too cool. could you perhaps take a pic or post a link to the exact product?? i'd love to try that--too cool

 

[PaulD]

Skeeter -- great start! Zander --here's the basic product used for polymer clay pens. All of these products are from Michaels (I used to teach painting classes there). Sculpey and Premo both work fine, I just wouldn't recommend mixing brands on the same project as they can have different baking temperatures and turn slightly differently on the lathe. You won't need the liquid Sculpey as I was just playing with that for some image application projects.

 

[SKEETERPROV]

Day 2 with polymer

Well here is my second atempt... Had a few blow up on me but heres the survivors:frown:

 

[SKEETERPROV]

Thanx paul for posting the product used.... I might add too that this product is non toxic and is great for non dusty shavings and is nice to sand but is a little hard on the sand paper,,,

 

[Mark]

Great idea. My kids loved it too.

They want to give it a try this weekend.

 

[ZanderPommo]

man why don't more people do this!?!
i see that stuff all over for cheapo. how do you ensure there aren't bubbles or air pockets??
sorry to hijac your thread Skeet- great pens dude!

 

[SKEETERPROV]

Yes it is good value..I can get 3 blanks out of 2 ozs and a bit i am sure if it the process was perfected you could give acrylic a run for the money..... to keep the air out and bubbles i will roll the poly on the brass tube till it is about a 1/4 inch thick and then lightly roll it in the palm of my hands to tighten it to the brass and then i work the ends so it overlaps an 1/8 of an inch and trim if necessary.after i bake it i use the barrell trimmer at low speed to clean it up...the most important thing of all is to make sure that the ends have no flaws in them or you will get breakout and use the gouge very lightly and you will get nice long curls of cuttings with no dust..lol

 

[ZanderPommo]

oh man you bake em with the tubes in? i thought you drilled them normally.

do they adhere well?

 

[BigguyZ]

Wish I saw this earlier, but I just posted in Cas conversations that there's a sale on PC at Michael's. $1.25/ pack of 2oz on all of the pricey brands, including Premo.

I'm not sure if I'm a fan of wraping the tubes themselves, but I do think these are pretty cool. Bright colors for a lot less than acrylics. I like both the "natural" and the CA'd look/feel, so it's pretty versatile.

Just don't overcook it! (DAMHIK)

I have a lot of things to try, but so far so good.

 

[ZanderPommo]

if not CA'd will the color rub off, smear, or dull?

 

[PaulD]

if not CA'd will the color rub off, smear, or dull?

Nope, when the clay cures the color is baked all the way through. There is no need to CA the pens, its just a very effective way to get a real nice shine. Some people just use Hut PP on them for more of a satin finish.

 

[PaulD]

oh man you bake em with the tubes in? i thought you drilled them normally.

do they adhere well?

You can do the CA pens either way. The clay goes a lot further when you use the approach Skeeter describes. However there are some design advantages to rolling and curing a thicker all PC cane and drilling it out like a wood blank. When I first started with PC, I did the cane route with all of my pens. See the photo below.

 

[SKEETERPROV]

one thing i had problems with today is when i rolled it on the brass i rolled it too thin and the layers all chipped out once i turned them to the desired thickness so i am going to try the solid approach and drill them out and ca glue them to the brass so they dont spin on the brass like the rolled approach. I think if you roll them on the brass you should do it with one quarter inch layer not multiple thin layers.... take it from me I lost six blanks today because of break out.. it makes you laugh when you first try something new it works out great then you try it again and it all goes south....LOL...cheers keep turnin eh!

 

[PaulD]

one thing i had problems with today is when i rolled it on the brass i rolled it too thin and the layers all chipped out once i turned them to the desired thickness so i am going to try the solid approach and drill them out and ca glue them to the brass so they dont spin on the brass like the rolled approach. I think if you roll them on the brass you should do it with one quarter inch layer not multiple thin layers.... take it from me I lost six blanks today because of break out.. it makes you laugh when you first try something new it works out great then you try it again and it all goes south....LOL...cheers keep turnin eh!

I agree with this advice when applying clay directly on brass. Put a thicker coat on, cure the clay & barrel and then turn it down to the desired shape and finish. I also apply a layer of thin CA on the ends after squaring off the PC blanks as it seemed to help avoid fractures at the very ends when turning.

 

[PaulD]

A couple quick comments about the PC canes in the photo above. Note that a couple blanks have some darkening of the colors. This is from overcuring and no it does not turn out on the lathe, the burned colors go all the way through the cane and they are wasted. Also some of these canes were for camoflaged pens I made. These camo colored pens moved really well and I did develop a couple variations of color schemes to amuse some of the hunters around here. Last comment, try to keep the canes uniformly thick and square from end to end. This photo was from a very early batch and the canes you bet would fail in the drilling process did indeed do so.

 

[creativewriting]

Hey Skeet, Welcome to the world of polymer clay. The pens look great. If you are having trouble getting the clay to stick to the barrel use a little glue. I use a glue called "Crafters Pick - The Ultimate". I rough up the tube with a course metal file, apply a thin coat of the glue, then let it dry to a tack. The glue re-activates under the curing heat. Since I have been doing this I haven't had one pop yet. I am not a big fan of drilling personally. I think you waste a ton of clay in the process.

I don't know about the others, but I am not a big fan of the Sculpy II or Fimo. The Premo and Studio (new) are the only ones I find that hold up the best over time. I am sure opinions vary, just my 2 cents.

 

[SKEETERPROV]

I made some more blanks up tonite and when i was rolling out the clay i noticed small pockets of air and i believe thats what causing the breakouts....I guess i will have to invest in a pasta machine.....

 

[PapaTim]

I've never tried polymer but will pick some up tomorrow. Have any of you tried rolling it on a small dowel, then baking and drilling to size? Just wondering if that would save some clay and make drilling easier.

 

[PenAffair]

I remember reading up on this about 9 months ago, and the opinion was back then, that after a while being used, the blanks disintegrate. Is this not true anymore, or does applying a CA coat prevent this?

Not sure if this stuff is available readily in Australia, I'll have to look around and experiment.

Russell.

 

[PaulD]

I made some more blanks up tonite and when i was rolling out the clay i noticed small pockets of air and i believe thats what causing the breakouts....I guess i will have to invest in a pasta machine.....

Splurge. Buy the pasta machine. There are 40% off coupons available for Michaels this weekend.

 

[PaulD]

I remember reading up on this about 9 months ago, and the opinion was back then, that after a while being used, the blanks disintegrate. Is this not true anymore, or does applying a CA coat prevent this?

Not sure if this stuff is available readily in Australia, I'll have to look around and experiment.

Russell.

I'm unaware of such a problem. Polymer clay has been used in jewelry and other creations for years without that problem. I've have had pens done with and without CA in use since 12/06 with no evidence of deterioration of any kind. My guess would be that if anyone ever had such a problem it was related to undercured clay. I used to be an active participant in a number of polymer clay forums and there were numerous Australians in the forums, so I'm sure PC is available there.

 

[PaulD]

I've never tried polymer but will pick some up tomorrow. Have any of you tried rolling it on a small dowel, then baking and drilling to size? Just wondering if that would save some clay and make drilling easier.

Interesting idea. I can't see why that wouldn't work. The alternative of just applying the PC (with CA) straight onto the brass also would save you on clay. Again, this wouldn't work with some of the twist and marbled design approaches, but I suspect you will run into this same issue with the dowel idea.

 

[creativewriting]

To feed off the dowel idea I purchased drill rod the same size as the drill bits for specific kits. I haven't had alot of time to play, but my intent is to roll long tubes of polymer clay that I can cure and then cut to size. These can then be glued to the tube like a normal blank. Hopefully I will have some time to play with this soon.

As for disintigration I am with Paul. Many people under cure the clay or do something else wrong during the process. My mom was a polymer clay artist over 25 years ago and she still has pieces that look brand new. Since then there have be numerous reformulations and additions to the clay world.

 

[PenAffair]

As for disintigration I am with Paul. Many people under cure the clay or do something else wrong during the process. My mom was a polymer clay artist over 25 years ago and she still has pieces that look brand new. Since then there have be numerous reformulations and additions to the clay world.

OK cool,

Sounds like something else I can't afford to try, but will anyway Seems there are suppliers here with Fimo, Sculpy, Kato and if I can find a supplier, and Aussie one called Modelene. it's actually quite a dizzying selection trying to decide which one to use. If I can't find the modelene, I think Sculpy Premo seems to be the strongest? I wonder how the bendy stuff turns, might make a nice soft-grip pen for arthritics?

Russell.

 

[SKEETERPROV]

I see i have created some creative monsters........I might add too i find if i leave the blanks for a day they seem to harden real nice and the shavings stay together..

 

[SKEETERPROV]

New pens update

well this is what i have been working on with my polymer project ..lol..:biggrin:sorry for the bad pic quality...

 

[ldb2000]

They look great .
In some ways this stuff is better the PR since you can build your swirls right into the blank and get effects you can't get with pr no matter what .

 

[PenAffair]

They look great .
In some ways this stuff is better the PR since you can build your swirls right into the blank and get effects you can't get with pr no matter what .

I agree. I'm tired of the pigments separating from pouring too soon, or my resin setting before I pour. If this stuff works as well in person as it looks in pictures, I'll be a convert.

I picked up a toaster oven today, and stole the wife's pasta maker :tongue: Grabbed some generic polymer clay from the cheapie shop to play with, while I order some better stuff. It is not that cheap over here in Aus, so I'll have to try baking on the tube to keep down on wastage.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Russell.

 

[SKEETERPROV]

I hope you have sucess with it......i am sure you will

 

[SKEETERPROV]

how did you make out with the poly russell ????

 

[PenAffair]

how did you make out with the poly russell ????

Oven still in the box atm. The problem with working away from home, don't get to do much. I'll be home in 2 days ready to try it out.

I have been picking up extra supplies though. Bought a cheap photo frame to get a piece of glas to work on - hope it doesn't break, and I have to find an oven thermometer, grater and a roller of some kind.

Regarding finding more clay, to quote a famous Aussie song, "I've been everywhere man" and without much luck. the two big craft suppliers around here have the small 56 gram (2 Oz I think?) blocks for $5 each. I've order some sample packs off Ebay that look OK, but the name brands are very hard to find. I emailed the makers of the Australian brand - modelene, and have had zero response about where to get it I don't know why companies put up contact emails if they never read them

I can mail-order the other stuff from places here, but I may have to put in an order for something from the US as it ends up being only about 2/3rds of the price including postage here! I was looking at Kato.

One of the things I've noticed reading Polymer web sites is, translucent is one of the most used "colours", is supposed to be the natural form of the stuff, but it seems one of the hardest to get!!

I'll tell you what though, I'm not sure where to start, as there are so many interesting things to try! Can't wait to give it a go.

Russell.

 

[ZanderPommo]

just cooked some via instructions, and its fairly soft still. if i try i can dig my fingernail into it. did i do this wrong or is his normal for PC?
if its under cooked can i pop it back in? how long do you guys cook it?

 

[SKEETERPROV]

Make sure the oven is preheated to proper temp...I use 275 degrees for 20 minutes...make sure you go by manufacturer specs

 

[PaulD]

just cooked some via instructions, and its fairly soft still. if i try i can dig my fingernail into it. did i do this wrong or is his normal for PC?
if its under cooked can i pop it back in? how long do you guys cook it?

I generally would bake my clay and then immerse it in ice water when finished to stop the baking process. I don't know if that did a lot, but my PC buddy and PC book author Dotty McMillan recommended doing so. Anyway, no you could not dig your fingernail into the cured clay when it was cool.. I don't think you would have a problem putting in a little more baking time if you need it -- nothing to lose. When baking I always let my nose supplement the clay packet baking time instructions -- when I start the smell the clay its almost done and time to check it.

 

[SKEETERPROV]

todays poly pens

Well i was at it again ........ heres the results of todays efforts..

 

[ZanderPommo]

that red/green is too cool
i'll bake mine a bit more then

 

[papaturner]

Scott Thanks for starting this thread,I`ve been folowing it with great interest. I`ll send you a bill for the new hobby expense.:biggrin:
Hope you don`t mind but here is my first pc pen after about two other failures.
Comments and recommendations welcome.

 

[SKEETERPROV]

Man...... perry that is awesome great choice of colors. It looks lke your having better luck than me..Just got off the phone with my stock broker told him to put all my money into the polymer clay companys i feel their sales are going to increase.....LOL

 

[creativewriting]

You guys are hooked now. I have about a100 packs of polymer and still pick some up when it goes on sale. If you get real hot and heavy I would suggest a pasta machine with a motor and foot pedal. You can crank some clay out with that baby!

Good luck!