First time with polymer clay

[ZanderPommo]

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

[PaulD]

Originally Posted by ZanderPommo

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]

Originally Posted by ZanderPommo

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]

Originally Posted by 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!

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.