Category Blog
Example of Category Blog layout (FAQs/General category)
Differences between Sculpey, Super Sculpey and Sculpey III
Last Updated (Sunday, 16 March 2008 07:07) Written by Administrator Sunday, 16 March 2008 06:58
| Product | Colour/Packaging | Usage/Capabilities | Finish |
| Sculpey | White; bulk only | Small, compact sculpture | Bisque type finish |
| Super Sculpey | Pink-beige, semi-translucent; bulk only | Dolls, modeling, and for prototypes | Matte finish, slightly translucent |
| Sculpey III | 40 colours; 2 oz. packages, multi-packs, and sampler packs | Figurines, millefiori, jewelry, home decor items | Matte finish |
| Premo! Sculpey | 30 colours; 2 oz. packages | Figurines, surface decoration, millefiori, jewelry, home decor items. Has excellent tensile strength due to flexibility in thin or delicate areas. Takes tooling well. Color mixing capabilities are comparable to artists’ oil paints | Natural, satin finish that can be sanded and buffed to a semi-gloss |
| Granitex | 8 colours; 2 oz. packages and sampler pack | Figurines, jewelry, home decor and items | Matte finish which resembles granite due to fibers suspended in the clay |
| Sculpey-Flex | 8 colours; 2 oz. packages and sampler pack | Figurines, children’s craft projects, jewelry. Bakes to a rubbery, flexible texture | Matte finish |
How do I prepare my clay before use?
Last Updated (Thursday, 01 January 1970 19:59) Written by Administrator Sunday, 16 March 2008 06:54
All polymer clays should be properly conditioned (kneaded manually or passed through the rollers of a pasta machine several times) prior to use. Failure to condition well can result in a weak finished product and increased chance of breakage.
What are the baking times for Sculpey?
Last Updated (Sunday, 16 March 2008 06:42) Written by Administrator Wednesday, 11 October 2006 09:15
As a rule of thumb, bake clays on the following baking times in a CALIBRATED OVEN. What is on an oven dial does not always match the internal temperature of the oven itself. Use a separate oven thermometer (available at hardware stores) to check the temperature in several areas of the oven before baking for the first time.
- Sculpey - 15 minutes per 1/4" of thickness at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C)
- Sculpey III and Granitex - 15 minutes per 1/4" of thickness at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C)
- Premo! Sculpey - 30 minutes per 1/4" of thickness at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C)
- Sculpey SuperFlex - 20 minutes per 1/4" of thickness at 285 degrees F (140 degrees C)
- Amazing Eraser Clay - bake most pieces for 10 minutes only at 250 degrees F (121 degrees C). For extremely large pieces, do 15 minutes. This clay needs to be slightly underbaked so that it will "degrade" as you erase. If it is baked hotter, it will totally fuse and will not erase pencil marks.
Baking will always be an estimate as there can be multiple thicknesses. You can bake longer, BUT NOT HOTTER! Lighter colored clays can be shielded with aluminum foil to prevent darkening.
Certain techniques (glazing with colored TLS)require multiple bakings. When using TLS, bake about 15 minutes per application. For texture, drizzle other coats of colored TLS onto items straight out of the oven. It will solidify due to the residual heat of the item.
How do I avoid Sculpey cracking problems?
Last Updated (Sunday, 16 March 2008 06:52) Written by Administrator Thursday, 05 October 2006 11:11
Cracking is almost always caused by insufficient curing OR by uneven thickness in the sculpture. (See Baking Times and Temperatures area for layering techniques.) If you ﾓbulk out" the thick areas with foil, and adhere to proper baking times and temperatures, most problems can be avoided. Sometimes the cause can be from baking on an unstable or uneven surface. Always use some type of support under the clay if there are raised portions, as it softens slightly before it hardens in the baking process, and can sag or crack if not properly supported.
If the clay is slightly dry, this can also cause cracking. Add some Sculpey diluent, work in, and the clay will be re-constituted.
Our clays shrink less than 1 percent. This is not enough to cause cracking except in cases where the layer is extremely thin, such as over a glass vessel. Over time, because of temperature and humidity changes, a crack may occur. Sculpey III is by its nature a brittle clay. Premo has a much higher tensile strength, and has a slight resiliency after baking in thin areas.
Sculpey III is strong when used in thick applications, but it can chip when dropped.
