Polymer clay is currently a very popular material for creativity. It is convenient to work with, products from it are beautiful and durable, in addition, it allows you to perform such techniques that are impossible when working with ordinary clay or, say, salt dough. After you have made a polymer clay craft, you need to bake it in the oven to give it strength. This case has its own subtleties.
Instructions
Step 1
First, choose a surface to bake the product on. You can use a wooden board, ceramic plate or plate, glass plate, heavy cardboard or metal baking sheet, which will need to be covered with baking paper. If you want the bottom surface of the product, which will lie on the baking surface, to become completely glossy, then simply lay the product on the surface, and if you want to avoid this, then place a napkin or thick cloth under the product.
Step 2
Observe safety precautions when baking. Remember that when baking polymer clay, toxic substances are released. That is why the kitchen must be constantly ventilated, and the oven must be washed after work, since toxins can settle on its walls. If you want to make sure that toxic substances do not spread through your kitchen at all, then bake products in hermetically sealed containers.
Step 3
Adjust the oven temperature. Usually, on packs with polymer clay, they write at what temperature it needs to be baked. As a rule, it is 110-130˚. Keep in mind that if you bake the clay at a low temperature, your product will become brittle. If you bake the product at a higher temperature, the product will become stronger, however, much more toxic substances will be released. In addition, your items may discolor and darken.
Step 4
Always monitor the oven temperature when baking. You can focus on the thermometer built into the oven, but it may not show completely accurate data. It is better to purchase a special thermometer or multimeter that can determine the temperature in a specific place in the oven. Keep in mind that the specialty thermometers sold in the creative departments, while accurate, are very expensive. Multimer is much cheaper, although it comes with a bunch of options you don't need.
Step 5
Time to bake correctly. As a rule, for small items, only fifteen minutes is enough, and the larger the item, the longer it will be in the oven. However, if you keep the product in the oven longer than necessary, nothing terrible will happen, on the contrary, the product will only become stronger. The main thing is temperature, not time.
