Today many people know how to make jewelry, dolls and other crafts from polymer clay - this material is gaining more and more popularity among craftsmen. Most people who create polymer clay products know that finished clay products need to be baked in the oven, but not heated in the microwave. However, there is a technology that allows you not to bake, but to cook polymer clay, and as a result get high-quality material.
Instructions
Step 1
Choose a suitable utensil for cooking polymer clay in the microwave - this can be a bowl made of any material other than ceramic and clay. Pour enough water into a bowl so that the level is two-thirds over the product.
Step 2
The larger the product, the longer the cooking time will be, and the size should be proportional to the volume of the cooking container. For example, if you are going to boil simple beads, do not use an oversized bowl.
Step 3
Cooking time is calculated based on the fact that every millimeter of product thickness is boiled for one minute. Add another three minutes to the resulting number of minutes in thickness, and you will get the optimal boiling time for the plastic.
Step 4
A common disadvantage of this method of working with plastic is a white coating that forms on the surface of the product and spoils its original color. In fact, the color of the plastic does not change during cooking - the whitish tint does not indicate fading of the plastic, but about the sediment that formed on the surface of the product after cooking.
Step 5
You can easily remove the white layer with fine sandpaper, and you will see the original color of the plastic again. In addition, you can minimize the risk of white bloom - since sediment is a consequence of the high hardness of the water, you can use filtered purified water, in which there is much less salt and sediment, which means there will be no sediment on the clay surface.
Step 6
You can also boil tap water separately before cooking - all salts will settle on the dishes, and the water will become cleaner. A small white bloom, which can nevertheless form on the surface of the product, can be easily removed with a cotton swab dipped in citric acid.
Step 7
Use the container you have chosen for cooking plastic only for technical purposes, but not for food purposes to avoid poisoning. In order for the product not to lose its shape during the cooking process, first slowly lower it into slightly boiling water on a spoon, which also cannot be used for food purposes.
Step 8
It is not necessary to use a microwave oven for cooking - you can cook the product on a regular stove in any saucepan chosen for this purpose. The main thing is to observe the correct cooking time, and then rinse the product under running cold water.
