How to ensure a good polymer clay firing?

Polymer clay is a modeling clay that allows the manufacture of small decorative objects (beads, pendants, figurines ...). For this, it requires a cooking to obtain hard or more or less flexible pieces depending on the range used. Many brands produce this paste. The best known is certainly the Fimo paste but there are also the brand Cernit, Pardo, Kato Polyclay, Sculpey. Most of these pastes bake at 130 degrees but there are exceptions such as the Kato Polyclay paste which is baked at 150 degrees.

In which oven to cook the dough ?

The cooking of polymer clay is called polymerization, it is done in a traditional oven. It is preferable to use an oven dedicated to polymer baking and not to use your household oven because, during polymerization, toxic gases and vapors are released that will leave particles in your oven. Hence the need to invest in an oven that is just right for your polymer and to work in a ventilated room.

It is highly recommended to use a purpose-built thermometer like this one in the oven. It is very common to have a temperature set on the oven, but in reality it is not the real temperature inside, beware.

The microwave oven should not be used for this purpose.

The dough, which has just been polymerized, comes out of the oven still soft and fragile. It is by cooling that the dough hardens and remains stable.

On what support should I bake my polymer clay?

The clay can be baked and worked on several different surfaces such as smooth tiles or a glass plate.

Depending on what you want to create for example a bracelet or a ring, you may have to use a metal support, no worries the metal will be able to go through the oven with your polymer on it without breaking.

The problem with baking on metal, glass or ceramic is that the polymer side in contact with these materials will come out marked and shiny. Often to remedy this it is possible to do a second firing of the piece you have created by adding a layer of textured paste at this point for example, in this video tutorial you have an example of creation with a sole.

You can bake your piece as many times as you want without worrying.

The tips of the pro to have a perfect Fimo, Sculpey, Cernit, Pardo and Kato dough baking:

• For beads, there is a suitable holder where you place the beads on needles that are placed on a baking rack.
• For non-beaded shapes, you can take a bowl in one of the materials listed above as a stand and put baking soda inside. These very fine grains will make the dough deposited on it will not be marked and it will be enough to blow after cooking or to rub with a brush so that all these small grains are removed.
• To give a special shape, cabochon or molded shape, you can also bake your pieces in silicone molds or a support for hollow or curved beads.