Firing Painted Clay... Tips?

Question

Hi, I'm painting small, pebble-like clay pieces to put into the oven and fire.

My main question is, for the bottom side, do I put it in the oven a second time right side down after it's painted? Is there a way to do it at the same time?

Also, what temperature do you recommend I set the oven? Thanks!

Answer 1

What kind of "clay" are you using?

Since you said you were going to "fire " it, I was assuming you meant earth clay (ceramic)... but then you said you would be putting it into an "oven" instead of a kiln (though I guess some people use that term for a kiln), so then I wondered if you might be using a "polymer" clay (Premo, Fimo, Sculpey, etc.).

Polymer clays are generally baked at about 265-275 F, for about 15-20 minutes per inch of thickness... they will BURN though if put into a kiln, or into a regular oven at more than about 390 degrees!

There are a number of ways to "paint on" polymer clays with different materials, but for most of them you could simply wait for the paint to dry before putting the item in the oven... then I'd suggest putting your item on a sheet of paper (could even be accordion-folded) or a nest of tissues to bake (or make a "pronged" stand by putting pins up through some clay or cardboard, then sit the rock on the pins)... there are other ways too.

Some paints we use with polymer clay don't dry quickly though or are actually heat-set, so in that case I guess you'd probably do each side separately (though it generally doesn't take long to just set the paint).

If you are using a polymer clay, there's a lot more info on baking it on this page:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/baking.htm
and more info on paints and painting over it on this page, if you're interested:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/paints.htm

If you're using another kind of clay and "glazing" it before firing, someone else will surely know.

Diane B.

Answer 2

It generally works better if you fire the clay first, then paint it. If you're using an oven, it sound like you've got polymer clay The temperatures on that vary by brand--it's usually around 400-450.

Answer 3

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