polymer clay...?

Question

my polymer clay figures keep sticking on my oven trays when i bake them... does someone know how to avoid that?

Answer 1

also using ceramanic tiles may help

Answer 2

Polymer clay items should be fairly easy to "pop off" of slick surfaces they've been baked on. You will have a shiny spot any place a slick area was in contact with the clay, but that shouldn't show on the bottom of a figure. There is an advantage too in that the figure will have remained the same shape it went in (unless there are very thin areas) because the clay will soften slightly when heated, and figures especially can tump over if they're not bottom heavy or kind of stuck to a baking surface (sometimes they can look well balanced when raw and stand perfectly, but tend to tump after baking because they weren't really).

At any rate, if you DON'T WANT any polymer clay item to stick to your baking surface, the main thing you'll want to do is to avoid using a slick or very smooth surface to set it on while baking.
So, you could simply place something between the clay and the baking surface (though avoid anything that has ink on it, etc.) --like plain paper, parchment or deli paper, a tissue (like a Kleenex), or a piece of cotton fabric... or you can use things which aren't flat, like a cloud of polyester stuffing, or a pile of cornstarch or baking soda. None of those things will leave any texture on the clay or burn at polymer clay curing temps if they aren't touching the oven coils.

Just cooling the clay (overnight or in the frig for awhile) will also keep the clay from being as sticky, and certain brands will be stickier than others, but avoiding slick surfaces will probably be what you want.

There's a lot more info about using all those things, and about baking polymer clays in general, on this page at my website if you want to check them out:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/baking.htm
.....click especially on the subcategories called:
MATERIALS TO BAKE ON
SUPPORT DURING BAKING
and possibly DARKENING, SCORCHING too

(If your figures are complex, you might also want to check out this page at the site for using stands and things during baking:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/sculpting_body_and_tools.htm
... click on SUPPORT STANDS, under "Tools"...)


HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 3

I actually use heavy duty non-coated paper plates to bake everything on. Straight into the oven. The clay never sticks. You can also put a piece of paper into your metal or glass pans or wax paper. The oven doesn't get hot enough at clay curing temperatures to burn the paper. Also the paper plate cools quickly enough that I can grab it out of the oven without using an oven mitt.

Answer 4

I would suggest using a mineral based talc like baby powder. You can use it on your fingers while you are working with it and gently brush a fine powder over the surface of the piece when you are about to put it into the oven. Do not use flour as it is organic and will eventually produce a chemical breakup on the surface of the piece. Also, do not use oil or oily spray as this may soften or weaken the piece. Good Luck and Have Fun!

Answer 5

According to the below website you should stick your clay on parchment paper or plain white paper. That should prevent it from sticking. You can also use fiberfill on the tray, it won't burn up.