Michaels clay playdough stuff... oven temperature/ time needed to bake?

Question

It was this like plastic wrapped neon coloured stuff
and i lost the instructions for it and i would really love to know how much to set the overn for and how long... note some of it is like eraser material.

Answer 1

Sounds like you might have gotten some *polymer* clay (regular, or a superflexible like Eraser Clay or Bake and Bend--both also versions of polymer clay).
Btw, "PlayDoh," as well as many other "clays" sold at Michaels and other craft stores, are *air-dry* clays, not polymer clays... those *dry,* they don't "cure" with heat --though they can often be put in the oven for awhile to speed up their "drying." Polymer clays never dry.

Baking (curing) temps for polymer clays can vary from about 230 F to about 300 F, so it would be important to know which brand and line of polymer clay you have so you won't darken it too much by using too high a heat.
(Or, you could just set the temp low, 230 or so**, then let the clay bake for a longer time than usual, though it might be hard to know when it's completely done so that it's as strong as possible.
**when baking polymer clays, it's important to know the real temperature inside the oven and many ovens don't heat to the temp showing on their dials... so I'd recommend getting a $5 stand-up oven thermometer from your grocery store or Target, etc. to see what your temp actually is --and always preheat when curing polymer clays)

If the plastic around your bar doesn't give a temperature (or even a brand name), then you probably got a "kit" of colors at some point. Various manufacturers put out kits.
For example, Polyform puts out several using either Sculpey III, Eraser Clay, or Bake and Bend Clay, and I'm betting that your neon color is one of those 3 lines, or perhaps FimoSoft.
To check and see, look at these pages to see if any of the colors seems to match the one you have (these all carry clays manufactured by Polyform):
http://www.munrocrafts.com/polyclaycolors.html
http://polymerclayexpress.com/sculpey.html
http://www.clayfactory.net/sculpey/sculpey.htm

I doubt if you have Premo, but it's another clay manufactured by Polyform (though much stronger and created by a polymer clayer), so here are some colors of Premo, plus colors of the two Fimo lines, and Kato Polyclay:
Premo
http://polymerclayexpress.com/premo.html
http://www.clayfactory.net/sculpey/premo.htm
FimoClassic
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/fimo/everything-fimo-fimo-classic-2oz.html
http://polymerclayexpress.com/fimo.html
FimoSoft http://polymerclayexpress.com/images/fimosoftcolorchart.jpg (actual bars)
http://polymerclayexpress.com/fimosoft.html
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/fimo/everything-fimo.html
Kato Polyclay http://prairiecraft.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=KP
http://polymerclayexpress.com/katoclay.html

When you figure out which brand/line you have, you can read all about the baking temps for the various brands and lines on this page at my site:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/Characteristics.htm
Or you can just Google the name of the clay plus the word bake or temperature, etc., to find out the temp.

As for *length* of baking, that will vary depending on the thickness of the item you've made. So for example, something that's no thicker than 1/4" (at any spot) may take around 20-30 minutes, whereas something 1" thick would take 30-60 mins (it's not recommended to bake polymer clay that's solid when it's thicker than 1 1/4" since it may crack during baking... a layer of clay can be used to "cover" a tightly-scrunched wad of aluminum foil or various other things though).
Here is my page on baking polymer clay too:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/baking.htm



HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 2

Michaels Oven Bake Clay

Answer 3

I just bought some tonight, as a matter of fact. However, there are several different kinds and different ones say different temps and can vary a lot!

You can "test" it in the oven to see though. I read it in a book (that I did not buy though).

Perhaps you can look online for polymer clay? Let me see if I can find something online and if so, I will update my answer.

EDIT:
Found a link for ya!
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/beginner1.html

Baking:

I bake my claywork in a 250 degree oven for 1 hour. As you read various sources, you'll find that there are different directions for different types of clay. Some suggest to bake longer if you have a thicker bead or ornament, and some directions are for a higher temperature for shorter time. I have found that baking them for an hour at 250 degrees prevents burning and usually takes care of all the different needs. Be sure to check your oven's temperature. It is very important to have an accurate idea of what the temperature is. When Polymer Clay burns it gives off a very toxic fume. This is both dangerous and really stinks!!! (I know - I've burned the stuff, and it's really yucky!)