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We all know how frustrating it is when we’re working with a material, and it just won’t cooperate. Whether it’s clay that’s too soft or hard to work with, paper that tears too easily, or fabric that won’t hold a seam, it can be enough to make us want to give up entirely. So what about polymer clay? Does polymer clay break easily?
The short answer is: Polymer clay does not break easily. Polymer clay is a pretty tough material and flexible after is cured or baked, but like anything else, it has its weak points and different types of clay will have different properties.
In this article, we’ll take a look at five different types of polymer clay and see how they fare when put to the test.
In many cases a bead should be flexible up to some extent and should not have a permanent deformation. However, there are some brands that are more brittle than other ones.
I tried to create some resistance tests to compare the five types of polymer clay that I had at home.
- Kato Polyclay – Hard to bend but it will break soon after.
- Sculpey PREMO – Flexible
- Sculpey Sculpey III – Does break easily
- FIMO – Flexible
- FIMO Leather Effect – A little flexible but it will break
I made some beads with the same size for each type of clay
- Drop on the floor from 50 inches. All the brands I used didn’t break. So should not be worried if the polymer clay earrings fall to the floor.
- Slightly Flex the polymer clay. The one that broke was Sculpey III, so I won’t recommend using this type of clay for earrings. It is a little brittle.
Another important point to consider other than the brand is the baking process when you are looking for the right material.
How to prevent polymer clay from break easily?
Polymer clay is a soft material in the beginning and easy to work with, however the material needs to be cured in order to reach the maximum harder state which is what we want.
The way you cure the polymer clay is by baking it most commonly in the oven. You will find out that the clay is still soft right after baking it, so it is recommended to let it cool for some time before manipulating it plus it will be very hot to the touch.
After is cool down, one way to know if the polymer clay is baked properly is by bend it slightly.
Most of the brands include the baking instructions on the label of the packing, don’t forget to check for compatibility between baking parameters when combining different brands. Look for temperature and time recommended by the manufacturer.
If after baking the polymer clay your creations are still breaking or you think your oven is not reaching the right temperature, then you can use an oven thermometer.
The Polymer clay manufacturer is the start point, baking is a process of try an error, you can play with the parameters with piece you are not planning to use for your final piece if you still are not comfortable with the baking process. However, is recommended to increase the time if needed but not the temperature, if the clay temperature is too high it can release some toxic fumes.
Check this article about the flexibility of the polymer clay at different temperatures.
Final notes
I found that Sculpey III was very easy to work with, although we already mentioned that this type of polymer clay may not work for earrings however you could give them another use.
I also found that the FIMO effect was also good to work with.
Kato Polyclay was the hardest to work with, it was a little hard. I really like to work with this brand, and I also find it pretty strong for what I do.
As a side note, the FIMO leather effect colored all the surfaces that it touched, my hands, other surfaces and other clay as well.
For the process of conditioning, all the brands need to be kneaded, it doesn’t matter the brand.
As mentioned previously, some of them will required more effort however, those polymer clay are the ones that may not break so easily.
Try every brand, see what works for you, if the clay us too hard for you then try by pre warm before conditioning like put in your pocket, keep it close to the sun light.
I hope that quick guide was helpful and informative. Please visit our shop to see our Earrings collection.
