How to Make Polymer Clay Malleable Again

Working with pottery clays is fun. Only there are some issues associated with pottery clays that can make your work hectic and boring, such as the hardening of your pottery dirt. Though pottery clays remain unchanged for a long time, still sometimes, it can human activity differently by becoming stone hard. Only, throwing away your stone-difficult clay is not at all a good idea, every bit you can e'er revive it by following some easy steps. It takes some effort to soften your hardened pottery clay and bring it back to life then that you can reuse it for further crafting.

Leaving the pottery clay bare into the air or nether the sun, allows the moisture to get evaporated, which makes it a difficult one. So, it is important how you're storing your pottery clay. You lot must proceed it in a place where enough moisture is nowadays in the atmosphere, and avert leaving it in a sun-soaked surface area. Try to keep it covered with a moisture towel or old clothing to avert such situations.  Here, in this article, we are going to tell you how you lot tin soften your pottery clay to bring it back to life.

But before proceeding, you should know that pottery clays are different from air drying dirt. Applying the same method for softening the pottery clay every bit done for the air-drying clay may not aid y'all. So, be careful about it.

Why you tin't use the same method of softening the air-dry clay for pottery clays?

Well, the answer is simple. The properties of air-dry clay and pottery clay are different. Air-dry dirt gets hardened as soon every bit information technology comes in contact with natural air, but this is not the case with pottery clay; it won't difficult quickly. Autonomously from this, softening the air-dry clay is quite easy and doesn't require much time, reviving pottery clay is a time-taking procedure as it takes much longer time to go dried.

Let's have a look at the comparative softening nature of both the clays.

Dirt type	Air drying clay	Pottery clay
Process of softening	You need to spray a petty bit of water and knead it until it becomes pliable. Also, yous can put it into an air-tight plastic purse and sprinkle some water inside information technology and allow it sit for some time to soften.	You demand to put your pottery clay into a large container and soak information technology in the water past submerging the clay totally into the water.
The time required for softening	The air drying clay doesn't need more than 30 minutes to become back to its pliable condition.	The soaking time required for pottery dirt is ii-3 days. Later on that, you need to remove the excess water to get the pliable consistency back.

Then, information technology'southward meliorate not to use the aforementioned method of softening air-dry dirt for your pottery clay, as y'all're not going to go the expected results. Instead, it would be a waste of fourth dimension. Now, allow's proceed to how to soften pottery dirt.

Methods for softening the pottery clay

No matter what blazon of clay you lot use for your pottery work, either natural clay or polymer clay, both can face the problem of getting stale up to a rock-hard form. The mode of storage, properties of the clay, or the lack of moisture may exist the possible reasons for the hardening of your dirt. Below mentioned processes are going to help you in reviving your clay once more and utilize it for marvelous crafting.

• Natural clay: There are ii uncomplicated techniques that you can apply for reviving natural clay.

1. By soaking: For the type of natural clays that are not withal rock difficult, just pretty hard to work with, you demand to knead it into a large flat loaf forcefully. And so, make as many holes as y'all can on the top of the clay slice and let the bottom remain watertight. Fill these holes with water, and so put the water-loaded clay piece into a sealed plastic bag and leave it for 2 days. It volition be malleable again within these two days.
2. Past grinding and soaking: Now, if you find out that the natural clay has turned into a rock-difficult piece and can't be revived but past soaking, you need to break the clay start. Use a hammer or grinder to break it into small chips, and mix water into it until it becomes slurry. Then, leave it for soaking. Occasional kneading is recommended to give it dough-like consistency.

• Polymer dirt: To revive polymer clay to arrive reusable, you can apply the following three simple methods.

1. Kneading with warmth: For the slightly hard polymer clays, you don't need to put much try. Yous can revive information technology just by giving it the warmth of your hands by kneading it properly to make it moist again. Otherwise, you may even heat the clay with some heating source. Later that, continuous kneading, rolling it with rolling pins, or by hitting the clay with some heavy tool tin easily make your polymer clay pliable again.
2. By adding specialized softening liquids: Adding some softening agents to your hard polymer dirt can assistance you revive the clay and use it for creating some marvelous pottery artworks. In that location are specific softening agents like liquid diluents, mineral oil, clay softener bar, petroleum jelly, etc., which are readily available in the market that you can opt for. You need to add a few drops of these softening agents on your hardened polymer clay and go on kneading until it becomes workable again.
3. Grinding: For a faster method of softening your rock-hard polymer clay, yous can apply your home grinder. Make small pieces of the clay, and place information technology inside a food grinder along with some dirt softening agent. After that, grind it for x minutes and then cheque the consistency. Remove the dirt if it's washed, and knead information technology over again to requite the doughy consistency.

Things you need to keep in mind while working with pottery clay

Working with pottery clay may seem piece of cake, but information technology is not that easy. Y'all demand to empathize a lot of things earlier going to choose a particular blazon of dirt. Select the type of clay that has plenty wet in it, every bit information technology cannot get stale out speedily. Your dirt should be pliable enough and easily workable. Shop the best quality natural clay, similar Pottery Clay – 5 lb Terracotta Low Fire Cone 06 Blood-red- Rocky Mountain Clay's Red Rock Cerise clay. Too, while choosing the all-time quality polymer dirt, make sure it is not much old, every bit information technology gets harder with fourth dimension. Polyform Sculpy Original Polymer Clay is one such fine-quality polymer clay that yous tin buy to get the best sculpting work experience.

Likewise, how you're storing your clay is important. You should not get out your clay barely open afterwards working with it. Try to keep information technology in a covered place where enough moisture is there in the air. Storing your pottery clay container in a bathroom or kitchen might assist in retaining the moisture of the clay.

Wrapping up:

For keeping your clay workable for a long time, all y'all need to do is exist conscientious enough with your pottery clay. Endeavour non to exit it for an extended fourth dimension menstruum. Endeavor to reuse your clay as much as you can without throwing information technology off. We hope that this commodity will assist y'all to make your pottery clay reusable and reworkable again. Happy sculpting!

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Source: https://spinningpots.com/how-to-soften-pottery-clay-2/

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