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I've been experimenting with polymer clay again, creating some round,
white pendants with stamped designs. I chose white because I wanted to
experiment with painting the surface of the hardened clay. I used a small piece of copper pipe as a cookie cutter for the shape and enjoyed experimenting with rubber stamps and other objects (like filigree) to make the different patterns. |
I've baked polymer clay successfully before, but every once in awhile, I'll put a batch of beads in my toaster oven and they will start to burn after a few minutes. This is not only discouraging, but it's also dangerous. The fumes of burnt polymer clay are toxic, so I had to quickly open up windows, turn on the fan, and leave the room for awhile.
One of the best websites I found on this subject is by Cindy Lietz.
Her "Baking
Polymer Clay Safety Tips" (especially the comments at the bottom)
pointed out that there are a huge range of variables at play. Of
course, you'll want to follow the package instructions about temperature
and baking time, but even that doesn't guarantee success. (I'm proof
of that!) At right: Two of the burned beads. The one on the far right got so hot that it started to bubble! |
Here are the 3 tips that worked for me:
1. Check your oven temperature.
The temperature marked on the oven dial may not be accurate. You can use an oven thermometer to check the temperature and make the adjustments accordingly. This wasn't my problem this time around, since I bake at a lower temperature to compensate for my hot-running oven.
2. Do not use a metal tray; use a ceramic tile instead.
Ironically, I'd been using my ceramic tile as a surface to form the beads and then trying to move them carefully onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I've heard from some folks on Twitter who have baked beads on a lined metal tray successfully, but it didn't seem to work for me.
3. Do not make your beads too thin.
I was trying to use every last scrap of polymer clay and my last set of beads was noticeably thinner than the earlier sets.
Anyone else have tips on preventing burned beads?