Fimo Clay, Premo, Sculpey – Which is Best for Cane Making + Sculpting

Cindy,

How does Fimo Effect fit into this comparision?

YES! Thank you so much. I am going to print out this Polymer Clay Brand Chart and hang it by my little working table. I'm sure it will save me a few dollars in experimenting . . . although experimenting is quite fun. I am now trying a Halloween mixture of Sculpey III with ecru and two different oranges and I'm trying to marble the look, instead of just making your basic ick-mess color! Thank you for the articles.

@MJ: Fimo Effects are really just the transparent clay, glitters, glow-in-the-dark, etc. Anything that isn't just the plain clay. The Fimo Effects packages I've had seem like the Classic formula. There may be some in the Soft version, I'm not positive on that though.

@Pamela: If you are going to use Sculpey III make thick chunky beads with it… they will be less likely to break that way.

Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Fimo Clay, Premo, Sculpey – Which is Best for Cane Making + Sculpting

Ahhhhh!!!! The light bulb just went off over my head. The premo I purchased has been really really soft. It lets my animal heads hang down and I have to be really careful making sure all of the parts are laying perfectly before I bake them. However, it really makes some puffy types of leaves, tendrils and curves quite nicely. I have been thinking about using the different clays for different effects. (I am laughing at myself as I write this sentence, it sounds like I know what I am talking about (I don't, I am just making observations)).
Marianne

I forgot to mention why the light bulb went off. As I was reading this blog, it helped me understand why the different clays are why they are.
thanks again for great articles. I like Pamela's idea of hanging it by our work areas.

Marianne: That is great you had a light bulb moment!

BTW just the sheer fact that you are talking about making something out of polymer clay and the different consistencies the clay, means that you know more about polymer clay than 99% of the population!

Sounds to me you might know a thing or two!

Cindy's last post..What's Better than Receiving Beaded Polymer Clay Jewelry as a Gift

Here are some questions emailed to me by Marianne Huber:

I am sending these questions rather than commenting on you blog because I thought the one might be something that you might not want to be public.

I was wondering why you never mention Kato Clay when you
compare clays.

I didn't want to contradict you about sculpeyIII clay in
comments but I think that it is like a brick. The ones
that I got were seemingly fresh, but very firm. I didn't dare let them cool down or I couldn't bend it. It was very crackable. And I had conditioned it until I was blue in the face. I just don't know.

Last but really most important to me is….I made some
dragons and the clay was so smooth it did not allow the
sealer to adhere to it. I still gave it three coats hoping that the sealer might adhere to itself. I baked it and it has some blotches. It was a piece that would have been near impossible to sand. Phew..
Thank you for any reply's you have.
Marianne

**************

Hi Marianne,

Don't worry if you have different opinions than me it is OK… If I'm wrong, I'm wrong… and if I have my reasons, I'll explain. :-)

The reason why I don't mention Kato Polyclay very often is that I have never worked with it. I think it is unfair to compare it to other clays, if I don't know what it is like.

Currently there is nowhere retail I can buy Kato Polyclay and it must be ordered online. I've got so much Premo, Fimo and Sculpey III that I haven't needed to order any clay new yet.

I should though because it would help to know what it is like. I think Donna Kato is fantastic and imagine a clay designed by her is probably really great too!

The Sculpey you have is really old. Probably sat on the shelf for a long time or was part of an old shipment.

You can soften that back up with a few drops of baby oil, but because of it's quality it will never be that strong.

When Sculpey III is actually fresh it is like putty.

For your Dragons, if you can't sand, wipe the surface with rubbing alcohol to cut the film that can sometimes be on the clay after baking. That will help with the finish sticking better.

You can also use rubbing alcohol to remove that finish that didn't stick and start fresh.

I hope that helped and thanks so much for your questions Marianne!

Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Fimo, Premo, Sculpey Clay Storage Ideas | Baking Polymer Clay Oven

Thanks for the quick reply Cindy. Your answers sure did help I couldn't figure our why my Sculpty was so hard compared to yours. I think that it would be nice if the clay had the date they were made on them so stores could not keep old clay around. I was sure unhappy with the sculpty and was not going to buy it again. If I had known it was older I may have treated it differently.
I will use the rubbing alcohol trick on the dragons right away or maybe I should just drink it, maybe my dragons would turn out better.
Marianne

You're welcome Marianne! Oh good lord!! Don't drink the rubbing alcohol!!!… go get some real alcohol instead if you think that would help your creativity! Rubbing alcohol would probably kill you!

Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Premo Clay Flower Pendant Necklace Project with Vintage Glass Beads

Bonnie Jones, a friend of mine that makes beautiful polymer clay dolls, sent me a note I would like to share with you all.

"I read your wonderful description of the different clays. I am not sure if any of your readers even use Puppen Fimo since it is used primarily by dollmakers; but after much experimenting by other artists, it is one of the strongest clays we have found. We have also found that mixing in Quick Mix to soft and classic fimo, makes them stronger. ~bj"

You mentioned leaching Premo if it is going to be used in caning. I have heard about leaching clay at other sites but have never found info o how to do that. So, how does one leach their clay?

I recently bought Premo Frost which is a translucent. i found it to be very soft and gummy, yuck.

Hi Cindy,
First I have to say I'm so glad I found your site!! I just love it!
I'm a newbie to polymer clay and I made my first cane from Sculpey. The clay was very, very soft after conditioning and sticky to work with. It did turn out ok but I decided to try Fimo Soft. (It was on sale of course.) Well I got my hands on OLD Fimo Soft. I tried and tried and tried to condition it without any success. I returned it and returned to doing research online. I found Donna Kato's online store and she sells her clay for a very affordable price!! So now I am working with Kato. It does take a little extra effort to condition, but I think it is well worth it. The baking time is only 10 minutes (@ 300 degrees F), my pieces come out strong, sanding is a doesn't take long ( I use wet/dry 600, 800, 1000, 1500 grit), and I buff it by hand with a piece of old faded denim and it gets a decent shine! I don't do sculpting though – I make canes, beads, bangles and pins. I'm going to try using Future acrylic on some test pieces this weekend. I really like Kato clay, but then I am still new to claying…
Thanks for a great website!
Lisa

@Anna: I like to leach my clay on paper and run through the pasta machine. I have a video on how to do that in my Polymer Clay Bead Making Course. The link by my name will take you to more info on that.

@Lisa: The course I told Anna about is perfect for Newbies and it will show you how to deal with too soft clay as well as too hard of clay, plus tons more. I am glad to hear you're enjoying the site and that Kato clay is working well for you!

Hi Cindy and all…

I love the look of the new Studio clay by Sculpey. I've heard it's difficult for cane work but "suede like finish" is very, very tempting.

Anyone done cane work or skinner/teardrop blends with it yet?

Linda

I have about 12 bars of Studio I got at no cost. Love the colors. I know someone who was one to the product testers for Studio and she was told it was developed for use in household decoration. I have some vases and vintage glass coffee carafes I want to cover but have not gotten around to it.

Hi Anna! Wow. Where can we ALL get free clay?? I've seen samples of Studio used for decorative things – and it looks gorgeous. But I'd like to use it for jewelry…so I think I'll bite the bullet and order a few packages…just to see. I'll report back when I've worked with it. And PS – the colors are just gorgeous! That's one of the reasons I'd like to use it. Let me know what you think when you try it on your vases and carafes?
Thanks for your reply.

I won monthly challenge at Polymer Clay Central and receive a gift certificate to one of the sponsors; used the whole certificate on Studio. That is also how I got my Making Professional Clay Extruder. So, I guess it "pays to play with clay !!" this months PCC challenge is skinner blends. it is not too late to submit your Lietz Tear Drop Blend.

Congrats Anna on winning the challenge! Also thanks so much for passing on your info on Studio by Sculpey Clay to Linda since I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet!

Hi Cindy…
Reporting back on Studio by Sculpey.
I bought one of each the other day and so far…
The colors are fabulous. The finish when cured really is a little suede-like, matte and soft and smooth. They make up a skinner blend in seconds. I'm mixing with about 1/3 to 1/2 Kato transparent when I want less mush and that works well. Absolutely no color change that I can detect when they are cured.
I'm in love with this stuff!
Linda

That is so cool Linda! Glad to hear it mixes like that with the Kato Translucent. Sounds like a great way to to make the Studio clay stiffer! Thanks for the update. I love it that you came back and let us know what it is like!

Hi Cindy and all..

A follow up. I wrote the company that produces Kato Clay and they are working on making it slightly less firm. They are in the testing process now.

I did get this tip…Apply liquid kato evenly to a rolled out slice of clay and allow it to sit and absorb for at least a few hours. They say this should reduce mess and soften more effectively.

Cheers,
Linda
.

Thanks very much Linda for the update! I wonder if spreading a little baby oil on the clay would work too? It works for the other brands.

@Linda: I hope they don't make it TOO much "less firm"! The firmness is one of the things I really like about Kato!

@Cindy: I don't know about baby oil (I've never had any), but Vaseline/petroleum jelly definitely works. But only use a little.

I've only ever NEEDED to do that once — in my experience, even hard-by-Kato-standards Kato that totally crumbles on the first pass through the pasta machine (and the second pass, and the third, fourth, and fifth passes, etc.) will still condition up nicely without softeners… eventually ;) — but it's a useful trick if you want to match the malleability of a softer brand. (And you can get quite a nice effect by applying dots and fine snakes in a firm clay to a deliberately softer base bead and partially rolling them in.)

Hi Sue and Cindy…
The liquid polymer doesn't make Kato mushy…just slightly more workable – and I agree, you don't want too it too soft. I love Kato because it rarely fingerprints, for one thing.
I'm mixing it a lot with Studio Sculpey these days and find very little Studio softens it very quickly – and you keep the soft finish of the studio clay.
I'm trying premo! next. As it is, I'm making polymer stew of everything these days…including a fair amount of Cernit I bought. But I still like Fimo Classic & Kato for strength and hold. Even though the crumbling on Kato makes me nuts!
Thanks for the tips on baby oil and Vaseline!
Happy working everyone.

"Even though the crumbling on Kato makes me nuts!"

Ok so I bought a couple large bricks of Kato black, brown and translucent about 2 years ago…I hate working with it, because it crumbles something fierce and trying to condition it is a huge pain…is this normal for the Kato from that time frame…is there a way to make it easier to work with…I hate the fact that it's sitting there not being used, but I can't make myself get rid of it…Any tips, hints or tricks to allow me to use this clay would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Deborah

Look above at the last few comments.
Roll out a very THIN slice of your Kato, spread on liquid polymer clay and let it sit for several hours, then fold…roll by hand once and then condition in the pasta machine.
OR
Roll out a very thin slice of Kato, roll out a thinner slice of Fimo Soft, Studio Sculpey, Cernit – or ANY softer clay (you have a clay sandwich now…two slices together)Roll the sandwich by hand and then condition with the pasta machine.
A little Studio Sculpey will quickly soften Kato clay when it's mixed together.
Kato, by the way, if you can stand the processing, is nearly indestructible – and hardly fingerprints. It is fabulous for caning because it holds shape.
Cheers.

Thanks Linda…I have been making the 'clay sandwiches' it's very time consuming but you are right it does work very well…I think I will try the liquid clay trick as well.:-)

Another trick that works really well for crumbly clay is to use an old food processor and add tiny amounts of Fimo Mix Quick, baby oil, Sculpey Clay softener, TLS (Translucent Liquid Sculpey), or Kato Liquid Clay to the processor and pulse until it softens.

Keep adding a little of the softening agent and pulsing until it gathers into large clumps or looks like popped popcorn. You should be able to gather the clumps together and run through your pasta machine without the clay being too sticky or falling apart.

I find this method far easier on my hands and can process a large amount of clay this way, without too much hassle.

The link by my name will take you to a post with more info on that. Hope this helps!

And thank you so much everyone for sharing and helping each other!! I am getting a little swamped around here and appreciate all the support you guys have been giving here at the blog. Huge hugs and Kisses to you all!

Thanks Cindy, I have all (or most) of those things, so I will definitely give it a try. :-)

Hi Cindy, it's me again. I took a class a year ago last January and the instructor wanted only Kato clay. We had to condition about 30 bars of clay and I thought I was going to lose my mind, broke a pasta machine and the liquid didn't help much. Well, we finally learned a trick to solve our problem. You put the Kato clay, wrapping and all in a big zip lock bag and push the air out of it. Take it out in the garage and sit down on something close to the ground or on a rug. Get yourself a mallot and pound on it like crazy. Keep turning the bag over and pound on it. This releases the polymers and plasticizers and makes it useable so you can condition it. I've found I had to do this with some old Premo and Fimo also and it works great. My thought was to put it in a bag and just keep running over it with the car but my husband won't let me.
.

I love kato clay. It's strong and bakes well. I hate conditioning clay so I used the softer clays and sandwich kato inside. Usually the crumbling happens inside of the softer clays. By the second or third pass the clay conditions well. I add a little bit of kato at a time. I have arthritis so I don't condition by hand, my pasta machine does it all. I tried liquid polyclay on it but it was too sticky for me. Hobby Lobby is my supplier for clay, all brands go on sale at .99 every couple of months. If I need clay on an off month I use the 40% off coupon that they have available every 2 to 3 weeks. I can't ever remember paying full price for clay. I also use the coupon for the larger size bricks. i love the makins clay extruder (40% off)and all your tutorials. THANKS!!!

@Deborah: Hope you were able to get your clay conditioned.

@Bonnie: I was chatting with Iris Mishly, a well known polymer clay artist from Israel, who said Donna Kato herself, said they drive over their clay with the car. (In a bag of course.) So tell your husband, you're not crazy!

@Sandra: Clever idea, mixing soft and hard clays like that! Bet that works very well! I never pay full price for clay anymore, unless I am desperate. I keep my clay fairly well stocked and start getting nervous and looking for sales, if it gets down to 2 packs of any color. :-)

hello cindy, i have to say i am learning a lot just buy reading from your website. I am new to polymer clay and have read a lot about fimo, sculpey and premo. I wan't to make these little cup cake charms and the likes. I am thinking of using premo just by reading from different websites. My main concern is i want something that will not break or chip easily like the regular sculpey (as i've read) and i don't think i want to use fimo. i am hoping i'm gearing to the right directions. let me know.
kind regards,
I

Hi irene, thank you for your comment! You are definitely gearing in the right direction with Premo. It is a very strong clay, especially if you bake it properly. I suggest you read the article on baking beads I have linked by my name. As well, if you type 'baking' into the search box at the top of the page, you will find even more info.

So much interesting and helpful information on the different clays, softening them and combining them. Thank you all.
BUT Fimo should be baked at 110 C and Cernit, Premo etc. at 130 C. So if I combine Fimo and Cernit – What temperature should I bake at? Will the Fimo in the mixture burn at 130 C?
And for how long should I bake it if there is a big difference between the time instructions?
I read somewhere Cindy that you now bake your clay for 1hr. instead og 1/2hr. How does that work with mixtures of clay?
Best wishes
Hanne

Great questions Hanne! Just bake the beads at the lower temp of the two clays and bake them for an hour. If you click the link by my name you will find more info on the longer baking time.

I hate to bring up Hobby Lobby again because the store not available everywhere but….. they now do have a "sister" online store. well, was in hobby lobby today and they now carry Cernit and Pardo. I have never used Cernit but they had about 12 bright colors. So now Hobby Lobby has Sculpy III, Premo, Pardo, Bake Shop, Kato, Fimo and Cernit. Pretty impressive. Michael's now has their own generic brand of polymer clay that feels spongy, it was reviewed by Crafty Goat at her website. Have you tried it yet?

That's OK Anna, we love to hear about the sales! I just bought some of the CraftSmart clay and will review it as soon as I can play with it for a bit.