May 13, 2008
Phthalate-Free Premo Polymer Clay - A Blessing or a Curse
The Removal of Phthalates from Premo Is Certainly Causing a Stir. Have You Tried the New Formula Yet?
With recent concerns over the safety of different types of plastics, many companies have decided to remove some particular types of plastics called Phthalates from their products. When I first heard that they were going to do this with polymer clay I was really excited. Anything that moves in a safer, greener direction is good, right? Well, yes and no.
Although I am glad for the removal of phthalates from polymer clay, it hasn't come without some issues. For example, the new phthalate-free Premo is no longer firm but super soft, which changes things a lot for the polymer clay artist.
The new Premo is easier to condition and mix together, but traps air and fingerprints very badly. Its soft texture goes nicely through a clay extruder but distorts easily when used for caning. It is easier to smooth out the joins when adding cane slices to beads, but more difficult to keep the shape of the beads.
So, with the new Premo, comes the need to figure out a new way to work with it. This has caused a bit of an up roar in the forums. With titles of posts like "NEW Premo formula- Egads!!!!!!!!!" and "Mush" popping up all over the place. People calling the new formula 'silly putty' and frustrated caners returning all their clay to the store that they bought it from.
All this negative activity towards the new formula has caused Polyform (the creators of Premo) to stand up and take notice. In fact on Mother's Day one of the polymer clay artists that has been complaining to Polyform about the new formula, got an email saying that they were working on yet another reformulation of Premo which they will be sending her a sample of real soon.
I'm hoping this even newer Premo has the best of both formulations so that I can be comfortable again telling people that Premo is my favorite polymer clay!
Anyone tried the new formula yet? (You can tell the new formula from the packaging. The new formula has the web site address on it and the old one does not.) What do you think of the new Premo?
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Filed under 03: Supplies, 13: Musings-News by Cindy Lietz
Comments on Phthalate-Free Premo Polymer Clay - A Blessing or a Curse »
One way to deal with the softness of the new Premo is to leach out some of the plasticizers from the clay. Although there may be some loss of strength in the clay by removing plasticizers, the loss is minimal and makes little difference in general bead making. Leaching the clay too far could be a problem for sculptural elements so is recommended only for more solid bead shapes.
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Baking Beads on a Bed of Cornstarch
Michael's has Premo for $.99 for 2 oz. Is this what they are trying to get rid of for the new formula to come in? We are just beginners, and perhaps the soft stuff would be o.k. for us. Thanks.
Hi Karen! Michaels has a polymer clay sale every couple of months so I don't think the new formula is the reason they are selling it cheap right now.
As far as what clay to buy why don't you try some Fimo Classic as well some Premo to see which one works better for you. As a beginner soft clays can be tricky and with the new Premo being so soft (that may change again) you might find the firmer Fimo Classic easier to work with for now. Fimo Soft is about the same as the new Premo so there is not much point testing that one unless you want to. With the clay being so cheap it's a good time for testing.
Click my link below for a blog post I just did on this sale at Michaels.
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Polymer Clay Sale at Michaels Arts and Crafts
This is interesting. As a new-comer I don't have any experience with the old stuff, and in this case, perhaps ignorance is bliss! Does putting it in the refrig help at all to firm it up? And if so, what other problems can it create? Thanks again for the great information, written in a clear and concise manner to help all of us.
Pamela putting soft clay in the fridge can help quite a bit. It will go back to being soft again when it warms up though.
The problems you run into when the clay is too soft is: trapped air, difficulty slicing, distortion in canes, colors mushing together and more.
In my course there are videos on how to deal with clays that are too soft or too hard and the other problems you can have working with polymer clay.
Cindy Lietz's last blog post..Fimo Clay, Premo, Sculpey - Which is Best for Cane Making + Sculpting
What does "leaching" the clay mean, exactly? And how is that done?
Leaching means 'sucking out' some the polymers in the clay that make it too soft. This is done by putting it on an absorbent surface like a sheet of paper.
In my beginners course [see link above] I show you a few cool tricks using your pasta machine to speed up the process.
Thanks for explaining the "leaching" process. I wasn't sure how one actually did it because I have heard the term before but wasn't sure what it meant. I like using the FIMO soft clay as well as the PREMO although there are more colors available in the PREMO than the FIMO at least at JoAnn's or Michael's. But your color palette cards come in handy when you just can't find the right color and so you make your own. I am not sure if I have used new PREMO brand since I didn't look carefully at the package, but I will let you know when I come across one. Although the last PREMO I used, I thought I was considerably softer, but I didn't take a good look at the packaging. Thanks again!
I bought a bunch of the new Premo about six months ago and now that it has sat around a bit it is quite a bit stiffer and I'm finding I don't have to leach it as much. Also I've heard that they tweaked the formula after many complaints so now it is good again. If you bought your clay recently Lupe it shouldn't be a problem. If it is still to soft , it is nice to know you can leach it out to make it stiffer again.