Old Polymer Clay Canes – Revive Hardened Fimo Canes for Bead Making

Just Because Your Millefiori Canes Have Gone Hard and Brittle, Does Not Mean They Have To Be Thrown Out:

Maybe you stored your polymer clay canes improperly. Or perhaps they have been sitting around for a long time, and now they're hard as a rock. Don't rush to reduce them or you may cause permanent damage to your canes!

The first thing you need to do when you want to work with an old hard cane, is to check and make sure it hasn't been partially cured by accident. This can happen if the cane was stored in a very warm area, in direct sunlight or even under a hot lamp.

A good way to check if it is partially cured is to take a slice and squish it in your fingers until it is completely mixed. If there are hard bits of clay in your mix, it has probably started to cure.

With a partially cured cane, the best thing to do is pop the whole cane into the oven to finish the curing process. After taking the cane out of the oven, and while the cane is still warm, cut it up to make cane slice beads.

Another thing you can do with a partially cured cane is to chop it into small bits, or grate it for mixing with new clay to make faux stone.

Now if the cane has not yet started to cure and is just really really firm, don't rush into trying to reduce it. You will end up with a cracked up mess. Make sure your older canes are 'ready' before you start working with them. Here's some things you can do:

1) Re Hydrate: If your polymer clay cane is cracking quite badly, it can help if you try to add some plasticizers back into the clay. A thin sheet of Fimo Mix Quick wrapped around an old cane can work wonders. Let it sit for a day or so to soak in as best as possible. I have also used baby oil rubbed onto the outside of the cane which is then wrapped in Glad Cling plastic wrap.

2) Warm It Up: Wrap in plastic and put close to your body to warm up. (Some artists like to tuck it into their bra, but that is up to you! :-) You can also warm up the cane by placing in a baggie and setting in a bowl of hot water. A heating pad, a cup of coffee, a baby wipe warmer or a metal or glass lampshade will work too. Don't get it so warm that you end up with partially curing clay though. The cane will need to warm up all the way to the center, so this can take awhile if the cane is large.

3) Pound It: Using your acrylic rod, gently pound down the length of the cane. Make sure to pound with even pressure and to do it on each side of the cane equally. Compressing and beating the ends will also help. This 'shakes' up the molecules in the polymer clay and helps get them to move again.

4) Wiggle It: Gently wiggling, twisting and pulling the Fimo cane will also help to get it moving. Be very careful though. The image will crack if the clay is not soft or warm enough to be reduced.

If you work carefully and slowly, you can get just about any old cane to cooperate with you and reduce properly.

To learn how to store you polymer clay canes so you have as few problems with them as possible, read these articles:

• How To Store Polymer Clay Canes Using Plastic Wrap
  
• Storing Polymer Clay – Plastic Wraps To Avoid
  
• Something Fishy About This Polymer Clay Storage Container
  
• More Ideas for Polymer Clay Plastic Storage Boxes