Soften Polymer Clay with Fimo Quick Mix

So is Fimo Quick Mix a Plasticizer? And can you use it in all brands of Polymer clay. Does it change the color at all?

Have you ever used it alone as a clay and if so what's it do?

Quick Mix is a plasticizer Katina! You can use it with all the clays without changing the color. My friend Bonnie Jones uses it to give strength to clay as well.

It is more expensive than the clay, so I've never really thought about using it alone!

i know someone who has some clay that is too hard & i know that u are supposed to put clay in a food processor w/something to bring it back to life again, is that ingredient tls or is it something else? i forgot or did i remember correctly? thanx & happy new year

Hi Mary Ellen that a great question! You could use TLS (Translucent Liquid Sculpey) but it would be an expensive way to go. You are better off using either Fimo mix Quick or a few drops of baby oil or mineral oil. If you use a food processor for mixing clay, make sure to not use it for food any more. You don't want clay in your food, or food in your clay!

I bought a big block of sculpey original white clay but when I tried to work with it, it crumbled and was just too dry. I also bought some liquid clay softener but all that does is make a mess and make everything sticky. I would return it but i have already used some of it. How do i make it soft?

Hey Cindy,

I have a cane that I made quite some time ago that I really like. I used Kato clay, which is ridiculously hard to begin with, and made a geometric design. Unfortunately, I left it in the car during the summer and now it's impossible to slice without crumbling into bits. All I really want to do is take some big slices from it for disc beads. Is there any way to soften it a bit from its half baked state? Some kind of plasticizer I could soak it in perhaps?

Thanks for your help!
Ashlyn
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Hi Ashlyn, great question!

Once a cane is partially cured, you can not really 're-hydrate' it. But what you could do is bake the cane before cutting it. While it is still warm you can slice it into beads, then drill the holes into them.

A lot of people actually make cane slice beads this way. Let me know how it works out.

oooh, that is a fabulous idea, I had forgotten how squishy stuff gets when it's still hot from the oven. Thanks!

Cindy you mentioned a product called Quick Mix in one of your videos. I've been trying to find it and cannot find it anywhere. Where is it sold? Linda

@Linda Pardee: Hi! I've never been able to find Mix Quick on the shelves, either. I live in California, and the only clay softener I've found locally is Sculpey Dilutent. It works great for softening clay, although I'm told Mix Quick is nice because it doesn't make the clay sticky. However, I haven't had any problems with Sculpey Dilutent making the clay sticky, but I'm always careful not to use too much. (It's a liquid, so I just do a drop at a time.) Hope that helps~

NEW PHOTOS ADDED:

Hello to Everyone,

Some new Spotlight project pictures that relate to the topic of this page (Fimo Mix Quick), have just been added in another post. They were submitted by Ritzs. The link by my name will take you to where you can see them, along with a bit of a write up about some issues Ritzs was having with cracks forming in her beads made from Kato PolyClay with a bit of Mix Quick added in.

You can also use a tiny piece of the Sculpey mold maker. it's also a clay conditioner and I've used it – works well. My translucent clay was a bit crumbly even though I had not yet opened the packet. It was a big block of clay I bought in NY.

@Cheryl Hodges: Hi! I had heard about this stuff, and finally bought some a few weeks ago (or whenever my last shopping trip was–can't remember.) Good to know it works! I've got lots of old clay, so I've got everything I need for it when I finally feel good enough to start claying again.

I made the mistake of working outside on a hot day, and a bunch of my clay has become a little hard/crumbly. How long do you suppose it takes to partially cure the clay when its out in hot weather (i.e. 1/2 hour, 2 hours, etc.)? Also, not mentioned in this post is the ideal temp to store the clay. Is it a good idea to refrigerate in a sealed bag? Would that prevent clay from getting "old"? BTW I did chop up the crumbly bits and mixed in with soft clay…like the effect, so all is not lost. Thanks. ~Heather

@Heather: Hi! Sorry that happened to you! I saw your comment the other day before I headed out, and did a quick search of the blog for the ‘numbers’ you wanted…but couldn't find specifics. At Michaels, though, I saw a mixed media book; it said polymer clay begins to cure at 90 degrees F. I read something else that says curing starts ‘just above body temp’…sounds about right, considering what happened to you and so many others! It doesn't seem to take much time at those temps to partially cure…even faster if you’re talking direct sunlight! If you consider that it only takes 20 min. in the oven at perfect curing temps, it probably doesn’t take too much longer to partially cure at lower temps. If you want precise info, your best bet would be to contact the clay manufacturer. I know Polyform (Premo, Sculpey III, etc.) tries to return emails pretty quickly…I would imagine the other manufacturers would attempt the same!

Once your clay begins to cure, it's not quite as useful anymore (of course!) So storage is very important if there’s a chance your clay will be exposed to higher temps. I’ve seen numerous comments on this blog about people storing their clay in the refrigerator or freezer. As long as you seal it in a compatible bag, your clay — and food ;D — should be safe. I don’t know if it will keep it from getting ‘old’…but it will keep it from accidentally curing.

Clay tends to get ‘old’ because some plasticizers have leached out. Proper storage in the correct plastic wrap/containers will go a long way to prevent this from happening. If you haven’t done so, check out the storage info in Cindy’s Beginner’s/Basics Course, as well as here at the blog.

I’m happy to hear you crumbled up those bits & made something you like! That’s one of those amazing things about polymer clay…nothing ever really gets wasted (and so many beautiful things are created, of course.) Sorry I wasn’t able to help find you any specific rules or clay temperatures. If you get some from the clay manufacturer, please share with everyone (so they're here next time someone asks…) ;~D Have a great day! :~)
~Kat

@Phaedrakat: Thanks for your comment. After I wrote my post, the weather got even hotter and my clay became even more hard. I'll see if my pasta roller will handle any of it. If I find any more specific info about curing temps I'll post. Suffice to say, the temps in central California last week were in the upper 90's-100's so to any other polymer clay newbies BEWARE OF WORKING IN THE HEAT! Thank goodness I'm back home under a blanket of summer fog of the San Francisco Bay Area — and I will be storing in my refrigerator from now on! : )

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Just A Quick FYI… there is currently a technical bug happening with the "Reply" function here at the blog. When you use it, your comments are temporarily held in the moderation queue, pending approval. This is not supposed to happen, and it will be fixed soon. But for now, it would be helpful if everyone could refrain from clicking on that little "Reply" link. Instead, you can simply reference others by manually typing their name… like @Phaedrakat [or] @Heather Graef [or] @Cindy: [etc, etc.]. This way your comments will post in real time, without any delay. Thank you all. ~Doug
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