Video #692: For the most part, Premo colors are pretty good about not changing colors after they have been properly cured.
In this video I will go through all of the Premo Sculpey Polymer Clay Colors, and show you show the differences between raw versus baked samples.
Some polymer clay colors change when baked… we often refer to this as color shift. Each brand is different as to how much color shift can occur after baking, as well as each color within a brand.
I thought I would show you every single color in the current Premo Sculpey line, so you can see a side by side comparison of each color and how they look when cured.
You will see that some colors don’t shift at all, where others get darker or more translucent. Knowing this about the colors you use, will yield more predictable results with your polymer clay projects.
I hope to do similar videos of other polymer clay lines in the future.
- Related Video: New 2015 Premo Sculpey Colors
- Related Video: Translucent Polymer Clay Brands Compared
- Related Video: Understanding Mica Shifts
- Related Video: Where to Buy Polymer Clay
Do you have any suggestions for videos on tips, techniques or products you would like to learn more about? Let me know in the comments section below!
My goal is to help you to learn quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.
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Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Cindy, thank you so much for this very needed comparison, So appreciate you taking the time to do it and many of the little tips included.
Hi Jocelyn, I have missed you! How are you Sweetie? So good to see your comment.
My thought while looking at the ones that were darker when baked is what to mix with the unbaked to make it look the same as the original after being baked. My first thought was add white, but wondered what a good color mixer like you would say.
Hi Freda, adding white can work but you have to be careful that you don’t turn the color pastel. It is a tricky balance. It is something that you have to play around with. That’s good thinking though.
Suggestion: I have a pantone color book. It looks a lot like paint strips in the hardware store. My book is held together with a simple ring which allows for adding or removing the color strips. Ever think of putting together a similar book for clay colors and final baked colors?
Hi Linda we are working on some new ways to work with our color recipes, stay tuned…
The minimal colour change is another good reason to stay with Premo. Thanks for taking the time to make and bake all the colours, Cindy and thanks Doug for your usual excellent filming. No need to peer with nose on the screen when Doug’s on the job :-)
Thanks Chrissie! You are exactly right about Premo being a good place to be. I will be doing more color tests with other brands as well so everyone can see how different all the clay brands are.
Great info. Allways better when we see at least for us visual girls. Thank you a lot!
Can’t wait till Tuesdays they allways make my day!
You are so Welcome Hermine! Thanks for commenting!
Thanks again for a great video Cindy and Doug.
Thank you Lawrence! Did you have a good time at Carol Simmons workshop?
Hi, There is a bit of confusion about Premo baking time. Some suggest going up with the temperature, but on Sculpey site they strongly advice against it due to health reasons. What is your take? What is the correct time and temperature to bake Premo?
Leanna, Cindy and Doug are quite busy building a new website so I popped in to try and answer your question. If I’m wrong they can pop in when they have time :-))
If you type “baking time” in the Search box near the top right of the page you will find several references to answer your question about baking time as this has been asked before.
As for baking temperature, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions written on the packet of clay. With Premo it is 275° F.
Hope this helps you,
Chrissie
Thank you for the help Chrissie!
Hi Leanna,
Snap! I too am having problems. Just finished baking some cornflowers. Not only has the clay darkened, but it is brittle. I baked at exactly 275, with 2 different brands of thermometers inside, and I baked for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Usually I bake everything (especially beads) for an 1 1/2, with no problems with things being brittle – they come out hard as a rock. I avoid whites because I can’t get white! They always burn, whether I tent or not. I baked yellow flowers the other day, and their came out a “dirty” yellow colour. I use a convection oven for my baking. I had heard that unless your oven reaches the desired temperature – 275, then it will break and will be brittle. But Cindy (hope you chime in here Cindy), quite often says “bake Premo between 265-275”. And in many of Cindy’s demos, you can see her bend these very thin pieces without them breaking. I have never been able to achieve this – they are either brittle or rock hard!
Hi Veronica, your baking issues sound strange. The brittle part doesn’t make sense when it sounds like you are doing the right things… maybe I better ask you a few questions?
Are you using all Premo or is there a mix of other brands?
What brand of oven are you using? Is it a small roster oven or a larger one?
Are you baking on an insulated surface with cardstock?
Are you tenting? Is your shelf too close to the element?
Where are your oven thermometers placed?
Is your oven dirty?
Hi Cindy,
I only use Premo. I have always used these turbo-type convection ovens and I use an MDF round mat on the floor of the oven, with baking paper on top. I burn whether I tent or no tent and always use 2 thermometers, one at the front and one at the back. Cleaning the oven each time so that I can read the temps thru the glass. This is a different brand of oven than my other one – which could be the problem. Or perhaps I do not condition the clay enough before I use it, or because some of my clay is a little old. I cooked leaves last nite for an hour and watched to make sure 275 degrees was achieved. Coming out brittle, I recooked and let the gauge tipple just over 275 degrees, and when they came out, they were “bendy” but bending too far still made them snap. I think I’ll have to just keep experimenting with this oven using “tester” pieces. Thanks Cindy.
Hi Veronica, the bendy is a good sign, but the fact that it is burning and still breaking means a couple of things to me. I think that your pieces may be burning because your oven is spiking in temp sometimes but that they are not quite curing because the temp doesn’t stay at 275F for long enough.
Basically I think it is going high then low, then high then low. Oven thermometers are notoriously slow to read the temp and yours are probably just reading the average temp and missing the highs and lows. An instant read thermometer would probably show this happening.
I have a video or two that talks about temp fluctuation. For an older toaster oven I had that did those highs and lows, I used to line the bottom and the shelves with ceramic tiles to keep the temp more stable.
If you use the search box you should be able to find those videos and fix your issue. Good luck! Let us know how it goes…
Sorry, but I don’t know what to say about your clay being brittle. I would like to hear the response to that part of your question.
I can help you with your whites and other colors darkening. Cindy has a discussion on bleaching baked polymer clay. It really works. Not only will your whites be white again but your colors will be brighter.
Thank you Susan for reminding everyone of this info!
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for all that info. I think you’re right about the oven temperature fluctuations. When the green light comes on, it goes down in temp about 5-10 degrees, then when the light goes off, it rises back up to 275 degrees. Which is why when I cook things for 1 1/2 hours, no matter what thickness, it comes out rock hard and fine. But if I only cook things for an hour, then I seem to have the problems. Must try with something thin like a leaf, to see if I get “bendy” after an 1 1/2 hours. I was letting the temp gauges rise to around 280 degrees at one stage, to ensure I hit the mark with the temps for long enough. Thus, then the burning or darkening of the clays started. These convection ovens are cheap, and you know what they say “you get what you pay for”, but this one is a different brand to my other previous “cheapys”. I used to use toaster ovens like you do, but I switched because of the mouse problems we have up here in the desert. They used to get on top of and inside the casing and phew! what a smell when the oven was on! These are little desert mice, cute little critters really, but most disconcerting when you are watching TV and their climbing up the curtains! Aaahh, the joys of living in the Aussie Outback! Mice, snakes, giant prehistoric lizards, and let’s not forget the “Redback under the toilet seat”. Cheers all.
Yikes Veronica! Great stories though… I have heard about the mouse and other pest issues in the Outback but I have never talked to anyone who lives with the problem. I bet it makes for some interesting adventures!!
Yeah the temp spiking is probably your baking problem then. Do watch those videos I mentioned and read the comments below them. There have been some good suggestions from other members who have figured out some good solutions. I have a memory of one member, Jocelyn I think, that lined her oven with small stones to help stabilize the temp. Maybe something like that would work for you? You could also bump up the temp a bit and bury everything in a bed of cornstarch or baking soda (there are videos on that as well). That would help protect your pieces from the highs and lows.
Sounds like you have a little more experimenting to do before you get the perfect results, but once you do,it should be smooth sailing from then on. Good luck! Do let us know how it goes…
Ah, didn’t realise you were out bush, Veronica. I saw your question and was looking for an answer as I didn’t know what could be causing it either.
Living in a remote area I wondered if this may affect the consistency of power supply and this, in turn, be affecting your oven’s temp? I know that when we lived in a small country town in WA with it’s own power station, the power used to fluctuate quite a lot. My husband worked for the State Electricity Commission so he borrowed a device that plugged into a power point and it registered the variations. They were a long way both sides of the 240V regular output. Is it possible that under power and over power could be affecting your oven and the poor little thing can’t cope? Anyway, just a thought. I now live in town and have power off the state grid so it’s stable and my little Sunbeam has no problems… but I use two thermometers all the time to be sure :-)
Thanks for all that info girls! Yes, Chrissie, power could be an issue, as the town is on generators up here. I also think that instead of buying these little “cheapies”, that perhaps I should invest in the Sunbeam as well. And Cindy, while it is true we have a lot of beasties in the bush up here, unlike Canada with bears and big cats, atleast we can wander about for hours…..alone….without getting eaten! Came across 2 kangaroos having a boxing match one morning on my walk, they stopped to look at me, I apologized for the interuption, they resumed their boxing match, and I carried on with my 10km walk.
True about the beasties, Veronica :-) So long as you don’t walk near the salties LOL. Are you in the top end of WA or Qld? I’m in Bunbury, 180ks south of Perth.
The Sunbeam has worked well for a while and when it carks of old age I’ll buy another. They’re reasonably priced and reliable. I’ve only even burned one thing in it and that was when I first started and didn’t know about tenting.Or checking the temp with a thermometer for that matter :-)
I can just about see you out taking that walk in the bush and stopping to apologise for interrupting the roos LOL. Lucky you having the Outback on your doorstep.
Hi Chrissie,
We’re up in the Carnarvon-Coral Bay region. No crocs yet fortunately!
Love that area! Have happy memories of holidays there in years gone by. Must get up there again before I’m too old and decrepit :-) Let the crocs stay up Broome way – we don’t need ’em further south!