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Polymer Clay: Homemade and Real!

3/1/2017

106 Comments

 
Picture
Video and links below:
This post is a general explanation of what polymer clay is and how it is made and is not intended to be a tutorial on the chemistry of plastisols. But it does provide a background for understanding the commercial products and includes the shortcut that I have discovered that will allow you to make "real" polymer clay at home in a very cost effective manner. The video should be considered a "proof of concept" as there is still a lot to do and explore. I offer the work in good faith in the hope that there will be readers/viewers who will help move the project forward.  
Polymer clay as both a craft and an art form seems to be one of the most popular activities for home enthusiasts who enjoy making unique and frequently useful jewelry, figurines, and other personally individual items for fun and profit. But, polymer clay is not a clay! It is a polymer and more specifically it is a plastisol which is a polymer with a plasticizer. In the majority of commercially available products, the polymer is polyvinyl chloride in powder form (PVC), and the plasticizer, typically a thick viscous liquid with a boiling point above  200 C. The plasticizer can be any of several materials that are considered generally safe. But, all of the products sold as polymer clay are proprietary and closely guarded secrets. In addition to the two basic ingredients they have to add thickeners, fillers, color pigments, and other materials to make the polymer into a putty like consistency for effective model making.
Polymer clay remains workable until cured. Curing occurs at temperatures from between 265 °F (129 °C) to 275 °F (135 °C) sustained for 15 minutes per 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) of thickness. This temperature is significantly less than for mineral clays that are fired at high temperatures and can be achieved using a home oven. The clay does not shrink when cured. Brands of polymer clay include Fimo, Sculpy, Premo, Cernit, Formello, Modello, Du-Kit, Pardo and Kato Polyclay.
A home pasta-making machine is a popular multi-purpose tool for polymer clay artists. It is used to create sheets of uniform thickness, to mix colors or construct variegated sheets, and to condition (soften) the clay. Polymer clay generally needs to be conditioned prior to use. This involves kneading the clay by hand, passing it between two rollers, or using a low-shear mixer to break up any resin particle adhesion. Once conditioned, the clay will remain pliable until the particles eventually re-adhere.
How this project evolved:
Plastisols have been around for many years and were, at first, a substitute for Bakelite. I have been familiar with PVC plastisols for a long time and recognized that polymer clay was a plastisol in "putty" form. I thought about making some and posting the result but realized that it would require a lot of effort to obtain the materials needed. There was the need for a fine grade of PVC powder, a suitable plasticizer, and fillers and processing aids to provide a usable products. My considered opinion was that it would not be easy to translate this into a product made easily at home for crafters. But, fortunately an idea occurred to me that would make it possible with only two readily available ingredients.
The break came because I do my own silk screening with mostly water-based heat set inks that can be cured with a regular iron. But, I did buy some plastisol ink for experiments with an ink that is used almost exclusively for silk screening professionally. But, I found it difficult to use and cure t-shirts in the oven! And then recently I recognized the possibility of making polymer clay with the plastisol ink and kaolin clay. Kaolin clay is often referred to as a fumed silica and becomes part of the polymer clay. And while the plastisol ink and  kaolin will have to be purchased online, unless your local craft store carries it,  the economics make up for the purchase. I did a fast cost analysis and the "real" polymer clay can be made for less than half the cost of that sold online and craft stores.
Video and links to materials follows: Comments and questions are always welcome and will be a part of making the project better. Ken.
 
 


Materials used with this project:
Plastisol ink, 7 color 4 ounce size at Amazon here:
Plastisol ink both 4 and 8 ounce sizes from STS Industrial here:
Plastisol ink white, 1 quart ( scroll down to basic white) at Dick Blick here:
Kaolin White Clay, at Bulk Apothecary here:
The above are not endorsements but sources that I used and a search for for other may be helpful.
106 Comments
Martha
3/2/2017 02:30:25 pm

I do have a Dick Blick nearby, and may actually try this.. (I'm also a frequent flyer at Amazon. Or so my credit card tells me!) Do you happen to know how long this polymer clay can be stored? Is there a storage method you recommend? If it dries out, can it be restored by conditioning, or mineral oil, or vaseline (my trick since it's easier to smear a touch on rather than drip it with mineral oil)? Does the ink dry out eventually once it's mixed?

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Ken
3/2/2017 03:40:30 pm

Hi Martha,
I don't have long-term storage data but it depends on the plasticizer used. My best guess that the dry rate will be close to other polymer clay products. The best storage would be to place the completed clay in Saran or Cling wrap which will contain any loss of plasticizer. Keeping it in a cool location will also help. If it does dry, or you find it too hard as you massage it, you can warm it up or add either a little more ink or a few drops of mineral oil. It is also useful to condition it well while it is a little softer and easier to manipulate and then add more Kaolin to finish it off. The harder polymer clays seem to be difficult to use on the hands.The ink itself will not dry out as I have had the white quart for 8 years and it is the same as when new without special storage. Hope that this helps, Ken.

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Martha
3/2/2017 02:52:21 pm

By the way, I did make the reusable mold stuff, and it does work well. In fact after reheating it in the microwave (first mold was poorly setup, all my fault!), it was even firmer and hardened faster. Now for a challenge to you - I'm sure you've seen the videos on using 100% silicone and dish detergent to make molds, and they do appear to work. These are not remoldable, but are reuseable - you can make the same items over and over. I've heard that it's the glycerin in the detergent that causes the faster (and softer?) set on the silicone. I've seen Dawn detergent required, and also any detergent. One website insisted it had to be the blue Dawn, but I believe it's really the glycerin that is needed. My question is this: can just glycerin be used? Or is the detergent needed because of the stickiness of the silicone? One art website had an instructor demonstrating using an unnamed detergent and cold water, and insisting hands and items to be molded had to be cold and wet but warm water also appears to work, as seen on a different video.

What's the real answer? Curing appears to take about an hour, according to many of the videos, and that's about all I know.

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Ken
3/2/2017 04:11:10 pm

Hello again Martha,
I too have seen the information and misinformation on the web so I ran several experiments to test the data presented. Most seem to know very little about the process. First, silicone is incompatible with almost everything it comes in contact with. It cures by picking up ambient water from the atmosphere releasing acetic acid in the cure. Hence, if a large thickness is used water cannot get to the inside and it never cures. Using any detergent keeps the silicone from sticking to the hands and has nothing to do with the cure; it is the water that does the work starting the curing process. But, in the process your hands will be slippery when handling the mess and the cured mix will generally be of poor quality. And, as an aside, most people advocate the use of massive quantities of the Dawn. I have found that the corn starch method works fairly well by allowing moisture into the interior by interstitial paths. But, like polymer clay, you have massage the mix well and quickly as the mix gets hard fairly fast. So, I vote for the corn starch method every time. Thanks for the timely question, Ken.

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Karen Harris
1/25/2019 06:34:49 pm

Thanks Martha for asking some of the same questions I had and thanks Ken for giving such a scholarly answer and cutting out the bullshit.

Kay
3/3/2017 01:10:34 am

I have Fuller's Earth on hand. Can Fuller's be substituted for Kaolin? I don't mind the color difference if that would be the only issue. I just need to make some new tools for use with my knitting machine. I also have some Speedball fabric block printing ink (oil based, soap and water cleanup), can't find any reference to 'plastisol' on the tube... Wonder if the Speedball could be used for the ink?
Thanks for more great diy!

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Ken
3/3/2017 09:36:53 am

Kay,
Fuller's earth does have silica and other clays so it should work if the particle size is small enough. If the particles are too big they will appear on the surface of the PC. If so, mortar and pestle or grind into fine particles. The Speedball Fabric Block ink is a slow dry thermoset and does not require heating. But, all plastisols do require heat to fuse so it is not a plastisol and will not work as desired.

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Kelly Bell
3/11/2017 09:11:14 pm

Kay, you sound like a PERFECT candidate for a 3D printer! You could make those tools so quickly and well with one… as a knitter, spinner, dyer and… (ok my love affair with wool eventually got so bad I now raise sheep and don't have as much time to knit) I came to 3D printing partially bc I had ideas for several tools for knitting, spinning and weaving that aren't available. It's really fun and there is a thriving open source DIY / "maker" community out there dedicated to sharing (non-commercial) files to use with your printer/fabricator. If you haven't played with one yet, highly recommended - and they get more inexpensive every day!

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John Rolle link
3/4/2017 09:03:19 pm

Hey Ken. Many thanks for another truly ground breaking experiment which I look forward to trying in the near future. I intend on trying to use your polymer clay as the casting material in a mold.l imagine when baked it dries similar to supersculpy which if used for miniatures is rather brittle yet much more economical which outways the cons. Maybe I can forward the results to you. Keep up the great work its really appreciated buddy.

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Ken
3/5/2017 10:19:29 am

Hi John,
Thanks for the kind words and here is some information that might be helpful. Both the plastisol ink and the finished PC are slightly flexible depending on thickness but although the durometer value might be low they are not brittle. Also, due to the rheological properties the ink itself becomes more fluid under pressure or warmth. For example, if we force the ink through a hypodermic syringe the ink going through the syringe orifice is more fluid and might help casting. Just a thought, Ken.

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Samantha
3/16/2017 06:43:39 pm

Hi ken...just wondering about the strength and durability of this clay compared to say...premo sculpy?

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Ken
3/17/2017 03:40:16 pm

Hi Samantha,
The only polymer clay that I have used is the original Sculpy and have only limited data on the strength and durability. But, there is no reason that the material made in my process should be less in either respect providing that it is baked completely. I am hoping that readers/viewers can add information as we go along, both good and bad news. However, I believe that the cost benefit and the fact that the ink itself can be used as a molding material makes it a worthwhile project. Sorry that I can't give you more. Ken.

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Don C.
4/3/2017 09:33:03 am

Your work is amazing! I've never seen a homemade polymer clay of professional quality. Can I ask you a question about chemical compounding in polymer clay? I make a type of that stuff, but am struggling with one of the principles that governs firmness and flexibility. It's not a plastisol, but a hybrid thermoplastic. Might be a fun challenge to think about.

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Ken
4/3/2017 04:20:05 pm

Hey Don,
Compounding polymer clay is one of the most secretive processes that I have seen. I have searched many patents and still had to do over 100 experiments to get where I was going in this process. The use of a thermoplastic hybrid seems interesting. Can you share on the comments section or do you want to go offline? I would prefer sharing here but recognize proprietary considerations. Let me know what you want to do, Thanks, Ken.

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Don C. link
7/9/2017 01:47:39 pm

Hi Ken,

Just saw that you responded after months of not remembering what your blog link was. Sorry it's been so long!

Could do both, as there are some public and private aspects of what I'm doing. It's mostly waxes, but suffers a bit from its firmness that depends upon heat to soften in order to get a gummy consistency. Too warm, and it will melt to a flowing liquid. The problem with firm clay at room temperature is that a lot of animators are using colder lighting now (LED's and CFL's), so the surface of the animation set doesn't get nearly as warm as it did when I went to school for clay animation. One added benefit by the variable grade of hardness via temperature is that when it's frozen, you can carve it.

-Don

Yam
4/21/2017 08:34:30 pm

Hi! Question. Is the Kaolin Clay you're using can be used as a skin product? I'm looking for alternatives here in the philippines. All I can see here is Kaolin Clay used in skin for beauty purposes. I'm excited to try your own recipe of homemade polymer clay. Thank you for the efforts in using your time to do such experiments like this. Kudos!

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Ken
4/22/2017 09:21:09 am

Hi Yam,
Yes, you can use Kaolin clay for cosmetic purposes as well as in my process. In fact, that is the material in beauty products, and is generally small particle which is perfect for our use. But, most Kaolin is not food grade so don't ingest it. Good luck, Ken.

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Jetro
5/11/2017 06:15:31 pm

Hi Ken, I really am so thankful to stumble in your site as it is informative and very helpful. I do agree on your observation as to the monopoly of polymer clay production worldwide. Its really very profound of you to share this and that I am interested to try the recipe you propose the soonest only if I have the chance to find all the materials you mentioned in my area. I love to make a collaboration with any of your subscribers and you as well. Looking forward to talk to see more post and comments from you soon.

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Jane link
5/22/2017 03:13:14 pm

Hi Ken,

I would like to make a white clay as a simple go to. With my air dry clays (home made and shop bought) I use acrylic paint and crayons to colour the clay. Will that work with your version of polymer clay?

Many, many thanks for the tutorial. I bought my first lots of polymer clay this weekend - Fimo and Sculpey. The Sculpey is really awful and just broke into little bits, and the Fimo is workable, but too soft. Plus I couldn't believe how small the packs were! So being able to make my own will be a real boon. :-)

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Ken
5/24/2017 09:39:27 am

Hi Jane,
The plastisol inks in my process are not water tolerable so acrylics are out as are other water based pigments. For a white color titanium dioxide would work well and is easy to find. Other oil-based colors might work like mascara. Another possibility would be dry tempera pigments. Let us know if you find something better, Thanks, Ken.

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Retas
6/10/2017 09:51:08 pm

Hi ken,

I have a little question on the type of your plastisol ink you use, there's a lot of type in use of this ink whether wet on wet, all purpose Ink, color mix, high opacity, cork base, natural suade and any other, which one you prefer to use? they mention some plastisol ink type has phthalate and some of it don't, is phthalate kind of plasticizer? Anyway big thank you for sharing this, i've been working on my art project and in my country Indonesia this polymer clay are too expensive and yet hard to find and having you doing all your research like this are helping us who work on art and need great amounts of this material, Thank ken!

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Ken
6/11/2017 04:11:40 pm

Hi Retas,
Since we are using these inks for a purpose other than silk screening I would get an all purpose plastisol ink with no special additives. They are less expensive and easier to find. I would try to get a non-phthalate plasticizer as they are considered carcinogens, particularly dibutly phthalate. Hope that this helps, Ken.

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Penny
6/17/2017 09:50:44 pm

Hello, I was wondering whether you have managed to make polymer clay from pvc powder and the other ingredients? I have been trying to search the web on how to do this, but I am in no way a chemist and I am thinking it would be a process way over my head and much too hard to learn. The reason for this, is that I make art dolls and I wanted to make recycled plastic polymer (you can buy the recycled powder online). If you ever work out how to do it maybe you could make it out of the recycled powder and turn it into a product? ;) ... I would be your first customer lol. Penny

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Monica
8/24/2017 03:27:21 am

Hi,
I am viewing your youtube vid and I was wondering how you would make it translucent? I passed on your vid to a couple of polymer clay tester, can't wait to see what they say. This is so cool that you made it and then shared it, thank you!!!

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Ken
8/24/2017 04:16:08 pm

Hi Monica,
I know that they make a transparent plastisol ink and that is where I would start. They may even have a translucent but I have not located any yet. As far as testing the process, I would be interested in the results. Of course, it is not meant to compete with the commercial products but it works and is real. No flour and the other ridiculous process that they call polymer clay. Thanks for you effort and nice comments, Ken.

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Monica
8/26/2017 12:08:56 pm

Hi Ken,

Thanks! I'll let you know or maybe they'll come on here and share with you, hopefully!!

Monica
8/24/2017 04:00:45 am

What did you use to glue the PVC to the pot, hot glue or PVC cement?

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Ken
8/24/2017 04:34:32 pm

Monica,
I used hot glue as it is at near room temperature and works well but silicone caulk would work as well. Had I been thinking I would have drilled the hole so that the shaft was tight as very little heat would escape and it could be removable for storage. Oh well, live and learn! Ken.

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Monica
8/26/2017 12:10:38 pm

Thanks, I am going to buy a cheap pot and do this for small items. Too much heat on a toaster oven for one little piece. Keep up the great work!!

Carolyn
9/9/2017 07:02:00 am

Hi Ken, Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have been searching for a receipt to make real polymer clay. I have tried the ones you find on you tube but they didn't work for me. The items made split when air dried. Couldn't find any for oven baked ones. So, I purchased the items needed and look forward to trying out this receipt. Thank you again for sharing. Carolyn

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Carolyn B Hayes
9/15/2017 01:39:17 pm

Hello Ken. I tried the items you used in your demo. I cannot get the right consistency. I did as you showed but I guess I am not doing something right. The clay breaks when I fold it so I added more ink but it is too sticky. I tried glycerin but that didn't work either. Please help me. Should I add more powder of ink? I have conditioned it but it just keeps breaking instead of folding without breaking.?????

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Ken
9/15/2017 04:03:09 pm

Hi Carolyn,
There are some problems that I see immediately and some other possibilities. First, you can't use glycerin as it is water compatible and it will cause breaking because it is incompatible with plastisols. You really shouldn't need any additive but if you do, use cheap drug store mineral oil. But add it in drops and if feels slippery in your hand it is too much. The massaging with your hands is really just a way to better incorporate the kaolin. The warmth from your hands softens the mix to allow complete dispersion but it will become a little harder over time but not break. The one other possibility is the particle size of the kaolin. This is remote but if it is really course it could be a concern. I want you to be successful so let us know if this resolves the problem. Thanks, Ken.

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Carolyn B Hayes
9/16/2017 03:48:55 pm

Thank you Ken, I understand about the glycerin and will not use anymore. I used almost all of my green ink but will try again without using glycerin. I had forgotten what you said to use but after watching the video again I do realize that you had said to use mineral oil. I didn't know the difference just had glycerin on hand and thought that it would work. As you can guess, I am not a chemist. Just trying my best to be able to make my own polymer clay and save a little money because the store bought ones are so expensive. Thank you again for understanding my situation and your help. Carolyn

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Carolyn Hayes
9/18/2017 05:38:30 am

I retried making polymer clay without using anything but these two ingredients. Plastisol ink and white kaolin clay. It didn't work for me. I mixed it using a lot of kaolin clay and was too flaky and not smooth. I added more ink but was still too flaky and not smooth. I added more ink and still the same results. I still added more ink but that didn't work either. The texture isn't smooth and still breaks and is sticky, I don't know what to do???? Please, I hope you are able to tell me what is wrong. Thank you for your patients with me and your help. Carolyn

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Ken
9/18/2017 11:10:03 am

Carolyn,
Before I make guesses about what may be wrong it would be helpful to know exactly what the ink that you are using is. Please send any identification on the container or a link to where you got it. Even a photo of the package would help but you would have to send it to my mail address. I suspect that something is questionable with the ink. ken.quast@gmail.com. Thanks.

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Carolyn Hayes
9/18/2017 01:50:11 pm

Thank you Ken, I took some photos hoping to be able to send them to you but I couldn't here. Thank you for allowing me to send them to your email. I will send them and explain each one as to what I was doing.
I do appreciate your help. Thanks so much. Carolyn

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javier
11/24/2017 03:22:39 pm

hello,
was carolyn's problem ever solved?
i have the same problem of the clay breaking when folded.
i use the inks and clay shown in the video
thanks

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Ken
11/24/2017 04:21:01 pm

Javier,
Add a small amount of mineral oil. It may be too much kaolin or insufficiently conditioning but the oil will act as a plasticizer. Hope this helps, Ken.

Edsa Abdurahman link
10/14/2017 05:08:46 am

Hi and thank you, Ken.
Your post is what I've been looking for. I wished I got to read it sooner. I've been testing your concept for a few days and made some observation that might be helpful. Like you wrote, I got myself a tub of white plastisol paint and start mixing it with filler. A whole range of filler. I find that a mix of coarse and fine filler would work best. Coarse filler for bulk and fine filler for smoothness. A good ratio of filler to ink is to start with 1:10 and tweak it from there.
I'm still trying to solve the problem of ink stains, but that might be solved if I got a hold of a transparent/lucent plastisol. That way I can actually control the amount of pigment in the mixture.
Another problem might be that the clay tend to dry out (pre-baking) and becomes crumbly. I've been adding mineral oil to remedy this. Mineral oil burns clean. That's what I can share for now. You can contact me by email if you want to discuss more details.
Thank again, Ken.

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Monica
10/14/2017 07:32:54 am

Hi Edsa,
Please discuss it here so those of us looking to experiment can also learn from your findings.
I purchased the required material just haven't had the chance to experiment. Also, if you do find a translucent plastisol please let us know. That was one of my questions to Ken.

Appreciate you writing your outcomes on here so far.
Thank you!

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Edsa Abdurahman
10/19/2017 10:49:18 pm

Hi Monica,
There are transparent plastisol inks used for color separation printing. I'm still looking for them in my local supply store, but you might find it online. There are also transparent inks in cyan, magenta, and yellow. So with the right filler you might be able to make your own translucent poly clay. Check out your local screen printing supply store and ask around.

There are several additives that can alter the properties of the ink, which can result in more customization of the clay.

I mainly use sculpt small figurines and one thing that I found is with just ink and filler, the baked clay is very flexible and bendy. I'll try mixing stuff to the base dough recipe to see if I can make it a bit less bendy. Good luck

Peter Edwards
10/15/2017 03:14:31 am

Hi Ken,
Thank you so much for all the hard work you have done for us. This is exactly what I have been looking for.
Cheers
Pete

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Loris
11/1/2017 09:14:49 am

Hi! First of all thank you for the video! I just have few questions, can we make this polymer clay with any plastisol? Is it really cheaper than polymer clay in store? How much clay can I make with 1 liter of plastisol white ink? And finally I don’t know if u said it in your video (i’m French I don’t understand everything) can I bake it in a oven and at what temperature?
Thank you again very good job!

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Ken
11/2/2017 10:31:20 am

Hi Loris,
Yes, any plastisol will work and the finished amount will depend on how much kaolin is added depending on viscosity. But, it will be cheaper than polymer clay from most sources. Bake in oven at (135 °C) sustained for 15 minutes per 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) of thickness. Thanks and hope that this helps, Ken.

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Loris
11/2/2017 04:20:01 pm

Thank you very much for your fast answer yes it will help me!
I can’t stop saying that your doing a great job thank you!

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Tony link
11/9/2017 02:29:54 pm

will plastisol extender work in place of a color ink?
Thank you very much for your work there are so many problems with the small expense store bought products.
I am a sculpture I have enjoyed plasticine but then the mold making and casting, makes a simple or spontaneous work complicated.

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Ken
11/9/2017 04:44:19 pm

Hi Tony,
Extender Bases are used to increase the quantity of plastisol inks. When added to pigmented ink it causes the volume to increase. Most Extender Base additives are plastisol based and will not affect the cure process. I have not used them and how well it works depends on the viscosity. If it is too thin it will require more kaolin. So, I would say generally that it should work but there is no experience that I have that will guarantee success. Ken

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Lehc
11/9/2017 09:51:09 pm

If my pastisol ink is 1litter.. How many grams of kaolin clay do i need??
Thanks a lot :)

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Ken
11/11/2017 03:53:24 pm

Between 10 and 20 % by weight depending on the viscosity of the ink, Ken.

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Lehc
11/14/2017 04:22:38 am

Thanks ken ..
I have one more question :)
It is posible if i used white pastisol ink then i will add coloring with it?? What paint/ink can i use?? Thanks :)

Ken
11/14/2017 03:25:05 pm

Lehc,
I would avoid paints as it will lower the viscosity and require more kaolin. The best choice would be pigments, Ken.

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lehc
11/16/2017 07:42:53 am

Polyester Pigment paste??

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Ken
11/16/2017 03:14:33 pm

lehc,
Yes, that sound like it may work just fine. Please let us know if it does as it is useful information, Thanks, Ken

Sandra Salter
11/16/2017 02:51:24 pm

Hi Ken
Followed you tutorial worked out FANTASTIC just having a problem with the paint transferring onto my hands - I note you have received and replied to many queries so apologies if you have already covered this - do you have any suggestions on how to address this problem

Thank you for your time
Sandra

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Monica
11/16/2017 02:54:49 pm

Hi Sandra,
Did you measure as you mixed? If so, would you be kind as to share :)

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Sandra
11/16/2017 11:53:01 pm

Hi Monica
I only had about 1/3 cup of paint so added clay until I could knead with my hands, used very small amounts of clay to achieve consistency but found paint colour still transfers onto hands and you may be aware that when sculpting your hands must be very clean so I will try changing gloves when changing colors and see how it goes otherwise I am thrilled with the outcome

Ken
11/16/2017 03:19:59 pm

Hi Sandra,
Once you get it mixed close to a paste and can manipulate it with your hands you could try putting kaolin on your hands. Other than that it seems that latex gloves are the best choice. Thanks, Ken

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Sandra
11/16/2017 11:55:34 pm

Thankyou Ken I will try both and see how I go. Otherwise thrilled with the outcome

Monica
11/16/2017 02:57:48 pm

Hi Ken,

I purchased the ink you recommended, now you’re saying not to use ink? Am I misinterpreting the conversation?

Monica

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Ken
11/16/2017 03:25:07 pm

Hey Monica,
Yes there is a misinterpretation as it was a response to lehc who wanted to use something like an enamel paint to color a white plastisol. So the plastisol ink is the correct ink to use, Thanks, Ken.

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Sandra
11/17/2017 12:13:50 am

Sorry Ken I was probably I bit vague in my first message I have the clay to a moulding consistency and I don't usually wear glove when moulding but will preservere; if I keep putting kaolin on my hands it will eventually affect the consistency but earlydays yet and will see how it progresses
Thank you again for your time

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Tami
11/18/2017 07:40:04 pm

Thank you! This is a great tutorial

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Monica
11/18/2017 10:50:13 pm

I accidentally unsubscribed.

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Kreative Kraft LayDe
12/1/2017 09:16:01 pm

Thank you for doing this for us all! I enjoy your knowledge and videos you share... i will be trying this within the next week or so, i need to see if we have a place locally and i will use the links also, yes i am looking for the most cost effective way, i will also being trying the embossing method power also. And i will make sure to share my outcome and the things i make... i hope to give you great info back... and make sure everyone knows this idea and method did come from the site... i am a Creative artistic promoter working on my own creative expression... hugs to you...

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Chad
12/9/2017 08:44:21 pm

Subscribed to follow progress & want to try this. Thanks, Ken! In particular, the scientist in me would like to see some reports of actual weights of kaolin clay to volume plastisol along with brands/sources. My intuition is that adding small amounts of kaolin clay directly to a jar of plastisol, thoroughly mixing it, and letting it sit for a while before adding more would help. Kaolin may slowly absorb the plasticizer somewhat which would make it easy to add too much & get that crumbly breakage issue after the clay sits a while. Even humidity might be considered as a factor. My two anyway. Looking forward to trying it & will report back

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Chad
12/9/2017 08:46:18 pm

*my two cents, I meant! ;-)

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Nuk
12/14/2017 07:22:42 am

Hey ken,can you sent me mail to my email ,I have an important question to enquire to you.I want to sent you some pictures .
Please do reply

Reply
Celeste
12/28/2017 02:15:06 pm

Can you add the recipe list here just like reading a recipe for food. I am at work and seeing an actual list would be amazing! I cannot wait! I've always been totally interested in using clay, but when I visited Hobby Lobby, I saw how expensive the clay was "Per Package" and didn't buy any. I am very frugal and now............I know I can make my very own very very ....... inexpensively! THANKS THANKS SO............MUCH!

Reply
Ken
12/30/2017 10:05:35 am

Hi Celeste,
There are only two materials in this recipe; plastisol ink and kaolin clay. An excess of clay is used and the ink added until you can hold the polymer clay in your hands and manipulate it. The variable is the color and after the video in the write up I list colors and sources. Ken.

Reply
Tani
12/29/2017 10:47:24 pm

Loved this tutorial lots of great info here to try.

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Tani
12/29/2017 10:48:20 pm

Ken I was wondering if I could use mica powders for coloring white plastisol?

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Men
12/30/2017 10:09:33 am

Hey Tami,
My best guess is that because the mica pigment is a fine powder it would work but I am not sure how much can be used without weakening the clay. I would suggest a small sample to experiment with. Hope that this helps, Ken.

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Jonathan
1/16/2018 07:35:23 pm

Could I use Diatomaceous Earth, instead of kaolin powder. It is easier to come by since it is used for pool filtration.

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Ken
1/18/2018 09:59:49 am

Hi Jonathan,
Since Diatomaceous Earth is ~ 80 % silica it should be functional but only if the particle size is small. As I recall, pool filter DE was larger particle but I may be wrong. Best idea is to try a small sample. Thanks, Ken.


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Chad
2/9/2018 08:36:01 am

OK I finally got around to trying this and it really works! I got a quart of white Union Ink screenprinting ink from Dick Blick ($18.73) and 2 lbs English White Kaolin Clay Powder on Ebay ($13.99). Mixing it is kind of tricky and definitely takes some elbow grease to get a nice smooth clay. You definitely want to add the plastisol ink slowly to an excess of kaolin clay or else it's a big mess to work with. I used a small putty knife and a regular spoon to mix in about half spoonfuls of plastisol ink at a time onto the center of a bed of about 3/4 cup kaolin clay in a bowl and mix mix mix using both tools to scrape each other off of the sticky plastisol. It's quite similar to making bread or pizza dough if you have ever done that, gradually bringing up the moisture content until you can start squeezing the little crumbles into a cohesive "dough". It gets easier once you can mush it together into a ball and start working it with your hands. Initially it's bubble gum soft, but will continue taking in kaolin clay in surprising amounts & gets stiffer. It takes a little time for the kaolin to get "wet" in the clay so what seems like crumbly clay will be nice and smooth several minutes later. The main thing is to really work & knead it to get all the kaolin thoroughly mixed so you don't have little bumps in the clay that show up on baking. Working in kaolin and then letting the clay sit for a while helps. It's a lot of work, but I'm guesstimating I will end up with about 5 pounds of colored polymer clay for under $33. Also, I really like having fine control of the stiffness of the clay. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm curious if I can roll out large thin sheets of it when it's in that bubble gum state. I'm super stoked to try it out on an RGB or CMYK color mixing scheme like the FIMO True Color thing if I can find those pure colors in screenprinting plastisol ink. Thanks so much for figuring this out for us Ken!!

Reply
Ken
2/10/2018 03:36:38 pm

Hi Chad,
Thanks for the information and kind words and your experience is consistent with my experience. I have had good luck with the additive colors that I used from Amazon but would be interested in the subtractive CMYK. Let us know how you do as you experiment, Ken.

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Chad
2/10/2018 05:54:56 pm

Will do, Ken. Thanks again!

Jane
2/18/2018 09:39:11 am

Enjoyed your video on making polymer clay. At the end of the video you showed a can of Union Ink, PADM-1057 which you said you can just had the Plastisol ink and not have to use the clay. Where can that be purchased?

Reply
Ken
2/18/2018 04:35:33 pm

Hi Jane,
I showed the Union Ink to illustrate that large amounts are cheaper and as all the plastisol inks can be baked without the clay, they are more flexible and less like real polymer clay. If you want it hard you will have to make use of the clay and form the putty stage. If you can deal with less hard a product then use just the ink alone. But, most polymer clay artists like it hard. Sorry for any confusion, Ken.

Reply
Santiago
2/18/2018 11:31:30 pm

Hello Ken, I've been trying to mix kaolin and plastisol ink in different proportions, but usually it tends to act like a liquid until a certain point and then when it starts acting like a polymer clay I have some issues with the surface, when I knead it sometimes some cracks start to appear, on the borders of the piece, or if I´m using a roller and a wood tile like you do in the video, the side which is in contact with the wood isn't smooth either and starts to show tiny cracks. Is it because I added too much kaolin and it's too dry or maybe I should have kneaded more? how many ounces of kaolin should I add per ounce of plastisol? is it a proportion around 50/50,70/30....?

Also I tried to mix it with other clays which also have small particle size but none seemed as effective as kaoline, the suface was rough or it turned into sand when kneaded. does Kaolin have something special that gives it a better surface and makes it so cohesive?

Other thing that bothers me is that compared to Fimo Soft it's still too soft, the commercial polymer clay that I bought is very hard and needs a lot of heat from my hands and kneading to take shapes, but my polymer clay isn't nearly as hard as that no matter how much kaolin I add. Is it because they use less plasticizer in polymer clays or maybe the molecular weight of their PVC is much harder?

I'm also trying to make my own polymer clay by grinding PVC pellets into a fine powder and mixing it with a plasticizer, but the only plasticizer I could get was epoxidized soybean oil and I haven't had any luck up to now, do you know if soybean oil is enough or I would need other plasticizers like dioctyl adipate? plasticizers are quite hard to get and I could only get one when I went to the capital of my country.

Sorry that I'm asking you so much but I'm actually investigating this at my university and I need as much information of these as I possibly can get.

Reply
Jeannene Breslin
4/16/2018 08:06:15 am

Hello Ken,
Many many thanks to you for posting this!
Mine is also a translucent and glow in t the dark questions
I have been unable
To locate a translucent paint.
If you have a name or a link that would be most helpful.
I have child
In my life that hyper focuses presently
The solar system and polymer clay
I would love to make a translucent glow in the dark clay
As we are in a limited budget, your video was a small miracle.
Thankfully
Jeannene Breslin

Reply
Ken
4/17/2018 03:32:20 pm

Hi Jeannene,
Unfortunately when we talk about glow in the dark we are dependent on pigments which causes all materials to be opaque. I don't see a way around this but if someone else can suggest an approach I would be grateful as well. Sorry that I am not able to help. Ken.

Reply
Vinicius
4/16/2018 07:58:11 pm

Realy nice thank you!

Reply
Jeannene Breslin
6/1/2018 06:51:50 pm

Hello Ken,
My grand daughter and I have tried this. We think we did something incorrectly. 30 minuets at 270F and the clay has not hardened. If you are familiar with a Crayola product called magic mold; it is that texture.
Alsoi am wondering if a filler or extender would help lessen the color leaching, or bleeding during the shaping process after the clay has been made?
The store brands the red occasionally leaves a stain but not the other colors. All of the color we made did.
Thank you for any help.

Reply
Ken
6/2/2018 04:36:42 pm

Hello Jeannene,
Based on your comment it sounds like either the kaolin clay was not fine enough or there was too much. As you work it in your hand and it gets warm it becomes smooth and very consistent with no texture. That would also explain the lack of getting hard even at 270F, unless the piece was greater than 1/4 inch (15 minutes for each 1/4 inch. My formula is slightly softer than the Sculpy that I used as a control but it was still hard. As far as the staining I have used talc, baby powder, and it helps but not completely so I am still working on that problem. But, with the correct proportions of plastisol and kaolin, it will get hard. Hope that this helps, Ken.

Reply
drix
6/12/2018 02:37:24 am

hi Ken, any substitute for kaolin clay? its not available here in my area, you did a great job thumbs up

Reply
Ken
6/12/2018 09:36:23 am

Hi Drix,
Since the clay is not just a filler, we need a silica containing clay. Fuller's earth or Bentonite would work. It just needs to be fine. A search in your area may be helpful to find a silica containing clay, Ken.

Reply
Christina G
6/16/2018 12:58:46 am

I LOVE this!!!! I have always wanted to work with polymer clay, but it is so expensive, I could only do very small projects, so I never bothered. I want to make Big stuff, like Gingerbread Houses, Fairy Houses and such, so this might give me the chance, a dream come true!

I have a few questions. Could you use a dough hook mixer for the mixing process, or would it just be too sticky? If it is too sticky in the beginning, could you use it a little later in the process? Also, if the warmth of your hands helps to condition the product, could you use like a could a heating pad under the kneading surface or around the mixing bowl help? I and not sure if my hands can handle (pun intended) all that mixing.

Thanks an awful lot, for everything you have done here!

Reply
Ken
6/21/2018 04:44:58 pm

Hi Christina,
I would definitely not use a dough hook or any other food related device as plastisols are not water soluble and would be difficult to clean. As the mix becomes firm or hard enough to handle the hand manipulation softens the polymer and blends the clay. I understand that constantly working the stiff mix can be hard on the hands. What I would suggest is to put the blend after it is still hard into a sandwich bag and use a rolling pin to work and warm the polymer. That should work! Ken.

Reply
Robert Provencial link
7/3/2018 05:56:25 pm

Hi Ken,
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
Great Video too.
I'm going to try doing this.
Hoping to cut costs on a Light Shade made out of Polymer Clay.

Thanks Again

Bob

Reply
Patricia Gonzales
7/12/2018 04:35:11 pm

Ken,
What kind of Kaolin Clay do I order from Amazon? What is the order numbers. As I was searching though Amazon, I notice some are edible and for facial mask. I am confused? Also, can I purchase other name brands of Plastisol Ink; (example) Jacquard or Versatex as these pigments are cheaper. Can these cheaper name brands be mixed with the Kaolin Clay.

Tisha,
New Hobby at Clay Crafting

Reply
Ken
7/14/2018 09:28:11 am

Hi,
The brands that you mentioned are water soluble and heat set with low heat and will even air dry so they are not plastisol inks which are not water soluble and have polyvinyl chloride and a plasticizer. As far as the kaolin clay, any fine powder white kaolin will work. Check the list that I have at the end of the write up and compare my source with Amazon. But you will need real plastisol ink, Ken.

Reply
Nicola Gibson link
7/19/2018 05:33:24 am

Hi Ken
This is great -thank you so much! I have ordered my materials including some pigment dyes based on your comments, then I started to wonder about the uses of the ink itself, beyond printing...
If I were to paint a skin of ink on a silicone mould, would the heat cause it to pool as wax would or would it be possible to create a skin in a 'slush' style mould?
Many thanks - hope that's not too much of a diversion!
Nicola

Reply
Ken
7/21/2018 09:46:33 am

Hi Nicola,
I have been working on this as a molding medium and it works with some caveats. First, depending on the viscosity you may not be able to paint on but have to use another tool to spread the ink. It can be warmed to improve flow. Plastisols will not pool as they heat and stay firm as it is heated. In the video I show the colored inks as ink alone and cured and they are somewhat flexible even at 1/4 inch thick. But, don't try to thin unless it is with the correct plasticizer as it will cause failure. Best of luck, Ken.

Reply
Nicola Gibson link
7/22/2018 01:45:28 pm

Thank you so much Ken
That was my understanding from what you showed at the beginning of the video - it's good to get it from the expert.
Thank you for responding - I love the science (and mechanics) of art so I really appreciate what you are doing!
All the best
Nicola

Lisa Schumack
9/14/2018 04:13:58 pm

Hi Ken,

Great experiment!!! I guess I am going to being experimenting too because instead of buying the plastisol in I bought just plain plastisol. I figured it will work basically the same way and when heated to up to 330 degrees it turns from white to translucent. So I will try it at 275 the heat temp recommended for the store bought polymer clays and see what happens, Please if you have any tips for me please let me know. As you probably know the plastisol is allot thinner than the ink. I will probably use allot less. Thank you, I will let you know what happens. Take care.Lisa

Reply
Chad
9/15/2018 09:40:14 am

Hi Lisa. I've been following this thread for a long time after successfully using Ken's recipe. I make mine with Union Ink t-shirt screen printing plastisol & it works great, if a bit more rubbery than I'd like. I'm curious though about the plain plastisol you are using. What's the brand and where did you buy it if you don't mind me asking?

Reply
Lisa
10/14/2018 03:55:05 am

Hi Chad, Sorry it took me so long to answer, I had 2 deaths in my family after I wrote my comment. I bought liquid plastic premium by The Golden Grub Lure Company. Their website is GoldenGrubLures.com . I believe I bought it at Amazon.com. But it is not showing up in my orders. I will check now if they still sell it. Ok I bought it at Ebay and it is very inexpensive. I didn't experiment yet with my grief and my family needing me I haven't had the time. Please stay in touch if you decide to use this to experiment with. If what Ken said is true it should work great and I think it will be much easier to get a consistent polymer clay without cracking or being too loose. Good luck Chad

Chad
10/14/2018 08:54:59 am

Hi Lisa. You and I had the same thought process. I bought the exact same stuff thinking it would be perfect. However, it turns out to be very different than the screen printing plastisol. There's some kind of solvent in it like diesel first off. I couldn't get it to make a usable polymer clay at all. I actually wrote to the company explaining what I was trying to do and they were quite upfront about what's in it. Quite a bit more toxic than t-shirt plastisol formulations, it seems. Bottom line, I couldn't get it to work, and it just didn't seem safe to me with the volatile solvent etc. Let me know what you think when you try your experiments. My condolences to you and your family for your loss.

Soraya
12/4/2018 08:08:50 pm

Hi thanks for sharing your work with us!!!! I used plastisol and white clay (aluminium something...) but had to cook more than 45min on 130C oven... some pieces still had to be cooked again for some extra minutes....I wonder if I did something wrong ...after 15 it was just too soft and even after 45 it was like a rubber ... can you give some tips? Thanks again!

Reply
Ken
12/5/2018 10:01:58 am

Soraya,
Unfortunately you can't use just any clay as it has to have silica content like kaolin. Sorry for your bad experience, Ken.

Reply
Soraya
12/12/2018 10:42:45 pm

thanks again, just waiting for the correct material by mail...

Santiago
12/16/2018 09:02:06 am

Hello Ken, just to let you know. My thesis to get my engineer degree was to make my own polymer clay out of PVC and plasticizers, we were having problems on finding anyone who could sell us plasticizers in small amounts (we just needed 1 or 2 kg for the experiments and the factories only offered me amounts for industrial scale like 15-20 kg which was too expensive). I was almost forced to give up on my thesis and pick up another topic but then I found your video and managed to make my own mixtures of polymer clays by mixing plastisol ink with different ceramic powders like kaolin, talc and bentonite. My thesis was rather simple after that, we couldn't measure molecular weight or viscosity of the polymer clay but we made a comparison in mechanical properties between my mixtures, FIMO and regular cold porcelain and the plastisol mixed with caolin was rather similar to the FIMO. Thanks again for sharing these Ken, thanks to you I finally got my materials engineer degree.

Reply
Ken
12/18/2018 09:59:28 am

Santiago,
Congratulations on receiving your degree and solving a problem that existed. Thanks for the information and best of luck in your future, Ken.

Reply
carlos
1/19/2019 07:43:14 am

hi Thanks for your recipe, its great!!!
Could I use calcium carbonate, instead of kaolin powder.

Reply
Ken
1/19/2019 10:32:35 am

Carlos,
No as CaCo3 has no silica which is needed to form the polymer clay, Ken.

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