Materials Creating Dolls From Super Sculpey - Questions

The boiling point of water is 212 degrees. The manufacturer's recommended baking temperature is 275 degrees. It's very possible that if you boil rather than bake, you won't cook off all of the plasticizer in the clay. It will seem to be hard, because the outside cooks first, but the plasticizer will slowly leach through it and will gradually soften and weaken the piece. I would definitely recommend baking at the recommended temperature for the recommended amount of time. And since going over temperature can be really problematic, you should probably get a thermometer to double-check your oven's temperature. A lot of ovens run "hot" or "cold."

FYI, I used to be a big fan of Super Sculpey until I started using it "straight," rather than mixing it with white. The problem with Super Sculpey is that it has a tendency to produce "moonies" when you bake it, which are little half-moon shaped whitish areas in the clay, apparently caused by trapped air. My Super Sculpey is a pretty old batch, so they may have improved it since, but I'd definitely do a test bake to see how it looks. You can also get pricier brands like Prosculpt, which should be moonie-free.

 

I've been baking SS for years and have no problem with it. The only time I boil is when I have something that I'm afraid shouldn't be baked, like adding to resin or to a piece that's got paint on it. I boil for three minutes and it's hard. You can also use a heat gun to spot cure things, but they won't be very strong. Hard yes, but they'll break easily.

You can also coat your cured SS in super glue to strengthen it. Granted I'm casting so my piece can look like Frankenstien and it doesn't matter since it'll all be sanded and cast.

 

Toaster oven is a bad idea, in my experience. I've never gotten polymer clay to cure properly in a toaster oven, and also, because the heating element is so much closer to the thing being cooked, it tends to burn things on one side. With super sculpy this comes out in discoloration, with regular sculpy, it goes crazy and warps. One thing to consider would be boiling the sculpy and then transfering it directly to the oven without giving it a chance to cool, that will bring it's temperature up evenly, rather than having the outside get hot a long time before the inside, and then you can use an oven to get it up to the proper heat. This may be a good way to avoid burning the clay, but I haven't actually tried it.

 

How do you create the eye-holes when using Super Sculpey? Do they have to be carved out after baking? It seems like if I attempted to remove the core before baking, the entire head would just collapse

 

I just use an old cookie sheet. :3

 

If you put your head in the fridge, it should be hard enough not to collapse. It will scare you and makes you afraid of ruining your work, but it shouldn't collapse or change shape if you get it cold first

 

Glass bowl. The cookie sheet I used must have been different, because all the pieces burned on the bottom side touching the cookie sheet.

 

Poly-fil.

It's the fluffy polyester fiber people use for stuffing cloth dolls and teddy bears and whatnot. You can just nest your sculpture in it (on a cookie tray or something, of course) and not worry about things rolling away or flat spots where they rest or anything. And you get the funniest looks when you take it out of the oven.

 

whoa so it doesn't melt or anything? That's nothing short of awesome! thanks for the tip!

 

I haven't tried it yet, but I thought about shaping the base of the head and leaving big holes where the eyes would be(like a skeleton). Bake it like that, and then you can add the details and shape the eyes. I dunno how well that'd actually work.

 

I actually don't think that would work, since I've heard you can't add to Super Sculpey once it's baked...

 

What? I'm always adding onto Super Sculpey after I've baked it. It's called series baking.

 

But seriously, I have done this. It made me pretty nervous the first time, but it definitely doesn't melt, at least not at 275 degrees for 15-20 minutes... let's see...

Well, according to this page, the melting point of polyester is 260 degrees Celsius. That's 500 degrees Fahrenheit, so I really think you'll be okay.

 

Really? And it hasn't started to crack off or anything? Hmm....perhaps I should try this... I'm a little nervous though, since I don't want to mess up my work

 

Series baking indeed! I've never heard anyone say you can't add to sculpey once it's baked. 0_0 Maybe you should try freezing it so it's hard enough to work on if you're worried though?

 

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"Super Sculpey should be baked (cured) in a preheated 275° F (130° C) oven for 15 minutes per 1/4" (6 mm) of thickness. Clays can be baked several times, building up layers. DO NOT MICROWAVE." ​

 

HI! I have another Sculpey question.

What does the Translucent look liked baked? is it really clear?

I was using pearl, but it bakes too dark. I'm trying beige and white now, but the translucent looks interesting.

 

You can see a bit of light through translucent, but it isn't the least bit clear, not like glass. ^^ I guess it's akin to French resin versus the opacity of regular resin... but I'm not sure about that, because I've never seen French resin in real life

 

Hi! Just thought I'd give my input.

Series baking is just fine! Though you do have to be careful to smooth it out nicely. It's what I do.

I bake on some ceramic tiles I have, but they're small - I make a lot of small pieces. >_>

Be careful with Super Sculpey, though. I've had things burn (too close to the heating element, lol.) And most of my pieces have turned out pretty dark - a tan color. Which is OK, since I was going to paint over it, and... the one figurine I'm making is Ed from Cowboy Bebop, and she has a tan.

And the "moonie" irregularities... and sometimes parts of things have turned out kind of purple? I don't know why. It is pretty old clay, so... *shrug*

I bake in my oven at home, with the fan on. I have sneaking suspicions about it, but it seems to be ok?

That's all I know. XD