How to Smooth Polymer Clay (Beginner Prep Guide)

1. 1

   Step 1: Clean Your Work Surface and Tools With Isopropyl Alcohol

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   Before you touch the clay, spray your workbench down with isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol picks up the dust and lint particles that would otherwise stick to the clay the second you put it down. A ceramic tile or glass mat is the easiest surface to keep clean.

   Wipe everything else too - the pasta machine rollers, your tissue blade, your acrylic roller. Even if they were put away clean, dust finds clay. Five minutes of cleaning saves an hour of sanding later.

   Tip:

   90% or higher isopropyl alcohol works best. The lower-strength stuff (70%) leaves more residue.

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   Used in this stepIsopropyl alcohol 90%Unscented baby wipesGlossy ceramic tile work surface

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2. 2

   Step 2: Condition the Clay Until It Passes the Bend Test

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   Conditioning means working the clay until it's evenly soft and pliable. Knead it in your hands, or run it through a pasta machine on the thickest setting and fold it back on itself a few times. Body heat plus pressure is what does the work.

   Check progress with the bend test: roll the clay into a thin sheet, fold it in half, and look at the crease. If the fold cracks, the clay isn't conditioned yet - keep working it. A clean fold with no cracking means you're ready to start sculpting.

   Tip:

   Fully conditioned clay also holds detail and won't crack when you sculpt thin pieces. Under-conditioned clay is the number one reason beginner pieces break.

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   Used in this stepSculpey Premo polymer clay samplerPasta machine for polymer clay (Marcato Atlas 150)Acrylic clay roller

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3. 3

   Step 3: Warm Hard or Crumbly Clay Before Working It

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   Polymer clay that's been sitting on the shelf comes out firm. Cernit and Pardo in particular need warmth before they'll cooperate. Cut the block into thin slices first - that way the warmth from your hands or the room reaches the center of each piece, not just the outside.

   You can also sit on the cut pieces (yes, really) for a few minutes, set them in a sunny spot, or bash them flat with a rolling pin to soften them by pressure. Don't try to force cold, hard clay through a pasta machine - it'll shatter into shards.

   Tip:

   Thin slices condition two to three times faster than chunks. A tissue blade makes clean cuts without distorting the block.

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   Used in this stepTissue blade for polymer clayCernit polymer clay

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4. 4

   Step 4: Add Clay Softener if Warming Alone Won't Work

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   If the clay still won't budge after warming and kneading, reach for a softener. Sculpey Clay Softener and Cernit Magic Mix are the two common products. Both work the same way - they add back the plasticizer that's evaporated out of old clay.

   One or two drops at a time. That's it. Squeeze the bottle gently and add a drop, knead it in, and check the consistency before adding more. Too much softener and the clay turns oily and sticky, and you'll have to leach it back out (next step). Err on the side of less.

   Tip:

   Both softeners are oil-based. Mineral oil from the drugstore works in a pinch too, but the dedicated products are more predictable.

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   Used in this stepSculpey Clay SoftenerCernit Magic Mix

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5. 5

   Step 5: Leach Soft or Sticky Clay With Copy Paper

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   Sometimes a fresh block comes out of the packet too soft - sticky, smeary, and impossible to keep clean. Leaching fixes it. Roll the clay flat, place the sheet between two pieces of plain copy paper, and leave it for ten or fifteen minutes. The paper absorbs the excess oil.

   Check it regularly. If you leach too long the clay goes back to crumbly. Two to five minute checks are right. Once the clay feels firm and stops sticking to your fingers, peel it off the paper and you're ready to work.

   Tip:

   If you over-leach and the clay turns brittle, add one drop of clay softener back in and knead. That brings it right back.

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   Used in this stepPlain white copy paper

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6. 6

   Step 6: Lift Lint and Dust With a Cotton Tip and Alcohol

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   Spotted a piece of lint stuck to the surface? Don't try to pick it off with your fingernail - you'll dent the clay. Dip a cotton tip in a small bowl of isopropyl alcohol, dab off the excess, and gently roll the wet tip over the lint. It transfers right onto the cotton.

   This is the last check before baking. Specks of lint that bake into the surface are almost impossible to remove cleanly afterward - you'd have to sand and re-buff the whole piece. Thirty seconds of lint-picking now saves real time later.

   Tip:

   Cotton tips with paper sticks work better than plastic ones - the plastic can leave streaks if it rubs against the clay.

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   Used in this stepCotton tips (paper stems)Small glass mixing bowl

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7. 7

   Step 7: Slice Through Air Bubbles With a Tissue Blade

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   Air bubbles trapped under the surface bake into hollow lumps. Catch them before they go in the oven. Hold the clay up to the light, find the bubbles, then run a tissue blade or craft knife across each one to release the air. Smooth the clay back down with your finger or re-roll it.

   Prevent new bubbles when you're using a pasta machine: feed the folded edge of the clay in first, not the open end. The fold pushes air up and out instead of trapping it inside.

   Tip:

   A long tissue blade slices cleaner than a craft knife on flat sheets, but the craft knife is better for popping bubbles on a sculpted piece without disturbing the form.

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   Used in this stepTissue blade for polymer clayPolymer clay craft knife

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Keep going

How to Make a Marbled Polymer Clay Dish With Gold Leaf Edge

7 steps · about 5 minutes

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