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Polymer Clay Storage

The Best Way to Store Polymer Clays

What is the best way to store polymer clay? I have baggies all over the place!

Thanks

Tina

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Polymer clay contains no water so does not need to be kept in airtight containers to avoid evaporation. It is kept pliable by phthalate ester plasticizers which bake away in the curing process.

Polymer clay will even begin hardening when exposed to minimal heat over a long period. Finally you want to protect the clay from dust which would settle in and change the color and consistency over time.

Therefore cover your clay and store in a cool dark place. More on storage materials later.

The only tip on the Sculpey package is not to place uncured Sculpey on fine furniture. This is because the pthalate esters leach onto many surfaces the clay comes in contact with. And the uncured clay will actually bond with similar materials.

Uncured polymer clay will bond with uncured clay of another color or with a cured piece. It will bond with saran wrap and some other plastics.

It seems to do well for at least a year in plastic baggies. I�ve found the best storage material to be waxed paper.

The clay remains pliable well beyond a year and the only sign of (minimal) leaching is a little tint of color on the waxed paper � not enough to dull the color of your work.

Metal or glass would probably allow the least leaching, but storage would take a lot of space. I form my leftover Sculpey into bricks and wrap in waxed paper.

Then I file them in a shallow drawer in my craft room. It�s dark, it�s cool and it keeps dust away.

You could also store the bricks in shoeboxes � not the clear plastic ones you buy � just the plain old cardboard kind. I like using the drawer because I can �file� the bricks by color and instantly find what I need.

Here are more Home Cured Modeling Clay Articles.

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