7
votes
Accepted
Can anybody identify this clay?
This is non-hardening plasteline, also known as plastecine.
For the record, although it is labeled as children’s modeling clay, I do not trust it to be non-toxic. Having worked with exactly this ...
7
votes
How can I stop my air drying clay from losing its shape as it dries?
You could use a support armature to hold up your sculpture while it dries.
I notice, in your photo, there is something that looks pink icing. That might be how that artist hid where the armature was ...
7
votes
Accepted
Can I reuse sculpting clay that is very old?
You can rehydrate even bone dry clay. There are many videos online for how to do this. A good one is Rehydrating Hard Clay the Even Easier Way.
There are several methods, but an easy one involves ...
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a way to cast solid ceramics?
What you want to do is to make paper clay. Basically, you shred toilet paper (cheaper the better) in warm water and use a paint mixer on your drill to make it into pulp. Then add the slip and beat ...
6
votes
Fixing cracks in air-dried clay?
My experience so far is that cheaper air-drying clays tend to shrink more than quality clays while drying. Many types of clay list the expected shrinkage on the package. If there is no information ...

Elmy♦
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5
votes
Accepted
Is there a name for sand-clay mixture?
The clay-sand mixture used in casting is known as green sand, foundry sand, or molding sand.
Green sand is an aggregate of sand, bentonite clay, pulverized coal and water. Its principal use is in ...
4
votes
I made a facial prosthetic out of air-dry clay, how would I attach it?
Spirit gum is the classic adhesive for makeup work. This time of year you can get it wherever Halloween costumes are sold. The rest of the time, amazon probably carries it.
As for improving your ...
3
votes
Crayola Air-Dry Clay Disintegrating Over the Years
I have some suggestions, since I stopped using air dry clay for similar reasons to yours.
Paper clay, or even plaster embedded in cloth, is fun! These will need armatures since they drape and harden. ...
3
votes
Accepted
Alternative to Shapecrete - moldable concrete that is workable like clay
This question is premised on a particular cement product that could be handled like clay but appeared to dry looking like poured concrete. It turns out that is not the case. So the "simplest&...
3
votes
Are there tell-tale signs that clay will crack when fired?
There are no tell-tale signs that a piece will crack, but there are definitely certain things that can lead to a piece cracking when fired.
Significant variation in thickness from the thickest to ...
3
votes
Are there tell-tale signs that clay will crack when fired?
Yes. Look out for "veins" in the clay as it is altered and manipulated from its original resting state.
Veins might also look like threads or mini cracks.
3
votes
Accepted
Can Dollar Store Tool Bench Hardware Wire be baked in oven?
According to this post, the black and red coloured wires are insulated with plastic:
2 coils at 33 feet wire red plastic insulation
2 coils at 33 feet wire black plastic insulation
Unless you find ...
3
votes
I made a facial prosthetic out of air-dry clay, how would I attach it?
That material is not likely to survive very long. Normally you would make the piece out of latex or silicone, because those materials are resilient. However, I can recommend that you use rubber cement....
2
votes
Why are my China clay objects breaking during drying?
China clay is or kaolin is not structurally strong enough just on its own and needs to be mixed with other materials to form a more robust material that will survive the pre-firing drying period. ...
2
votes
Accepted
Too much vinegar in clay - how to get back plasticity
try the following approach:
Start by kneading the clay vigorously on a clean surface. After kneading for a while, repeatedly cut and compress the clay to further distribute the moisture.
If you have ...
2
votes
How do I remove modelling clay from my parts and silicone mold?
Sculpey is not good for this, it is also expensive.
first you want a clay that stays soft, a simple bulk oil-based non-hardening clay tends to work. I prefer softness #4 but there is a lot of ...
2
votes
Air dry clay sculpture falling apart over time
Fine structures like the fingers of a hand are always problematic, no matter how cheap or good the clay is.
The general recommendation is to build an inner structure (like a skelleton) from a more ...

Elmy♦
- 12.6k
2
votes
Is there a kind of clay or similar material I can easily mold to use as a stand/holder for electronic equipment?
Probably the most available materials are cardboard and paper. Cardboard is easy to cut into shapes like a laptop stand. If you want maximum stability, cut cross-sections of the stand out of many ...

Elmy♦
- 12.6k
2
votes
Accepted
Crayola Air-Dry Clay Disintegrating Over the Years
Crayola Air Dry Clay Composition
Crayola Air Dry Clay is a proprietary formulation and Crayola is very secretive about the composition. They say it is a natural earth clay. From the MSDS, it's clear ...
2
votes
Can I add more clay to an object for reinforcement?
Disclaimer: I have very little practical experience with clay.
It will probably be easier and more practical to remove the current bottom entirely and replace it with an undamaged one.
The main reason ...

Elmy♦
- 12.6k
1
vote
Is there a kind of clay or similar material I can easily mold to use as a stand/holder for electronic equipment?
One option is to use Sugru which is a mouldable glue and heat resistant to 180C (356F).
From wikipedia: Sugru (/ˈsuːɡruː/), also known as Formerol, is a patented multi-purpose, non-slumping brand of ...
1
vote
Is there a kind of clay or similar material I can easily mold to use as a stand/holder for electronic equipment?
Seeing your examples, I've got another idea. There is an air-dry clay called "cold porcelain" because the finished material looks somewhat like porcelain but it doesn't have to be fired in a ...

Elmy♦
- 12.6k
1
vote
Is there a kind of clay or similar material I can easily mold to use as a stand/holder for electronic equipment?
There are endless materials you could potentially use. I'll assume you want to make both stands out of the same material (correct me if I'm wrong). The $20 limit eliminates a few moldable materials. ...
1
vote
Can Dollar Store Tool Bench Hardware Wire be baked in oven?
If you are making an armature , a good hardware store will have several sizes of bare copper wire . Mostly larger diameters like 12 gauge up to 000 ( guessing 0.312")
1
vote
What are some non-cracking air dry clay brands?
I don't know about different brands of clay, but cracks often occur when the clay dries too fast. If you keep your project in a mostly airtight container (I use an upsidedown bucket) it should dry ...
1
vote
Fixing cracks in air-dried clay?
Try using Sakura air dry clay, from Japan. It's a paper clay, if that suits your purpose.
It is light weight and dries crispy, like very hard but light card. It is very strong.
What I like is that ...
1
vote
Fixing cracks in air-dried clay?
I let it dry covered with a plastic bag to increase the drying time.
That is probably one of the best choices.
I will tell you a short story, even though it is from a totally different context.
A ...
1
vote
Complex plaster molds for ceramics
Let's go through this step by step.
For your plaster outer portion (mold), I recommend at least 8 pieces (2 pieces if it is single-use and you can break it up, in which case make sure to use a soft ...
1
vote
Accepted
Complex plaster molds for ceramics
It looks like you could blow up a ballon to get the shape of the interior. Then glue hex shaped objects to the surface of the ballon in the pattern of the holes. Then build a wire framework over the ...
1
vote
Ceramics and shellac
With the first coat you should dissolve the crushed shellac flakes in denatured alcohol with a bit more shellac than usual, and stir in an emulsion of premixed marble dust, a touch of linseed oil and ...
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