In this blog I used:
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Soft Kitchen Sponge
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Household Paint Brush
How to Keep Clay from Drying Out on a Head Armature
What causes polymer clays to crack when sculpting baby heads? Some people call it “drying out” but what really happens is the plasticizer in the clay over time will leave the clay causing it to become brittle and crack. The plasticizer is what keeps the clay soft like water keeps earth clay soft. That is why you should endeavor to complete a sculpt within 2 weeks and bake it. Once properly baked, the clay will not crack but will become very durable.
There are things you can do to slow down the “drying out” process that the unbaked clay goes through. One of the easiest things to do is to seal your armature. Some companies use aluminum foil to cover their armature. But that can be difficult to sculpt over sometimes. With the Secrist form you can apply a simple heat set sealer that will give you extended work time with your clay. One thing you can do to slow down the “drying out” process is to seal your head armature with Authentic Reborn Sealer. By using a sealer you can extend your sculpting time beyond the 2 week limit. Here is a simple procedure to seal your sculpting form.
Step 1.
These are the items that you will need: Authentic Reborn Sealer, Secrist sculpting form, craft stick, soft kitchen sponge, and a household paint brush.
Step 2.
Using the craft stick scoop out some Authentic Reborn Sealer and spread it out over the form.
Step 3.
Use a sponge to spread the Authentic Reborn sealer more evenly over the entire surface of the head armature. Then use a standard paint brush to even out any blobs or lines of sealer still showing on the armature.
Step 4.
Here is what the sealed form should look like when coated properly. Brush stroke lines in the sealer are fine. You want to avoid leaving any large blobs or thick streaks on the vinyl. Now heat set the Authentic Reborn Sealer for 8 minutes at 265 degrees Fahrenheit or 130 Celsius.
