So
you might be wondering why you would want/need to do a clay test. I
know not everyone will need to do this but it is a useful thing to
know how to do.
With
most products that you might want to use with your polymer clay you
can probably find compatibility information online. But sometimes
what you want to use either hasn't been tried by enough people to
know for sure or you come up with conflicting results. So knowing how
to test for yourself is a really good idea. Especially if you are
going to sell the items you make. You don't want to sell something to
someone and have it disintegrate a couple of months later.
Before
I give a product a green light for using it I test it for at least 6
months, sometimes longer. It can take a while for some of these
reactions to happen so be patient. In the long run you will be glad
especially if you find that your clay is starting to get soft or
sticky.
To
begin roll out some scrap clay and use some TLS to adhere it to index
cards. This will give you a place to record the information you will
need later. Bake this at 235° to 250° for about 10 minutes.
Be
sure to record all the information you might want later, at the
minimum the date you did the test and the product you are testing. It
is much better to record too much information than not enough.
Now
just set the cards to side (where you will remember them) make
yourself a note of when to check them and let them do their thing. I
like to check about once a month for 6 or so months. If I see no
changes at all in that time I feel it is safe to use. If I see even
small changes starting I give it more time.
I
will do my best to report back on the 2 tests I set up in the video
over on the Facebook group.
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