Conditioning/re-softening Translucent polymer clay would be the same as any for other color though it will be more fiddly and time-consuming than doing it for a color because any streaks or crumbs of color would affect the Translucent a lot more and more easily. ++ See "formulas" for mixing gray/browns, tans, or any colors, on this page of my polymer clay site: (>Recipes & Combos >Individual Colors, then scroll down to the "browns") Or I'd probably just mix my own color anyway. I'd try for a fresher Premo Rhino Gray, or perhaps a similar color in Cernit or in Fimo Professional/Classic or Kato Polyclay, or perhaps Fimo Soft though FS never behaves quite right to me. You don't say how you'd be using your clay though, the size and shape of the item/s you'd be making, whether you want to just "sculpt" then paint all over the clay after baking or not, etc, etc, so hard to know which disadvantages might be acceptable to you. SS, SS-Medium, and SS-Firm (as well as original plain Sculpey) are also considered "bulk" polymer clays so will be cheaper by volume than the regular 2 oz bars of colored polymer clay. However, Super Sculpey-Firm will be much better although it will be firmer. (original plain Sculpey is worse, and Craftsmart/Bakeshop and Sculpey III will be about the same). Plain original Super Sculpey (translucent-flesh colored) and Super Sculpey-Medium to some extent, will be more brittle after baking in any thin or projecting areas as well as not being able to hold finer detail than most other brands/lines of polymer clay and will darken more easily, etc. Personally, I'd just return it and tell them the reason (there shouldn't be a problem, but if so ask to speak to a supervisor and if necessary take a printout of this comment with you, or take/show the relevant parts of my Conditioning page which will discuss that -or the info should be anywhere "hard polymer clay" is being talked about by people who know much about polymer clay: ).Īs for buying Super Sculpey, be aware that there are 3 different versions of it now and they're different in their characteristics. Polymer clay can "advance" over time though which can make it a bit firmer, and ingredients can eventually move to the bottom which is one reason all polymer clays need conditioning before use, and it can firm up from being in contact with anything porous including waxed paper, and finally will firm up when no longer exposed to warmth/friction or after long periods of heavy air exposure BUT those things aren't the same as being polymerized/hardened from too much heat or UV, and are pretty easily reversible.)ītw, Premo (in all colors) should be a medium firmness compared to other brands if it's been handled/stored correctly, but you're also right in that Translucent in any brand will be softer than other "colors" of that brand (because no pigment has been added to it).Įven polymer clays that have gotten partly cured can be resoftened, but whether you'd want to go to the (big) hassle and length of time required to do that would be another question. (Air-exposure has nothing to do with polymer clay curing since polymer clay requires a sufficient amount of heat or UV light to harden because it's oil-based rather than water-based like air-dry clays so there's no water in it to "dry" out). If they're all like that, buy other brands of that general color, or buy other colors of the same brand then mix your own "gray" at home (see below++) or any color you're wanting from those. If there's really no give at all, try another bar of the same color. If that's the issue, you should definitely return that bar and get a refund or a new bar in exchange.īut in the future, always squeeze bars of polymer clay from the sides before buying. (That's different from being a "bad batch" though since that would assume the problem happened at the factory during manufacture, and generally it happens after that.) That will make any polymer clay harder although some brands/lines are naturally firmer than others (the higher-quality ones are usually firmer from the start), all the way up to completely polymerized/cured. I agree that you probably just got some polymer clay that has been exposed to "too much" heat or UV light at some point after it left the factory (e.g., in storage rooms, in trucks/transit, on the shelves, etc.). at the end for dealing with Translucent in particular). (oops, read your question as asking about hard Rhino Gray, so see the P.S.
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