Finishing CopprClay
June 30, 2009 by Cyndi Lavin
Filed under Metal Clay, Technique Tuesday, Tutorials & Techniques, Wearable Art
Technique Tuesday!
These three pictures show the process of taking CopprClay from raw to finished. It can take several days for the clay to dry out, or you can hasten the process by warming it in your oven at about 200 F. Even after allowing my pieces to sit out and dry naturally for a few days, I still took this added precaution to ensure they were all completely dry.
Cyndi,
How long do you keep it in the oven at 200?
I assume it varies with the size of the piece. Can you give a general guideline? Are there any concerns (other than too much heat) with using the oven that you wouldn’t worry about when air-drying?
Paul
Yes, it depends upon the thickness, but I found 15 to 20 minutes to be plenty when the pieces had already dried out overnight. Some folks stick the wet pieces directly into the oven, but I haven’t done this, so I don’t know how long it would take to do it that way. You want to make sure that the center is completely dried out too, and not just the surface, so it seems safer to me to let them sit awhile.
It’s really pretty forgiving stuff! I think the best plan, at least for me is to make sure I’m not rushed so that I can let them thoroughly dry.