Working with polymer clay can be a relaxing and enjoyable experience, but if your clay is continually sticking to your work surface, rolling pin, moulds or even your own fingers then it can be a frustrating mess.
If your crafting experienced is being ruined by sticky polymer clay there are a number of things you can try:
- Harden the clay by putting it into the freezer for 5-10 minutes, or by leaching out excess oils by pressing the clay between two sheets of paper.
- Use the correct surface when working with the clay – in general, any surface that’s shinny will usually mean clay won’t stick to it.
- Use baking paper or plain office paper on top of the clay when rolling it.
- Apply a mould release solution, such as corn flour, to the mould before putting your clay inside it.
That’s a brief overview, but below I delve deep into how to handle sticky polymer clay, including tried and tested tips from my own experience.
What Surface Can I Roll Polymer Clay Onto Without It Sticking?
Avoid the frustration of polymer clay sticking to your rolling surface by trying the following surfaces:
- Ceramic tile – A large glazed ceramic tile is one of the best materials to roll out polymer clay onto. The best part is you can pop the tile in the oven and bake your model on it. It’s inexpensive and easy to clean.
- Glass cutting board – This is something you might have in your kitchen anyway and offers a super-smooth, stick-free surface for rolling clay. Some glass cutting board have a slightly textured surface, if this is the case, simply turn the board over and use the underside which is usually smooth.
- Laminate countertop or tabletop – If your kitchen work surfaces or table has a laminate finish, this is ideal for preparing your clay and the clay won’t stick to it. The only downside of using these surfaces is it’s not as easy to move your model out of the way if your part-way through and someone wants to cook or eat their lunch!
- A plastic place mat – If you have kids, then you may already have one of these in your kitchen. They’re super cheap, super mobile and a great surface for working with clay on.
- Melamine tray – Again, you might already have one of these in your kitchen. Melamine trays are the super-smooth, shinny trays used for serving food. They come in all shapes and sizes but a large rectangular one should give you all the room you need for rolling your clay. This pretty tray below is by Emma Ball and would be a beautiful addition to your crafting accessories collection.
Whatever you use, be sure to remove the clay with a long blade to gently release it from the surface.
It’s best to avoid the following surfaces as clay will either stick to the surface, or parts of the surface will stick to the clay!
- Wood – I tried rolling out a piece of polymer clay on our wooden table and not only did it get stuck to it, but even areas of the table that looked smooth contained lots of little grooves that imprinted on the clay.
- Cutting mats – If you do a lot of crafting then you may already have a cutting mat (they’re usually green and have lots of measurements marked out on them). Don’t use your cutting mat for a polymer clay work surface! I tried this and found that lots of tiny pieces of green from the surface of the mat got stuck to the clay.
- A plate – I rolled my very first piece of polymer clay out on a ceramic dinner plate and it didn’t work! There’s just not enough room to use a rolling pin with a plate so the result was a very uneven, half-rolled piece of clay! However, the clay didn’t stick to the surface, so if you have a small rolling pin this might work!
How Do You Stop Polymer Clay From Sticking To A rolling Pin?
Pop a piece of paper over the clay (just plain office paper will do) before you roll the clay out. This will stop the clay from sticking to the rolling pin.
Another option is to use a sheet of baking paper (also known as greaseproof paper) and use your rolling pin on top of this. You could try plastic wrap as well, but this can be a bit more difficult to work with as it can stick together and create ridges in the surface of the polymer clay.
If your clay is really sticky and difficult to roll then try dusting some corn flour (also known as cornstarch) over it to stiffen it up.
How Do You Stop Polymer Clay From Sticking To A Mould?
Moulds are the perfect way to create teeny miniatures without having to make every detail by hand. The problem is that the polymer clay can often stick to the mould, leaving you with a smushy, distorted model.
There are simple ways to stop your polymer clay from sticking to your moulds.
The tips below are to try with clay that’s removed from a mould before being baked:
- Use a soft and sticky clay that’s been well conditioned, this will go in and out of the moulds much easier than if it’s too stiff.
- Thoroughly clean the mould with a baby wipe or water on a lint-free cloth or piece of kitchen paper. To be totally sure, you could gently press some unwanted scrap clay into the mould and any bits of dirt will stick to the clay.
- Apply a mould release solution to the surface of the clay before pressing it into the mould. A simple solution is applying water or cornflour. If you use cornflour, you can just brush or gently wash this off once you’ve removed your polymer clay from the mould.
- Once the clay is in the mould, gently peel the clay back from the mould by slightly bending the mould backwards. Then, when the clay is reasonably lose, put the back of the clay on a glass surface and it should stick to this, making it easier for it to come out of the mould.
- If you can’t get the clay out of the mould then pop it in the freezer for around 5-10 minutes before trying to get it out again. This will make the clay harder.
If you’re baking your polymer clay in a mould, then go for a silicone mould (just check it’s oven safe) as silicone is naturally non-stick so it should be easy to get the clay out. Moulds made from other materials will need a layer of mould release such as water or cornflour applying to the surface of the mould before you put your clay in.
What Can I Do If Polymer Clay Is Too Sticky To Work With?
The more you work with polymer clay, the stickier it gets, so if you find you can no longer create the designs you want as your clay is just too sticky, the easiest way to fix this is to pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
Some brands of clay are more prone to stickiness than others. Sculpty III is notorious for being very soft and Fimo Soft is also much stickier than other brands.
If you are struggling with sticky clay, then you can remove some of the oils from the clay by leaching it.
All you do is roll out the clay and sandwich it between two sheets of plain white paper and then place the paper between two tiles or glass chopping boards. The tiles or chopping boards will help gently press down on the clay and won’t be stained by any oils or plasticisers that are leached from the clay.
Just leave the clay in place for 24 hours and you’ll find that when you remove it, it’ll be much stiffer and easier to work with.
If you have a pasta machine, you can speed up the process of leaching polymer clay. Just sandwich a piece of clay between two white sheets of paper and run it through the pasta machine.
This forces the excess oils out of the clay. Start on the thickest setting and tighten the machine each time you run the clay through.
Further Questions
How To Stop Polymer Clay Sticking To Cutters
If you’re using cutters then make sure the clay you’re using is cool and also that the environment you’re working in is cool. Warm clay can easily stick to cutters, so cool it off with a few minutes in the freezer. You can even freeze the cutters for a few minutes too, this will make sure everything you’re using it as cool as possible.
Place the clay on a cool work surface, such as glass or a ceramic tile, this will ensure that the clay sticks slightly to the tile, rather than being pulled away with your cutters.
Another tip to try is to dip the cutter into water before using it to cut out your clay, as it’s harder for clay to stick to the cutter when it’s wet.
How To Keep Polymer Clay From Sticking To Your Fingers
Wearing gloves is the simplest way to stop clay from slicking to your fingers. If you model with polymer clay regularly then this will also help protect your hands from wear and tear.
Choose blue Nitrile gloves for the best feel and choose a size that fits you exactly to avoid wrinkling the clay. Another advantage of wearing gloves it that they eliminate finger prints in your clay.