Polymer Clay: Faux Abalone, Faux Stone, Etc.

[pierredekat]

Well, I've been researching the idea of introducing abalone or mother-of-pearl into some of my pipe designs, and then I started snooping around for a source of imitation abalone.

But then I stumbled into this whole other realm called polymer clay, and I just knew that I had to point it out to the rest of you.

They call it "clay", but it's a PVC plastic-based clay, rather than a silica based clay. And you "fire" it in your oven in the 265 to 275 °F range, essentially the temperature range you might bake a cake at.

But you're making a piece of PVC plastic that can be shaped however you want, "fired", and then worked like any other piece of plastic.

And the color/visual possibilities are infinite. (See below.)

But check this out. I find out how to make faux abalone, and one of the tools they're using to make it is a "pasta machine".

So you color/layer/poke/prod your polymer clay however you want, roll it out into a sheet with a pasta machine.

Now my idea: while you have it in sheet form, you use a miniature cookie cutter to cut little disks, "fire" those disks, and, well, there you have it, not much left to do to make a decorative ring.

So now, how's this: signature rings.

No way in the world any of us would formulate and roll-out our polymer clay exactly the same, so they could become something of a signature of sorts.

Just so you all know, imitation abalone is mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine, MINE!

Google search for "polymer clay"

Google image search for "polymer clay"

Images from "Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay"

-----

-----

-----

[KurtHuhn]

That's really cool, Robert! I had no idea that clay of that kind could be so adaptable. My kids just make these little figurines out of it. I suppose, given the right dab of imagination, you could do damn near anything with that stuff.

[pierredekat]

That's what I'm thinking. And heck, sounds to me like this could be a project for the whole family. That's just too cool.

[Frank]

Really informative article on how to make the faux abalone.

My kids just make these little figurines out of it.

An artsy friend of ours makes little fairy figurines from the stuff which we sell in "THE BOSS's" gift store. I have been toying around with using the metallic, I might give that a try soon.

[TreverT]

I've already spent some time working & experimenting with polymer clay. Unfortunately, I found it to be mostly a dead end for pipe use. It's too soft, even fired, to buff to a shine (it just melts and deforms unless you're VERY careful) and it isn't tough enough to make a stem from. FWIW, you should look into acrylic casting if you're interested in this stuff - I get much better results actually pouring, blending, and mixing my own acrylic colors.

[pierredekat]

I've already spent some time working & experimenting with polymer clay. Unfortunately, I found it to be mostly a dead end for pipe use. It's too soft, even fired, to buff to a shine (it just melts and deforms unless you're VERY careful) and it isn't tough enough to make a stem from. FWIW, you should look into acrylic casting if you're interested in this stuff - I get much better results actually pouring, blending, and mixing my own acrylic colors.

I think you're probably right. I ran some experiments with it Friday and Saturday, and unfortunately, my samples didn't turn out as hard as I would have expected.

And I would expect them to be problematic, once you get into the buffing stage.

But now you've launched me into the whole new realm of acrylic casting.

[Frank]

But now you've launched me into the whole new realm of acrylic casting.

Resin casting is great fun. I used to make entire Lewis chess sets from the stuff.

As I mentioned in another thread, I also cast faux amber with it. I even have bug inclusions from tiny little dead bugs found in the garden. People are convinced it's real amber. I'm still trying to figure out how to get black widows to die without curling their legs in.

The possibilities for stem variations are almost limitless if you do your own casting.

[pierredekat]

So far, I have only found reasonable sources of polyester resin and epoxy resin. Delvie's Plastics, for instance, has clear polyester resin, opaque resin pigments, and transparent resin dyes.

I'm pretty sure the polyester would work for decorative stuff, don't you think?

[Frank]

I'm pretty sure the polyester would work for decorative stuff, don't you think?

I'm pretty sure the resin I use is polyester. I've never had problems using the castings on sword and knife handles. It drills, grinds and sands way better than acrylic or ABS. It doesn't produce sticky "swarf", just fine dust, so wear a mask. I suspect it's one of the contributing factors to my fooked up lungs.

It might be more brittle than acrylic, but I can't say for sure. You may have to give it your "hammer test" side by side with acrylic.

Note: I've never tried heating and bending it, so that is an area still open to experimentation.

[pierredekat]

Sounds good, Frank.

Yeah, I have been searching for acrylic casting resin, and I have a hunch it may not be available to the home hobbyist here in the US, as the only source I found was a European company. Maybe there's some sort of chemical released as it cures that the EPA frowns on.

But polyester resin is used in fiberglass lamination and repair, and since there are about 10,000 large companies and little one-man-operations working with fiberglass, the government has probably been reluctant to go after it, I'm guessing.

[TreverT]

Some quick tips:

Be sure what you are using is food-safe. It should say. That qualifies it to be used for bowls, kitchen utensils, etc, so you'll know it's non-toxic.

Cast acrylic is much more brittle than the rods and bars commonly available. You won't get a thin bit out of it - it needs to be left thicker at the bit to guard against bite-though.

It smells viler than you can imagine during pouring and curing. Work outdoors if at all possible, and wear a fume-rated respirator!