From 28,10 € + VAT
Plus Clay 1,5Kg
Reference: 20240002
Brand: Sio-2
Natural self-hardening clay. No firing is necessary. Very clean handling. Does not smell. Once dried, it can be coloured with any type of paint or crayon.
White and Terracotta colours available.
Description
SIO-2 PLUS® is natural self-hardening clay. No firing is necessary. After drying, it achieves high hardness, strength and solidity. It is a suitable material for the development of creative skills and plastic expression. Recommended for handicrafts and professional creative arts as well as it is suitable for children.
SIO-2 PLUS® clay has a soft, pleasant and fine texture to the touch. Its clay composition gives it excellent plasticity for detailed modelling. Can also be thrown on a potter's wheel. Odorless and not staining. The rest of the clay can be easily removed from any surface with a damp cloth. The presence of natural cellulose fibers allows safe drying without cracks or fissures, even in large pieces. Once dry, the clay can be painted or varnished with any type of paint or varnish. It can be also polished, carved or drilled.
Sio-2 Plus Clay characteristics
Compared to conventional pottery clays, SIO-2 PLUS® clay does not need firing. Once dry, the piece can be painted or varnished. This clay allows creating objects with difficult drying, free of cracks and fissures.
In relation to other air-drying clays, SIO-2 PLUS® is composed of minerals and natural clays, with plasticity noticeable at touch, but especially it is recognizable by the lack of smell. Unlike other self-hardening clays on the market, SIO-2 PLUS® clay can be thrown on a potter’s wheel.
How to use it
- Very clean handling.
- Use a cutting wire to slice enough clay to work with (Picture 1).
- It is recommended to knead the clay SIO-2 PLUS® before working with it.
- If clay loses its plasticity during modelling, just slightly moisten your hands to recover it.
- The clay is easy to model, using adequate modelling tools. It can also be moulded (we recommend plaster moulds) and thrown in a potter’s wheel. Solid or very thin-walled objects can be made with optimal results.
- To get an even surface, use a wooden roller and two slats of the same height (Picture 2).
- A large wire-loop tool is used to extract large pieces of excess clay and to shape; for example, a bowl (Picture 3).
- A double-face wire-loop tool is used to remove small leftover clay and refine details (Picture 4).
- To join two pieces of clay together, previously scratch the parts to be joined with a spatula or awl (Picture 5) and with a brush moisten them with slip (clay previously mixed with water until a liquid texture is obtained). In the case of corner-shaped joints, reinforce the joint with the help of a noodle of clay along the angle and then press and smooth the joint with a spatula (Image 6).
- To join two dry pieces, use conventional glue. It is not recommended to join a dry part with a wet part, as the union would crack due to shrinkage during drying of the wet part.
- A wooden rib helps to remove small imperfections on flat surfaces (Picture 7).
- A metallic rib is used to smooth out small imperfections on curved surfaces (Picture 8).
- To smooth and polish surfaces to a very clean finish, use a damp sponge (Picture 9).
- For modelling hollow items, flexible supports can be used.
How to preserve it
- Once the package is opened, SIO-2 PLUS® clay needs to be wrapped in plastic in order to be preserved.
- As long as it contains a minimum of moisture, it can be recovered by wrapping it with damp cloths.
- During work interruptions, cover the object with a plastic or damp cloth.
► Keep the clay in a cool environment avoiding high temperatures. Do not store at temperatures below 0ºC (32 F). If clay freezes, it loses its properties.
Drying
- Once the object is finished, let it air dry.
- Maximum hardness and strength are obtained in 1 to 4 days at room temperature.
- In small pieces, drying can be accelerated using a hand dryer, projecting the heat evenly throughout the piece. In this case, the time to obtain maximum hardness and strength is reduced to minutes (Caution: do not use hand dryers in the case of medium/large sizes or flat shapes).
- Once the object has hardened completely, hardness can be further increased by ending the drying in a domestic oven between 100ºC and 110ºC (180-200ºF).
► During drying, SIO-2 PLUS® clay shrinks. The more water the clay contains, the greater its drying shrinkage. It is therefore advisable not to add any additional water to the modeling clay, otherwise cracks may appear! When modelling big size pieces or objects with a difficult drying, it is recommended, before modelling, to first leave the clay to dry for a while and then homogenize it by kneading.
► Let the piece dry on an absorbent surface (ideally wood or plaster). In case of non-absorbent surfaces (such as metal, plastic or glass), it is recommendable to place the piece over a sheet of paper to facilitate shrinkage of the clay during drying.
Finishing and Decoration
- Once dry, the object can be polished, carved or drilled.
- It can be decorated with any type of paint, pencil or marker.
- As it is not very porous, a single coat of paint is enough to achieve all the vividness of the color.
- The use of varnish is recommended to enhance the natural color of the clay. The use of varnish also ensures greater durability of the object and allows an easy cleaning.
► SIO-2 PLUS® clay is not water resistant. It is not advisable to create objects which get in contact with water (vases, flower pots, cups, etc.) even if they are protected with a waterproofing agent. In this case, we recommend using an inner plastic or glass container, so that the SIO-2 PLUS® piece is only for external decoration. In this context, please be aware of the last point in "How to use it".
