Drying

Metal clay – Art Clay Silver – Silver clay – Copper clay – Bronze clay drying

When your design is ready then it must be dried properly. Drying can be done in the following ways, among others.

1. With a Fohn. To do this, make a box or box with holes so that the heat is retained. The disadvantage is the wind that results. The fragile clay parts are often lightweight and can blow away.
2. With an electric hot plate. Advantage is that it can also be used for the Keum boo technique Disadvantage is that it can get very hot
3. With a food dryer or herb dryer. The advantage is that a lot can be dried at once; the disadvantage is that it takes up a lot of space.
4. On a rack at room temperature
5. In a regular oven at a low temperature.

Our favorite!

Electric hot plate for a coffee pot (Douwe Egberts)

• Can stand on the work table so you have it nice and close at hand and you can see what’s happening. It doesn’t spin and it doesn’t blow.
• Because the center part of the plate is lower than the edge, a ring stick with clay ring on it can lie to dry without the clay ring touching the plate
• Standard perfect drying temperature for metal clay
• Cheap to purchase, for example, at a thrift store.

Note!

If the design is not dry properly then it may spatter during heating. To make sure the workpiece is properly dry, you can do the mirror test. Place the hot workpiece on a mirror for a few moments. If no condensation is visible on the mirror when you lift the workpiece, it is properly dry.