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Creative Paperclay®

From Lesley Shepherd,
Your Guide to Miniatures.
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Guide Rating - rating

The Bottom Line

Creative Paperclay® is an essential medium for miniatures, dollhouses and scale buildings. This lightweight blend of pure clay and paper fibers creates strong, durable miniatures when dried and sealed with paint or sealants. It is especially useful for achieving scale textures and finishes or molding into shapes. For uniform coloring, water based paints can be kneaded in before the clay is shaped. The clay can be molded when damp, or sanded when dry to create finished surfaces. If the project doesn't achieve the results you want, just wet the clay, place it in a sealed plastic bag and allow it to re-hydrate.

Pros
  • Extremely easy to use, just like a fine real clay.
  • Water clean up,non toxic and biodegradable.
  • Can be sanded when dry, or buffed when damp dry with a sponge or cloth.
  • Useful for creating any number of lightweight textured objects.
  • Can be used for three dimensional objects as well as textures.
Cons
  • Shrinks as it dries, so cracks occur in thicker applications. Cracks are easily filled.

Description

  • Great modeling material.
  • Easy cleanup and non toxic.
  • Can be reworked until final finish is achieved
  • Can be used in thin layers
  • Lightweight and hard when dry.

Guide Review - Creative Paperclay®

Paperclay is a material just like fine clay, which shrinks slightly as it dries, allowing it to be used in molds. It releases easily from most materials and can be stamped with inks when wet, or dry. It can be used in thin sheets as texturing material for surfaces or landscaping or molded into any shape you wish.

Paperclay does not need to be baked or cured. It air dries to a dense, lightweight material which resists breaking apart. The clay is best used fresh from the bag, but it can be kept for several months in a sealed plastic bag once the package is open. Clay that has dried, can be re- hydrated for re use.

Sculpting with paper clay is just like sculpting with real clay. It is best to keep your objects fairly small, as thick objects will take a long time to dry, and the core shrinkage may distort larger objects as they dry.

Cleanup with soap and water. Paperclay is biodegradable and non toxic.

This material is very easy to work using your fingers, or simple sculpting tools. It's fine texture makes it easy to sand or work to resemble a variety of materials. It can be used on dry florist's foam, Gator Foam ® board or other surfaces, to mimic much heavier materials.

As Paperclay can be re-hydrated and kept from drying out by using damp towels and plastic wrap, the working time can be extended almost to infinity. Unlike polymer clays, which must be baked before they can be sanded, Paperclay can be sanded when dry, allowing a finished surface to be worked until it is exactly what you want. After the clay has been rehydrated it has slightly different working characteristics, so it is best to do most of your work while the clay is fresh from the bag.

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