Glass Kiln for Polymer Clay

[MonaRisa Beads]

Hi!
DO you know if I can use my kiln to fire polymer clay?
Alejandra

[rusticstudio]

No, no, no, no, no!!!
Polymer clay cures at 275˚F. Use your home oven or a toaster oven.

If you are talking about metal clay, then yes, you can use your glass kiln.

[Cosmo]

Yep. You can use your kiln to bake polymer clay. Just be sure you have an accurate controller. But, the temperature is so low, if you don't want to use your oven, you can pick up a cheap toaster oven and bake them in that.

[Studio D]

You can usually get a decent toaster oven at most thrift stores. Use an oven thermometer as the temperatures have a tendency to spike when you least expect them.

Deb

[sassy]

Definitely go with a toaster oven. I bought an electric oven just for polymer when I first started working with it. Paid $79. I found out it is nothing more than a toaster oven. I could have gotten the same thing for $25.

[MikeAurelius]

I did it, ONCE. A friend wanted me to fire her PMC, but didn't tell me she used polymer clay to hold a couple of things in place.

What an effing mess - black shit flying around, flames in the kiln. Not good. Took forever to clean up the studio.

[rusticstudio]

Besides the mess, burning polymer clay makes toxic fumes. Just like any burning plastic. It's just too hard to keep a kiln at that low of a temperature.

[MonaRisa Beads]

Thanks for the info.... I'll go ahead and get a toaster instead. I was just trying to see if I could get by w/o buying more stuff..... The basement is getting a little messy!
Alejandra

[rusticstudio]

You can safely bake polymer clay in your home oven so there's really no need to buy a toaster oven. Unless you are going to bake clay every day, all day long, there is no need to be concerned about using it for food, too.

[Cosmo]

I will add that if you have a gas stove, I would highly recommend getting something besides that to bake them with. I have heard that gas stoves discolor the clay.

[rusticstudio]

I will add that if you have a gas stove, I would highly recommend getting something besides that to bake them with. I have heard that gas stoves discolor the clay.
That's not necessarily true. Some of the lighter clays tend to brown no matter what oven you use, such as Sculpy white or ivory. This can be avoided by using a foil tent over the clay while baking.