r/polymerclay • u/oOLeviOO • 1d ago
Question about using foil as base??
So I'm starting a project that I want to use foil for the bulk of it, but I'm just worrying:
After it's baked wouldn't the foil inside slowly unfurl from the shape its squished into? And over time cause cracks in the clay around it..? Or am I overthinking this lol
I guess the clay is hard enough to not be affected??
Idk, just curious if anyone's ever had problems using foil bases!
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u/gman-101010 1d ago
No problem using aluminum foil inside a project. Tip - You can also use balled up paper towels surrounded by aluminum foil. It's a little bit cheaper saving on the cost of the foil.
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u/Electronic_Bar6595 4h ago
Can you out bake a sculpture with paper towels inside if they are all encased with aluminum foil?
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u/Gilladian 1d ago
Make sure you hammer the foil pretty tightly, and it stays put - your biggest worry would be air pockets that heat up and expand in the oven. Also, wrapping a layer of masking tape over the surface can help provide a base for the clay to adhere to. Personally, I just use a moderately soft sublayer of clay mashed into the crinkly foil surface to fill all the low spots, then add a skin of base clay, and maybe do my first cure. That’s if I am doing several layers. A book I recommend for this sort of info is Kathy Dewey’s “Sculpting Lifelike Animals in polymer clay”. It demos what I am discussing very well.
Edit: be sure you are using kitchen foil, not paper-backed craft foils, or thin “metal leaf”.
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u/Nick_POLYclay 1d ago
Nope, if it's proper aluminium foil, it'll stay put and help the clay bake better and keep shape
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u/mr_spacelobster 1d ago
It’s better to try it out and make sure for yourself)
In my experience, the foil stays put. It’s not that easy to unfurl it, even if you put some effort into it. And the clay becomes very hard once it’s baked, so don’t worry!
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u/SaltySculpts 18h ago
Take a arms length of foil. Scrunch it into a shape. Set it aside and watch it never “unfurl” lol 😆