Polyclay:to:polyclay

Q: I want to add some clay to a prebaked polyclay tube bead. Is there a trick to attaching raw polyclay to baked polyclay? I've tried alcohol coat, lite oil coat. Nothing works well. Workable suggestions gratefully accepted!

A: PVC cement? I don't know any particular brandnames, but the hardware store sells tins of the stuff for dealing with PVC pipe. Fimo, at least, is polyvinylchoride (PVC) polymer. And when all else fails, epoxy. You should use a little bit of glue. I don't remember the brand name that is recommended for using with polymer clay. Just remember that it is 'nasty' smelling. You may want to post this question to rec.crafts.polymer-clay. At Embellishments in Austin at a polyclay classes I learned: Sobo glue is a PVC formula, as in polyclay. Rub film of Sobo on unfired clay, let it dry, and attach to fired polyclay. It will bond in firing. Also, some artists rub unfired clay against the surface of fired clay to deposit plasticizer, then add raw clay. This helps raw clay stick to fired clay. When all else fails, fire additions on previously fired clay, pop apart, and glue together with with part Epoxy or super glue. The only way I know is to bake them first, then glue them. Use E6000 aka GOOP. The nastiest smelling, best bonding stuff ever!!! Keep the windows open.

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