How Do You Condition Clay and Why Is It Important? It is important to condition all polymer clay before you work with it to ensure the consistency of the clay will be ready to start creating! Conditioning polymer clay includes working the clay until it is soft and pliable and has the same consistency throughout. A conditioned piece of clay is more elastic, smoother and easy to stick to itself, which can make your project successful. Proper conditioning can also improve your end results by making your finished pieces stronger and less susceptible to damage. Some types of clay arrive soft and smooth right out of the packaging. With these clays, you may be tempted to get to work without conditioning, but even these new pieces of clay can benefit from mild conditioning to improve their smoothness and pliability. To condition your clay, you can knead it repeatedly by hand, use a clay roller like our Sculpey Tools™ Acrylic Clay Roller or use a clay machine that does the bulk of the work for you. Why use a polymer clay conditioning machine instead of conditioning by hand? When you condition clay with the help of a machine, you can combine ingredients evenly and remove trapped air. Benefits of Using a Clay Conditioning Machine Using a Sculpey® Clay Conditioning Machine allows you to condition your clay quickly, and it is much gentler on your hands than manually kneading stiff clay. This machine features a handle with a comfortable grip, which is especially helpful if you've got a lot of clay to condition. When you turn the handle of your clay conditioning machine, it compresses and rolls the clay through, mixes any ingredients and releases any trapped air from your clay. The clay becomes more pliable, smoother and less likely to crack when folded. Clay conditioning machines also let you create sheets of clay with a uniform thickness, which is ideal for multiple craft projects, including jewelry-making and creating holiday and home decor. Our Sculpey Tools™ Clay Conditioning Machine offers nine different thickness settings, so you can create flat sheets of various thicknesses to use with cutters, create color blends or add textures. Whatever your project, the Sculpey Tools™ Clay Conditioning Machine will efficiently condition your clay, simplify the crafting process and let you get to the fun part faster. How Do You Clean a Sculpey Tools™ Clay Conditioning Machine? As polymer clay goes through the machine's rollers, it can get stuck against the blades underneath. Over time, a layer of this stuck clay can build up on the machine's blades. Always clean your machine before starting a project and avoid putting any clay with inclusions through the Sculpey Tools™ Clay Conditioning Machine. Inclusions such as glitter may get trapped in the machine or even scratch your rollers. It's best to use playing cards and an acrylic roller or acrylic spacers instead. To clean your polymer clay conditioning machine: Turn the Sculpey Tools™ Clay Conditioning Machine upside down. Use a wooden skewer or toothpick to carefully remove clay buildup from the machine's two bottom sides where the blades and rollers meet. Always be gentle with the blades and refrain from using metal, as it will scratch the rollers. Use a wet wipe to make sure you've removed all residue from the blades. Turn the Sculpey Tools™ Clay Conditioning Machine the right way up. Use a wet wipe to clean the rollers while simultaneously turning the machine's handle. Wipe the outside of the machine and tray regularly to keep your clay conditioning machine in top shape
