Shades of Clay

We use the finest quality Kato Polyclay™. Why Kato?

Conditioning - Kato Polyclay is easy to condition and does not crumble

Handling - Kato Polyclay will not become sticky and will maintain ease of handling even after continuous kneading and working

Strength - In the testing stages, every respondent found Kato Polyclay as strong or stronger than the other clays tested. Every colour shares the same strength

Colour Stability - From uncured to cured state, no Kato Polyclay colour shifts more than ½ shade; the majority of colours remain unchanged.

Consistency - All colours share the same consistency and softness. This promotes even cane reduction, less distorted imagery and less waste at cane ends.

Colour Mixing - Kato Polyclay makes colour mixing easy even for the most inexperienced user. The spectral colours are evenly placed on the colour wheel allowing for a user friendly and intuitive method of colour mixing. This calibrated feature of Kato Polyclay is very important because unless the parent hues are pure the child hues will be slightly neutralized, or less bright. For ideas on colour mixing, click here

Colours - Colours have been formulated for maximum purity and brilliance

Finish - Kato Polyclay exhibits a satin sheen once cured

Density - Kato Polyclay is the only polymer clay which is vacuum extruded as part of the manufacturing process. This creates a denser clay and eliminates the need for continuous folding and rolling to remove air pockets. Vacuum extrusion also reduces or eliminates plaquing.

Warm Repositioning - Kato Polyclay is not as fragile as other polymer clay brands when warm. This allows for a measure of repositioning; the clay will retain its new position without breaking.

Tony Aquino, formulator of Kato Polyclay, has found in his studies that Kato Polyclay can be cured at temperatures exceeding the 275 degrees recommended on the package instructions. Kato Polyclay may be cured up to 325 degrees F with no loss of colour stability. Clay cured at this temperature is more rigid, with no loss of durability and the surface is harder. When clay is cured at 325 F, curing time should be reduced by half. If you have mixed Kato Polyclay with another brand, the clay should be cured at the lower temperature in order to prevent colour shift of the other brand of clay.

Tips to condition Kato PolyClay
1. Cut clay into slices and place on your work tile
2. Use an acrylic roller (briefly) to compress and soften the clay (this begins the conditioning process and lessens crumbling)
3. Run the clay through your pasta machine on the thickest setting. Fold clay over and repeat, folded side entering the rollers first.
4. Change to the third thickest setting and repeat. Continue until conditioned.
Your clay should now be soft, supple and ready to go. Uneven edges are normal