FIMO clay help?

I tried searching and reading through all the old posts here about FIMO clay and baking the clay on a doll sculpt. I saw some very cute aliens and repairs but not the information I was looking for.

I normally work with air dry paints and need a little reassurance about how long I can bake for at 265F without melting the test head. I’m not done sculpting yet but I’m trying to get my ducks in a row before I attempt any sort of bake.

The packaging says to bake for 15-30 mins per 1/4 inch and I’m nervous about putting her head in the oven for any longer than 4-5 minutes. I even considered ‘baking’ with a heat gun instead. I’ll need to test that out on some scrap clay first though.

So, has anyone baked a bountiful baby head with FIMO clay for 15 minutes? Did they melt? Thank you for reading!


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I would do no more than 8 minutes at a time, allowing the head to cool in between. The heat set paints I use cure when heated for 8 minutes at 265, so I know it can handle at least that!

Another option would be, like you said, to heat just the sculpted portion with the heat gun. But it may be tough to track the temperature and get an even cure doing it that way

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Thank you!! That reassures me a ton, I knew heat set paint artists would have more insight about what the vinyl can handle.

I think 8 minutes would be plenty of time to cure on some very thin pieces, I will have to do some experimenting. Thank you so much!

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Of course!! Beautiful sculpting, by the way.

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Thank you! :revolving_hearts:

What temp does fimo need?

265 Fahrenheit to cure

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I would do it like Sydney suggested.

I’ve only used sculpey. I do 8 mins at a time. Maybe 9.

I think 15 straight is too much for the vinyl at one time.

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I have heated new heatset paints on the market for 9 mins at 270 and varnish for 12 mins at 270. So I know vinyl can take that. All this is in my NuWave.
I don’t care for heat guns for actual curing because if you get it too close the vinyl goes shiny and the surface can start melting.

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That’s so cool. I want to try adding clay to one of my vinyl kits but don’t have the nerve yet.

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Thank you I think what Sydney suggested is a great place to start!

@anjsmiles thank you!! I feel much safer now trying this out, I appreciate it a lot