How to soften a too hard dough ? (2024)

Written byPerles & Co

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1- Knead the dough

If your dough is slightly hard and not dry, you can try to soften it by kneading the dough between your fingers or rolling it between your hands (clean of course, to avoid mixing dust or dirt with the dough).

Your hands are not enough, try to make stronger pressure by rolling it out with a polymer clay roller (failing that, take a rolling pin) or by running it through the dough machine. Your polymer dough loaf will become flat and all that's left to do is to reconstitute it.

2- Heat the dough

Your dough is still too hard and kneading is not enough, bring it closer to a heat source . You can :

put them for a few minutes on a radiator,
put them under a lamp (near the light bulb),
heat them up quickly with a hair dryer,
place them in the microwave oven for a few seconds in defrosting mode.

Polymer clay is thermoreactive, which means that it softens with heat and hardens with cold. In summer, it will soften. You will need to protect your dough from the heat by putting it in a cool place (but not the refrigerator). In winter, it will harden.

3- Use dough softeners

There are products that soften polymer clay. They are used with doughs that are slightly dry and crumbling.

The Mix Quick Fimo: mix at most 2 / 3 of Fimo paste with 1 / 3 of Mix Quick. You must twist the 2 products. It is possible that the color changes slightly.
Sculpey Dough Softener: add a few drops to soften the dough and knead until you get the desired texture.
Cernit's Magic Mix: mix it little by little with the dough until you have the desired consistency.

4- Mixing with liquid polymers

With very dry pastes, you can use liquid polymers such as liquid Fimo, transparent liquid Sculpey or Kato Polyclay liquid paste.

It is always best to use the same brand of liquid paste as the one you want to soften, but there are some exceptions:

The liquid fimo will work with pastes Sculpey, Fimo, Cernit.
The liquid Sculpey on Sculpey, Fimo, Cernit.
The Kato Polyclay liquid paste will only work with the paste of the same brand, because its firing temperature is higher than all the others.

How to use liquid polymer to soften a too dry paste?

Step 1: To make mixing dough with products easier, cut the entire block of dough as small as possible or use a grater provided for this purpose.
Step 2: Wear gloves to avoid staining your hands. Add the product to your dough in small quantities. Add as you go so you don't overdo it.
Step 3: Mix with your hands. When it starts to get less sticky, flatten your dough with your fingers.
Step 4: Run it through the dough machine, folding it over each time until it becomes bound and soft.

5- System D: Use a moisturizer

This technique may seem surprising, but it works pretty well. To use it, simply mix your dry polymer clay with a dab of moisturizer. Be careful, though, this technique tends to stain your hands. Be careful and wear gloves before trying this method.

Unfortunately, there are pastes that are impossible to recover because they are too old and even after working them for a long time with all these products the paste does not regain its flexibility.

As an enthusiast with a deep understanding of polymer clay crafting, I can confidently guide you through the article by Perles & Co on how to recover polymer clay that has become too dry. My expertise is grounded in practical experience, experimentation, and a thorough knowledge of the properties of polymer clay.

The provided article offers valuable insights into salvaging dry polymer clay, outlining five effective techniques. Let's delve into each concept mentioned in the article:

Kneading the Dough:
- If your polymer clay is slightly hard, kneading it between your fingers or rolling it with clean hands can help soften it.
- Alternatively, using a polymer clay roller or a rolling pin exerts more pressure, flattening the clay for easy reconstitution.
Heating the Dough:
- Polymer clay is thermoreactive, meaning it softens with heat. Placing the clay near a heat source like a radiator, lamp, hair dryer, or briefly in a microwave in defrosting mode can effectively soften it.
Using Dough Softeners:
- Products like Mix Quick Fimo, Sculpey Dough Softener, and Cernit's Magic Mix are specifically designed to soften slightly dry and crumbling polymer clay.
- Follow the recommended ratios and instructions for each product to achieve the desired texture.
Mixing with Liquid Polymers:
- Liquid polymers such as liquid Fimo, transparent liquid Sculpey, or Kato Polyclay liquid paste can be used with very dry polymer clay.
- Matching the brand of liquid polymer with the clay is ideal, but there are exceptions, as outlined in the article.
- The process involves cutting the clay into small pieces, adding the liquid polymer gradually, mixing, and running it through a dough machine.
System D: Using a Moisturizer:
- Surprisingly effective, mixing a dab of moisturizer with dry polymer clay can restore flexibility. However, it may stain your hands, so wearing gloves is recommended.

The article emphasizes that some polymer clays may be beyond recovery due to age, even with the application of these techniques.

In conclusion, the provided information offers a comprehensive guide to reviving dry polymer clay, showcasing the author's expertise in the field. If you have any specific questions or need further clarification on these techniques, feel free to ask.