Things You'll Need:
- Metal skewers
- Stick-free baking spray
- Baking sheet
- Tin foil or parchment paper
- Drywall sandpaper
- Medium and light grade sandpaper
- Future floor polish
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Step 1
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Polymer clay beads need to be hardened all the way through, and baking them slowly surrounded by low heat is the method recommended by polymer clay manufacturers.
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Step 2
Cover your baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. This step is only necessary if you use your baking sheet for purposes other than to bake your polymer clay beads. Polymer clay has certain toxic properties and should not be baked directly on a baking sheet that you use for food.
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Step 3
Place the polymer clay beads on the baking sheet. If you've already made holes in your beads, you may wish to insert a skewer through the beads to keep the holes open during the baking process. This is not always necessary, but if the walls of your clay beads are thin, baking them with a skewer will help. Chunky beads, like faux turquoise and pillows, have layers of clay inside the bead and should be skewered before baking. Spray your skewer with Pam or some other stick-free baking spray before you insert them into the clay beads. This will help you remove the skewers after the beads are baked.
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Step 4
Bake thick polymer clay beads, like faux turquoise, pillows and chunky rounds, for 40 minutes. Thinner cabochons and flat beads will take less time to harden all the way through. An average of 20 to 30 minutes in a warm 275 degree F oven will work to harden these types of beads.
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Step 5
Remove the tray from the oven and let the beads cool before you touch them. To uncover the spider veins in faux turquoise beads, sand the outer layer of clay with drywall sandpaper. The flat weave of drywall paper helps to avoid deep scratches in your bead. Once your beads looks like faux turquoise, sand them with medium and then light-grade sandpaper to remove the scratches and to leave a smooth surface. Coat any kind of polymer clay bead with Future floor polish to seal, protect and add shine. Add your baked polymer clay beads to your custom designed necklaces, bracelets and key chains.
