Hi Jamie,
I use mineral oil to restore delft clay. Go slowly, add only a
teaspoon at a time until you reach the right ‘feel’. Good luck.
Peace,
Carole
I do pottery and we occasionally need to deal with clay that’s dried
out.
I put the clay in a fresh plastic bag that doesn’t have any extra
tears or holes in it.
I punch some holes in the clay (if I can) and fill them with water.
Plus, I put some additional water into the bag.
Let the clay sit for a few days, then start to work the moisture
throughout the clay by kneading the clay.
Kneading the clay over a canvas-topped table will suck out any
excess moisture.
Any decent clay book (or online tutorial) will show the correct way
to knead the clay.
Hope that helps!
Hi Jamie,
I was going to contact you off list about this, but thought that
maybe there are like minded people on the list that like to
experiment on occasion.
My current experiment is using Hydrocal and baby oil, I haven’t
devoted enough time to it, so thought I would let people play with
the idea.
Where does this come from(?), you may well ask. If you mix fine sand
with motor oil you will have a casting medium that is okay if not a
little smoky and flame ridden (it can be entertaining).
Any way I digress, the point of the above two examples is that you
are using a fine sand or plaster with a binder, the binder being an
oil.
To refresh the dry delft clay, will take a little effort, you
basically need to coat the clay particles with an oil Petrobond II is
the current flavour of the month in the backyard casting groups.
However petrobond can be a little expensive, so I would suggest that
you try unscented baby oil on a small quantity.
Just enough so that the mixture clumps.
Regards Charles A.