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Frequently Asked Questions Newplast Q. I use silicones for mould-making and these can react with sulphur in modelling materials. Does Newplast contain sulphur? A. Newplast does not contain sulphur and is perfectly suitable for use with silicones in mould-making. Q. I have quite an old bar of Newplast and it has dried out and hardened. Is there anything I can do to soften it? A. Newplast does not contain water so it is non-drying and non-setting. It should remain pliable and workable for several years after manufacture. However, nothing lasts forever and Newplast does become a little harder and more brittle with age, particularly if it has been exposed to cold conditions during storage. In the earlier stages, it can be re-softened with gentle heat, e.g. with the fingers or in a container in warm water. We have heard that five seconds in a microwave can work, though we have not tried this ourselves and you do so at your own risk. Working a little linseed oil or petroleum jelly into the Newplast can also be effective. If these measures fail, the Newplast is past salvage and should be replaced by purchasing fresh material from your favourite stockist. Q. Can Newplast be hardened and/or made to set? A. No, this is not possible with Newplast. Newclay (an air-drying modelling clay) or Uro (a heat-curing polymer clay) are recommended as alternatives to Newplast in applications where a permanent finish is required. Newclay Q. My Newclay models keep cracking during drying. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? A. Newclay is one of the lowest shrinkage clays available, but some shrinking (an average of around 10% should be allowed for) is inevitable on drying. In most cases, unrestricted drying of the model should not result in significant cracking; any slight surface cracking can easily be repaired using a little Newclay. More serious cracking is usually caused by strains in the drying model arising from rigid parts of the structure, e.g. wire armature or mounting board. In this case, try constructing a wire frame in such a way as to allow flexibility during drying or allow the model to dry first before attaching the base. Try to dry Newclay models slowly and try to repair minor cracks immediately to prevent them from becoming major imperfections at a later stage. Q. My Newclay models keep falling apart during/after drying. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? A. Newclay is one of the lowest shrinkage clays available, but some shrinking (an average of around 10% should be allowed for) is inevitable on drying. Models falling apart is almost always associated with joins in the clay. As the model dries and shrinks slightly, the joined surfaces pull apart and dry independently, losing adhesion with inevitable consequences. When joining pieces of Newclay, try to ‘weld’ the surfaces together as far as possible. In that way, the model dries effectively in one piece and should remain intact. Q. How long does Newclay take to air dry? A. Precise drying times are difficult to predict as they depend on the size and shape of the model as well as on room temperature and humidity. A model should be surface dry overnight. The interior make takes several days, or even weeks, to dry completely if the model is very large. While drying can be accelerated in a warm room or even a warm oven, we do not recommend this as it increases the risk of cracking. Q. Can Newclay be kiln fired? A. As well as being designed to be air drying, Newclay can be kiln fired very effectively and with great results. Indeed, the nylon fibre burns off during firing, which results in a slightly porous texture with reduced risk of exploding in the kiln. All conventional firing and glazing techniques can be used. Q. Can Newclay models be painted? What type of paints should I use? A. Dried or fired Newclay models can be painted with great results. We recommend the used of good quality acrylic paints. Newclay Products also manufacture Gloss and Satin finishes for Newclay. Newclay Hardeners (H1 and H2) Q. Which Hardener (H1 or H2) should I use? A. The two versions of Newclay Hardener are used and act in different ways and you should use the one that gives you the results you require. Hardener H1 is painted onto the model during or after drying and gives a case-hardening effect. Hardener H2 is mixed into the Newclay and gives a all-through hardening effect. (If using Hardener H2 please note that the hardening process begins immediately and cannot be reversed, stopped or slowed.) Q. How many coats of Hardener H1 should I use? A. Up to three or four coats may be required to give the desired surface hardness. It is unlikely that extra coats will result in additional hardening. Q. Do Newclay Hardeners (H1 and H2) work with other types of modelling clay? A. Newclay Hardeners (H1 and H2) have been formulated specifically for use with Newclay. They may work with other types of modelling clay, but the results are neither predictable nor guaranteed. We recommend you purchase Newclay for your modelling projects or experiment with the hardeners on unimportant pieces before using them on valuable models. Miscellaneous Q. Where can I buy Newclay’s products in my local area? A. As we manufacture in bulk and supply primarily to wholesalers and distributors we are, unfortunately, not able to maintain a list of local stockists. If your local arts and crafts shops do not stock our products, they should be able to get them for you and in so doing will realise that the demand is there to keep them in stock in future. Alternatively, a Google search on ‘Newclay’ or ‘Newplast’ will give you plenty of web-based and other outlets offering a mail-order service. Q. Why don’t you put prices on your web site? A. Our standard trade price lists are available on request to bona fide trade, educational and industrial organisations. We are not able to sell direct to consumers and we do not currently offer a retail service, therefore we do not put prices on our web site. We believe our trade customers are in the best position to determine retail prices in their locality. Q. I want to pay by credit card but I can’t. When are you going to join the 21st Century? A. Unfortunately, being in the 21st Century is expensive, in more ways than one, particularly regarding the costs involved in offering card payment facilities. As we are primarily a business-to-business operation, the vast majority of our customers do not require card payment facilities and to provide them for the rest is prohibitively expensive unless the extra costs are passed on to customers. We believe customers prefer to keep our costs (and prices) as low as possible consistent with the high quality of our products to maintain good value for money. However, we are keeping this under constant review. |
