Steel Clay: A Peek into my Playtime with a new (to me) Metal Clay

by Staci Louise Smith

I have been playing in metal clay for almost 13 years now.  I just dabble really.  I started out using PMC and have moved to copper and bronze clay with the rise of silver prices (and the size of my pieces growing each year!)

I found that when I started PMC there was a world of books and tutorials and information on the clay- how to use it and fire it.

However, when the base metal clays began to take stage, there was barely anything out there on them.  I think because there are so many, and some of them, like bronze, can be finicky, there is just no sure fire way to get it right each time (pun intended!)  Firing bronze takes some real trial and error to figure out how to properly fire your pieces.

(one of my bronze moons below)

In the process, I have tried white copper clay, because I wanted a silver substitute.  I didn't like it.  It tarnishes a bit like silver plate pieces do, and I didn't like the look of that (sort of a brown tarnish).

So I finally took the plunge and bought some steel clay.  I have been checking into Hadar Jacobson's steel clay on and off for years, but it always was a deal breaker for me, because it said it was brittle after being fired.  To me, steel should be strong, and I want my metal clays coming out of the kiln with all the qualities of the metals they are. 

http://www.cooltools.us/Hadar-s-Clay-Quick-Fire-Steel-XT-50-gram-p/stl-011.htm

Well, I checked recently to see what is new in the steel clay world, and found she made low shrinkage XT steel clay now, and it says its sturdy enough to stand on its own as a base.  So I bought some- back in August.  I was hoping to have some NEW steel pieces to sell at Beadfest, and jumped right into making a batch.  However, when I went to fire it in my kiln, I realized it fires WAY higher then bronze and my kiln wouldn't go that high.

(Steel clay low shrinkage XT fires around 1700-1750 degrees F).

So, after Beadfest I invested in a new kiln for myself.  Not only can it do steel clay, but it can also do ceramic.  (I bought ceramic clay as well, I can't wait to play with that!)  

Last week I finally hooked up the new kiln, made some more steel clay components, and tried out my new ceramic firing vessel at the same time! 

I must say, I LOVE how they turned out.  

Now, I know that steel rusts.  So, I wasn't sure how quickly this would rust, or how much I would have to seal it to prevent it from rusting.  

Well, let me tell you, it rusts pretty fast!

After tumbling the steel, I took it out and set it on a paper plate and paper towel to dry out a bit.  I didn't get in to sand and polish it right away.  By the time I got in here, about an hour later, it was already rusting.  It didn't rust much on the pieces, but the water that was draining off was rusty.  You can see here on the plate the rust that was left.

So I put them back into the water in hopes they would stop rusting.  I pulled each one out as I was ready to sand and polish it and dried it off really good.

Then I used a fine sanding pad to buff the high spots

.

Then I used a polish cloth to shine it up a bit

then they looked like these

After that I used Clear Guard to seal them.  I left two unsealed, and lightly sprayed them with water.  After a couple days, they look like this.  There is some slight rust in the unsanded recessed areas.

 I need to put another coat of sealer on the others before I test them.  Once I have sealed them a few times, I want to spray them, and put some in water, and see how it holds up to rust.  

In the meantime, here are my thoughts so far on the Low Shrinkage Steel XT:

1.  It is easy to mix and work with.

2.  It fires in one stage at full ramp, so that is a perk for me

3.  It does require a kiln that fires up to 1750 F

4.  It must be fired in carbon

5.  I really like the antique look of the metal once cleaned up and can see it fitting in with my work

6.  My only hesitation about it is rust.  So, I will work on making sure I find a way to create with it and not have it change over time.  (I will do a follow up on the post once I experiment some more)

For more information on Hadar's clays and how to fire them, check here

http://www.cooltools.us/v/vspfiles/assets/images/hadars_clay_instructions1.pdf

Stay tuned for a follow up post about how the steel clay holds up once sealed!