Goldie Bronze™ Powder Clay - Hard

Goldie Bronze - Hard

Goldie Bronze is bronze of a beautiful golden color, very hard after firing, comes in three types of powder - HARD, MID and SOFT. SOFT is very soft and is ideal for working with stamps and textures, and to capture fine details. MID is 50% hard and 50% soft, designed to give a combination of maximum strength and picking up on fine details. HARD creates a somewhat stiffer clay to work with, and yields the maximum strength - it is ideal for bangles, ring bands, and decorative objects.

Goldie Bronze is an environmentally friendly product. It contains approximately 90% copper and 10% tin. The binders are organic and non-toxic.

Goldie Bronze shrinks by about 8%-11% on firing, depending on the shape and the size of the piece. Dried clay can be ground up to a powder and reconstituted. Goldie Bronze™ is simple and economical to use.

This clay comes in dry powder form. The dry powder can be kept for years. Mix only the amount you need so you always have fresh clay with the perfect texture. You'll have longer working time and a more workable product when the clay is mixed fresh as you need it.

TO MIX

• First, stir the powdered clay well in its original container, to ensure it is properly mixed, and then put the desired amount of powder into a smaller container.
• Add about a dozen drops of water or spray in a little water and mix with a knife or spoon, adding more water as required, until you get a clay of a plasticine like consistency.
• Roll the lump clay out thinly and fold over. Roll again, rolling away from the fold. Repeat this action several times. This is very important to ensure that all the air is removed from the clay and to get a smooth consistency before using. Insert into a plastic bag or container and wait for 30 minutes.

TO USE

• To join elements in Goldie Bronze™ clay mix a little powder with water to make a paste. Elements can also be joined with the water only method in the same way as silver clay.
• Pieces can be dried naturally or by using heat, e.g. on a hotplate or in a dehydrator. Dry at 90°C (195°F) or lower. Higher temperatures may cause cracking, and the creation of steam bubbles.
• Remember to always clean your tools well between using different types of metal clay to avoid cross contamination. The above comment does not apply to metals from the Goldie Metal™ line, because you can mix them together with Mokume Gane, or other techniques.

TO FIRE

• Ensure the clay is completely dry before firing. Any moisture will boil and ruin the piece.
• Lay the pieces in a stainless steel firing container on a layer of activated coconut shell carbon with a minimum depth 1cm (1/2”) under the pieces. Make sure the pieces are at least 1cm (1/2”) apart. Place the open container into a cold kiln and fire at full ramp to 350°C (670°F) and hold for 30 minutes.
• You can use a steel net during the first stage, so the air access during the binder firing is better, so the first stage can be reduced to 20 minutes. The practice has proven this to be a more secure method, the whole binder might burn up if we put the element in the coal too deep. During the first stage, for safety reasons, you should wait for the elements to cool down, and then gently put the fired elements in a container with activated coconut shell carbon.
• Carefully remove the container from the kiln and place on a heatproof surface. Fill the container with a layer of activated coconut shell carbon with a minimum depth 1cm (1/2”) over the pieces. Cover with a stainless steel lid and place back into the kiln. Full ramp to 820°C (1510°F) and hold for 40 minute. In case of large elements, the time should be properly extended to 1 hour.
• Fired pieces can be removed from the kiln hot or cold.