Can I paint sculpey clay with watercolors?

Question

Would concentrated watercolors stay on something made out of sculpey clay?

Answer 1

You *can* paint polymer clays (including the Sculpey brand and it's several lines) with watercolors, but the thinner watercolors especially won't stick quite as easily as the acrylic paints that are usually used.  They will probably stick best to the line called original Sculpey because it's the "toothiest"  polymer clay (but unfortuantely also the weakest after baking in any areas that aren't really thick).

And of course watercolors aren't permanent so they'd have to be sealed afterwards (generally with a clear acrylic sealer like a polyurethane, but you could also use acrylic fingernail polish, acrylic "mediums," thinned-down white glue like Elmer's GlueAll, etc.)

Generally, when polymer clays are "painted over" (rather than having their color built into the clay), acrylic paints are used (don't use "enamel" paints or sealers since they will eventually eat into the clay).  

Usually two coats are required for complete coverage (after wiping down the clay item with alcohol to remove any body oils that might be present), and "artists'" acrylic paints that often come in tubes will be thicker and have better coverage than the "craft" acrylics that come in bottles (though you can use them).

If you just want to make acrylic paint more "water-colorey," you can add water to it, or better an "acrylic medium"  specifically for thinning acrylic paints.

You could also use alcohol-based inks (Pinata, Adironack, e.g.) or oil paints or liquid polymer clay tinted with oil paints, or other things to get more of a water-colorey look on polymer clay, and you can even paint "pictures" on the clay with them.

(The one exception for painting could be the Kato Polyclay brand that's sold at Hobby Lobby or online because it has an extremely  dense surface that's slightly shiny after baking... you could sand it down a bit though with steel wool first perhaps to make it more receptive to the watercolor or paint.)

If you want to read about painting (and coloring) on polymer clay with all kinds of colorants, and even to create "paintings" on clay, check out these pages at my site:

http://glassattic.com/polymer/letters_in...

http://glassattic.com/polymer/paints.htm

And this page deals with using "finishes" and sealers on polymer clay:

http://glassattic.com/polymer/finishes.h...

HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 2

You can't paint sculpey clay with watercolors or poster paints - you'll put a lot of work into something that won't last. It will rub off. Try acrylic paints, but don't thin them out too much with water. Good luck!