I was going to title today’s post, wild wednesday (to stay with my naming theme this week). The day has started out kind of wild. My 13 year old came down at 5:45am to tell me he thinks he has strep throat. Yikes! So, after getting the little one off to school, calling the older one in sick, making a doctor appointment, answering emails, etc., I decided today’s post was going to be about FIMO gel versus Kato medium clear.
Let me start by saying that I don’t claim to be an expert on either product. I do get lots of questions on the subject and I’m always willing to share what I’ve learned.
Someone asked about FIMO gel yellowing over time. I checked around and there was a comment on www.glassattic.com (which is a great resource btw) that said the FIMO gel may yellow over time. I have some samples sitting around that I made at the beginning of this year that are still perfectly clear. I think that it’s still too new of a product to know what will happen years down the road. I guess I really should date the back of the pieces that I used it on for reference.
Most of the things I’ve read said not to use a heat gun on the FIMO gel. I do it all the time. You just have to be really careful to not get the heat gun too close and to keep it moving. It only takes a few seconds. The FIMO gel comes out of the oven fairly clear to begin with, so it really doesn’t take much heat to completely clear it up.
Another thing that comes up often is in regards to the clearness or transparency of FIMO gel versus Kato medium clear. I don’t think one is better than the other on this issue. They both come out crystal clear. The Kato medium clear does take a lot more heat than the FIMO gel to become crystal clear.
I’ve found that I like to use each of them for different types of projects based on their different properties.
For use in the bezel cups (shown above) and in this tutorial, I prefer FIMO gel. I prefer the FIMO for this type of project mainly due to the fact that it cures at a much lower temperature. You can use the Kato medium clear, but you would need to do several thin layers and clear up each layer with the heat gun. It’s harder to get very thick layers of the Kato to be crystal clear without burning it.
If I’m covering the entire surface of something (like the tiles shown above) I prefer to use Kato because of the hardness of it. The FIMO has a more rubbery feel to it, which I like for some things and not for others.
On the bead shown above I used FIMO gel over pinata inks to create the palm trees. I like the FIMO for this type of project because the FIMO is thicker and doesn’t run as much as the Kato. It’s perfect for building a little dimension and pretty much comes out of the oven perfect.
For making flat pendants like the one above, I prefer to use Kato medium clear because it can be easily trimmed around the edges if it runs over. The FIMO does not cut well.
I would love to hear your comments, observations, etc. regarding the use FIMO gel and/or Kato medium clear.
I really have to say YES!! I agree! LOL!!
Both are wonderful for certain things… but like you have stated both are so new.. and we (pc artist) haven’t spent much time playing around to see what exactly the limits are… this far I have to say that I haven’t found too many.
I for one just LOVE the clear mediums! Love adding fun things to them and creating the “glass” look…. I have a few items in the works now… pressed leaves, glitter, use it as a finish, create layers and layers of Water for mermaids! LOL!! (what I am working on now! LOL!) Dried flowers, embossing powders, pastles, mix with clay to create a “paint” …. Man, I have just had a blast with it!! LOL!
oh, and have you seen JRB’s “lampwork” with liquid clay? Now that is way too cool!
Let’s just keep playing and see what we can do! :0)
Tina – you just reminded me of something else I wanted to mention…even though it’s turning into a novel already. LOL!
Oil paint, inks, mica powders, etc. mix in with both of them quite well.
Yep, let’s keep playing!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It is a really helpful post. I bought D.Kato’s new book and going to try some techniques that require liquid clay. So I can use Fimo gel for it. (Here we have only Fimo products in our craft stores)Thank you again.
Enkhene – You are welcome! Most of the techniques that require liquid clay in Donna Kato’s new book are for image transfers. I really haven’t taken the time to tackle image transfers with both products yet. If you find the FIMO gel doesn’t get you the results you want, I’m sure there are some online companies that sell Kato products that will ship internationally.
I came up with the same conclusions regarding these two gels. Like you I often heat fimo gel with th embossing heat gun and like you it isn’t a problem. Not long ago I had a light problem with Kato gel I had spread over fimo. After a few weeks, The kato gel crackled and became white in those crackles. Like if the dilatation coefficient wasn’t the same for the clay and the liquid clay… I never encountered this problem with the fimo gel. On the other hand, fimo gel does’nt like beeing buffed after sanding with a buffer wheel. It peels off.
As you do, I use both for different applications.
Thanks for wrinting an article on such subjects.
Hi Maniguette! Thanks for sharing your experiences with the liquid clays. The crackling could make for an interesting effect.
Great article Chris! I have to agree and have found many of the same things you mentioned. Such as being able to trim the Kato Liquid, the heat factors and consistencies. Thanks so much!