The answer to this may be in the archives, but I've not found it.  I'm hoping for some insight from those more experienced.

My first usage was PMC3, since that was the instructor's background.  When I asked her what the difference was, whether she had used both - she responded that she started with PMC and wasn't interested in trying any other brand.  Me being the ever-curious cat, decided to by a 2nd package of PMC3 and Art Clay 650 slow dry.  I made a few small pieces with the leftover PMC that I felt were moderately successful.  I decided to try the Art Clay and withing seconds of opening the package my frustration began.  I tried to roll out a small piece and it immediately looked like alligator skin - I added a bit of moisture and it didn't seem to help.  Things just went from bad to worse so I turned the whole piece to paste.  I had a piece of metal that I liked the texture of and painted layers of the paste onto it, letting it dry overnite. Because of shrinkage, it popped right off but the underside was all pockmarked and not at all salvageable.  I did manage to get a small piece of clay turned into something, but noticed that after drying it was pretty pockmarked and took much effort with sanding and sometimes scraping to get to a point I'm willing to fire it.   HELP.... does this sound like a bad batch of Art Clay 650 or is PMC3 really better???  The whole point of purchasing 'slow dry' seemed worthless.

The only factor I can think of is the weather was low humidity, but I did not have the clay exposed for more that a few seconds when I started having problems.  Even had a baggy with a damp paper towel to no avail.

Any suggestions - comments much appreciated!

 Helen
 

 Hello Helen! I'm sorry the first ACS experience was lousy.

First, let me say that Rings & Things sells ACS so our experience is stilted in that direction.

People I know who have worked with both tell me that the current versions of both products are very similar. I've not seen the type of severe problems you describe. I've watched our ACS guru, Kurt Madison, work with it many times.  Feel free to ask his opinion of your problem at the metal clay section of our bulletin board at R&T BBS  The various metal clay forums run by PMC and ACS also have this kind of info and both encourage new questions like yours.

Our  board has some FAQ's  addressing the questions about the differences between the 2 competing metal clays from Japan. The various metal clay forums run by PMC and ACS also have this kind of info and both encourage new questions like yours.

Hi Helen~

I'm an ACS instructor and have used both products. I think you may have a bad batch -- slow dry usually doesn't start to dry in seconds. I recently got some clay that did exactly what you're describing. It is frustrating.

If it ever happens again, get some Cling Wrap (or Saran Wrap), put the piece on the plastic, add a drop of water, completely cover the clay, and wait about 10 minutes. That usually puts enough moisture in to keep it from turning into alligator skin.  The good news, of course, is that you were able to at least turn it into paste!

Sorry you had such a lousy first experience. There are good and bad points to both PMC and Art Clay, and it's good to be able to use both types.

Good luck, and let us know what happens in future experiments. 

 THANK YOU, Russ and Trysch for your replies.  I had a ziploc bag with a very damp paper towel ready prior to opening the ACS package. After taking a small portion out to roll, I put the unused portion in the bag because it was such a low humidity day.  The unused portion has now been in the bag for over 24 hrs and I'm going to see if that has made any difference later today.  The piece I tried to make using the painted on slip from the clay got crushed up and turned back into slip - haven't tried to use it again.

I'm hoping it was just a bad batch and if the rest isn't any better after 'soaking' in the baggy I plan to contact the supplier to see what they have to say.

Russ - I visited your BB and found much useful info on all kinds of things I yearn to learn! 

Thanks again!!!

Helen 

 Glad you found our bulletin board useful, Helen. Internet forums like these and the one at Rings & Things can be a wealth of information. Crafters are often very sharing people so the forums can be a strong mutual aid support system for newbies and old timers alike.

I had a similiar experience...but I used pmc3 exclusively. I think the problem arises when you try to manipulate ac as you would pmc. I have found that for a piece where I am going to use a mold ac is excellent..every minute detail shows up. If I am going to rolling the clay, creating handformed shapes I stick to pmc.

I am sure both offer the same possibilities...I have seen work created with art clay that is amazing..hand-formed.

I find I wok better with pmc3 ...although I thin ac is a little less expensive, so I may try it in the future.

rgems

 Interesting comment, rgems, about ACS for mold pushed items and PMC for rolled and handformed items. Thanks for sharing it!

Interested in this forum, as i've just started using PMC3 and never used Art Clay. 

Does anybody have any articles that I can look up, and read about art clay.  I found this article on PMC3 http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-PMC-3-(Precious-Metal-Clay-3)&id=855046, which I found helpful, but can't find anything similar on art clay. 

 Any ideas ?

AdamH:

Does anybody have any articles that I can look up, and read about art clay?

 This article from Art Clay World may be helpful, though obviously not unbiased.

Also Art Clay World's FAQs, and I see their Tips & Techniques are actually quite extensive.

Hope that helps!