I sometimes need to use tape or other supports when baking polymer clay. I normally use Scotch Magic tape or Sargent Art Dough, but wondered if there was something better.  Here are my tests on baked Cernit Number One at 300˚F for 30 minutes.

  1. white Pro Artist tape
  2. Scotch gloss finish transparent tape
  3. Scotch Magic tape
  4. Scotch packaging tape
  5. Scotch double-faced tape #665
  6. 3M drafting tape #233
  7. Zots
  8. TSSART Resin Tape
  9. double-faced foam tape
  10. 3M blue painter’s tape #2090
  11. Faber-Castell Tack-It
  12. Sargent Art Dough

Almost all of them shrank and/or left a gooey mess.  Some also discolored the clay.  The best was Faber-Castell Tack-It.  It’s clay-like and left very little residue, plus it’s reusable after baking.  Scotch Magic tape worked well, too.

Then I tested another batch.  Of these, the Hippie Crafters Epoxy tape was the best, but still left adhesive.

13. Hippie Crafters Epoxy tape – left adhesive and color but easy to clean off.  This seems the same as the TSSART Resin Tape I previously tested.

14. The Museum Putty – adhesive was unchanged and reusable, but it left a crackle pattern in the clay.

15. Ace Hardware white tape #324551. Shrunk, stained clay and left a gooey mess.

16. PolyKen #557 duct tape. Shrunk, stained clay and left a gooey mess.

17. 3M duct tape.  Shrunk, stained clay and left a gooey mess.

18. Duck EZTear packaging tape.  Shrunk, stained clay and left a gooey mess.

19. 3M #893 strapping tape.  Didn’t shrink, but stained clay and left a gooey mess.

20. Dupont Tyvek tape.  Really shrunk, stained clay and left a gooey mess.

21. Shurtape Hold Strong.  Didn’t shrink, but left a gooey mess.

Last test with two heat-resistant tapes.  Neither stained, neither shrunk.  The clear one did come unstuck a bit on the ends.  Both left sticky residue and color that was easy to clean off with alcohol.  

 22. Cricut heat-resistant tape

23.  Zonon clear heat-resistant tape 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the best tape was Scotch Magic tape.  The best reusable adhesive putty was Faber-Castell Tack-It.

There were problems with all the rest, such as color staining, shrinking tape, tape coming off, clay crackling and really gooey adhesive residue. The results may be better at a lower temperature.

If you need wider tape, those made for high heat work fairly well, though they all left adhesive residue that can be easily cleaned off with alcohol.  They work better for short periods of time when using an iron or heat press, which is what they’re designed for. The brand names I tested: TSSART resin tape, Hippie Crafters Epoxy tape, Cricut heat-resistant tape and Zonon clear heat-resistant tape.  They seem to be the same product made in different colors and sold under different brand names.