Curing To Perfection

Perfect Curing / Strengthening

You’ve finished your sculpture and now it’s ready to cure. Curing is strengthening. The longer you cure the stronger the finished piece. 28 days curing in the presence of moisture as described below will give you the strongest piece possible. A cure time of 5 days in the presence of moisture will still provide 80% of the possible strength after 28 days if your piece is not needed to be as robust as possible. We always cure for the full month where possible - we like our pieces to be STRONG.

Click here to download a summary of in a PDF.

Single Day Pieces.

If your plan is to make a small piece - that you can finish in one day then you can mix, sculpt and begin the curing/strengthening on the same day.

Day One:

Pal Tiya Premium contains cement, which has crystals that grows thicker in the presence of water. Curing grips and fills in all the spaces within the clay.

Sculpt your perfectly mixed Pal Tiya Premium.

Wrap in plastic so the water does not evaporate away.

Day Two (Next Day):

Open the plastic (the Pal Tiya Premium will be the consistency of balsa wood)

Wrap your sculpture in wet towels, rags or anything to act a reservoir of moisture.

Re-wrap your sculpture in plastic. Keeping it wrapped up to 28 days to get the full strength. Make sure to re wet the towels to keep them moist.

On Day Two of curing/strengthening: Pal Tiya Premium will be the consistency of BALSA which can be cut and carved.
On Day Four: Pal Tiya Premium will be the consistency of OAK which can be carved with effort.
From Day Five onwards: Pal Tiya Premium will be the consistency of STONE and you will need power tools if you wish to carve into this.

Alternatively
If on day 1 you know you have finished your sculpture then wrap just in plastic and the next day (day 2) you can simply submerge fully in cold water. Leave it there for 5 days +, then once dried to a light grey color, it can be painted/go outdoors.

Multi-Day Pieces

If you plan a larger piece or a piece of any size that you will be taking days or weeks to work on - you should use the following curing and strengthening method.

Day One:

Apply PTP to foil base. Use an old fork to create the SCRATCH COAT. Make sure edges are forked too, so new batches can be added easily.

Wrap in plastic so the water does not evaporate away.

Day Two:

Apply some of the detail coat, sculpt what you can. Wrap previous days work in moist towels now - NOT todays work as it is too soft.

Re-wrap in plastic.

On Day Two of curing/strengthening: Pal Tiya Premium will be the consistency of BALSA which can be cut and carved.

Day Three onwards:

Unwrap your piece from its plastic.

Mix, apply and sculpt the areas you want to work on that day.

Wrap the sculpted areas from the days before in moist towels.

Do not wrap the sculpted work from this day as it is too soft and new crystals can dissolve in too much water.

Re-wrap in plastic and repeat until you have finished your sculpture and then leave wrapped until you have reached you desired strength of cure.

On Day Four: Pal Tiya Premium will be the consistency of OAK which can be carved with effort.
From Day Five onwards: Pal Tiya Premium will be the consistency of STONE and you will need power tools if you wish to carve into this.

How Long To Cure/Strengthen Pal Tiya Premium?

The crystals in Pal Tiya Premium grow stronger the longer they are in the presence of water.
Keep your sculptures wrapped with damp towels as long as possible for the greatest possible strength

More Detailed Curing/Strengthening Guidance

You’ve finished your sculpture and now it’s ready to cure. Curing is strengthening. The longer you cure the stronger the finished piece. 28 days curing as described below will give you the strongest piece possible. A cure time of 5 days will still provide 80% of the possible strength if your piece is not needed to be as robust as possible. We always cure for the full month where possible - we like our pieces to be STRONG.

DAY 1 - the day you have finished working on your sculpture.
Wrap your sculpture tightly in plastic (shopping bags or ziploc bags are perfect for this) so the water in it doesn't evaporate. DO NOT place wet towels over your sculpture for the first day!!

DAY 2 - 24 hours later
The second day your sculpture will be the consistency of a soft wood and you may continue to sculpt or carve on your work if you decide to. When wrapping it on up on the second day, place wet towels on it and then recover with plastic. The water is what makes your sculpture strong.

Alternatively
If on day 1 you know you have finished your sculpture then wrap just in plastic and the next day (day 2) you can simply submerge fully in cold water. Leave it there for 5 days, then once dried to a light grey color, it can be painted/go outdoors.
Leave for 28 days for a full and strongest possible cure. After the 28 days you can also seal your piece. As Pal Tiya Premium cures it is using up and binding the necessary water into its matrix. If left to dry out, it will lose the needed water for a full strong cure. If too much water was used in the mix, this will naturally migrate towards the surface over the 28 days.
Sealing or painting the sculpture too early means the extra water is trapped behind this barrier. The water will get in behind this barrier and lift it off.
For small pieces this is all you need to do. You can move onto painting or leave your piece. A fully cured and dried sculpture will dry to a light stone grey color.

DAY 3
On the third day, your sculpture will be the consistency of hard wood and can still be worked as such. When you’re done wrap back up again with wet towels and plastic.

DAY 4
On the 4th day it feels like stone and may still be 'just' carve-able. However, be warned you will need power tools to work into it any further because it will be very hard!

For the very best, strongest, hardest cure, keep the wet towels and plastic on for 28 days.
80% of your ultimate strength will come in the first 5 days, but if you are making outdoor statuary (especially any that will be climbed on) and want the best possible longevity? Go the whole month!

Please note: on BIG sculptures that will be completed over time, we usually cover these in heavy-duty waterproof cloth/tarpaulin. On Day 2 onwards we make sure it is kept wet, you can hose it down and cover with wet bed sheets and wrap it back up and continue to work on it going forward.

This "Get Started Curing" YouTube video includes curing instructions and shows you how to best cure / strengthening your piece.

Begin Your Pal Tiya Premium Journey Today!