Art Clay water-based silver clay, sometimes called metal clay or precious-metal clay, is made by Aida Chemical Industries in Japan: it's a composite clay-like material, made of 87% fine silver powder and 13% harmless organic binder. It comes in regular and slow-tarnish.

New clay looks and feels like like dull grey toothpaste, and can be squeezed out to make fine patterns, either on clay or on a cork clay mould.

It has three main uses: to create delicate patterns, either on unfired silver clay or on a cork clay mould; to add shape to existing unfired silver clay; or to stick two pieces of unfired silver clay together.

As silver clay is fired, the binder vapourises and the metal powder sinters, leaving solid silver which can be hallmarked as pure 999 silver: real metal, not something that just looks like metal. The chemical symbol for silver is Ag, an abbreviation for the Latin argentum.

Silver clay can be combined with a wide range of materials, before firing: beads, copper, dichroic glass, pearls, porcelain, polymer clay, semiprecious gems, and fine silver findings.
It can also be combined with sterling silver findings, provided that the firing temperature is 650°C: much higher, and the sterling silver discolours and becomes brittle.
Its easy-to-use flexibility makes it a versatile material, ideal for art colleges, home and business jewellers, ceramic cafes, craftworkers, glass studios, metalsmiths, modelmakers, and potteries.

The clay comes in a small plastic syringe, inside a retail foil packet, with an instruction leaflet. Tear open the retail foil packet using the markers. Be careful, as the retail foil packet is a press-to-seal and can be re-used.

New clay looks and feels like like dull grey toothpaste, and can be squeezed out to make fine patterns, either on clay or on a cork clay mould.

At Kitiki, and during courses, we use nozzles that can be bought separately so that you can cut them to a pattern. When you change nozzles, push them on firmly so they don't pop off as you squeeze.

With care, you can put slightly diluted paste from a bottle into a syringe, although it's extremely difficult to avoid getting bubbles in the syringe, which break the thread or make a blob when you're using it. However, it's a good way to apply paste to add silver or make repairs.

The tips can be cut to your own shape. As you apply the clay, you can use a little water to smooth the surface and optimise the adhesion. Be careful using any tool as you can easily flatten the thin line of clay.

Don't let paste dry on your work area or tools: wipe them or wash them. Drill bits, files, and abrasives will clog up, so tap them occasionally, or rinse and dry them. Keep the sable brushes in water, removing excess water on lint-free cloth just before use.

Whilst you're working, keep syringes and sable brushes in water, removing excess water on lint-free cloth just before use. If you leave syringes for a few days, check that the water hasn't evaporated. Don't use a pot of water as a permanent home for brushes: it will soon ruin them.
Don't let clay dry on your work area or tools: wipe them with a damp cloth or wash them. Drill bits, files, and abrasives will clog up, so tap them occasionally, or rinse and dry them.

When the syringe is empty, clean it and keep it. When you need to clean out a nozzle from a syringe that you're using, push it onto the old empty syringe. Squeeze the clay into a scraps pot and mix it to make paste. Then clean the nozzle and refit it.

If you find syringe work difficult, fill an old empty syringe with cake icing and practice. Try to make the cake icing very smooth before putting it in the syringe.

The tools and techniques used to work with slow dry clay are the same as those for regular clay: go to start using the link below the menu bar, then art clay, then silver clay.