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I call this “Silky-Smooth Air Dry Clay,” and it’s one of the most popular recipes on this site.
First, mix together –
- 1/2 cup toilet paper (24 grams dry, 110 grams wet)
- 1/2 cup Premixed Drywall Joint Compound (200 grams) – Note: DAP brand joint compound will not work. Use any other brand except DAP.)
- 1/2 cup Elmer’s glue (130 grams)
- 1/2 cup corn starch (70 grams) and additional corn starch to be added when kneading the clay at the end
- 3 tablespoons mineral oil (baby oil)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (70 grams) to start
Then, add up to 3/4 cup (100 grams) all-purpose flour and mix.
Video Showing How to Measure and Mix the Air Dry Clay Recipe:
You can use this recipe with any of my patterns for masks and sculptures, but you may need to brush some Elmer’s glue onto the cardboard to make sure it will stick.
This clay is a variation of my original paper mache clay recipe, and it’s intended to be used as a thin layer over an armature. It won’t dry all the way through if you use it as a thick, solid mass, like ‘real’ clay. Many people like to use paper mache clay as the first thin layer, because it goes on fast. Then they add another layer of this air dry clay to make a nice smooth surface.
Many readers have also told me that it works well in small silicone molds, and some people have used it for beads. If you want to use it without an armature, be sure to do your own tests to make sure it will be strong enough for your needs.
This clay isn’t as sticky as the original paper mache clay, so there are some tricks to using it. Be sure to watch this video to see how it’s done.
How to Mix the Smooth Air Dry Clay Ingredients
Step 1: Measure the paper
You’ll need 24 grams of dry toilet paper. You can use any brand.
Step 2: Get the paper wet
Use plenty of water, and swirl it around with your fingers to separate the fibers.
Step 3: Drain off the water
A metal sieve works really well for this.
Step 4: Weigh the wet paper
You’ll need 110 grams. Keep squishing out water until the scale shows you have only 110 grams of paper and water.
Step 5: Mix in the ingredients
In this step you only want to use half of the flour. You’ll mix in more flour in the next steps. You’ll also be using more corn starch (or flour) when it’s time to knead the clay (Step 7).
Step 6: Add the last half of the flour
Use your dough hooks for this step, because the air dry clay will start to get very heavy, and the regular mixing blades don’t work very well. If the mixer has to work too hard, you may need to do this part by hand – you don’t want to burn out the motor!
Note – the dough hooks on my old mixer, shown here, worked great for this step. But on my new mixer, the air dry clay crawls up the beaters. I now do this step with a wooden spoon.
Step 7: Knead in enough corn starch to get the consistency you want
The amount of corn starch is entirely up to you. It will make the air dry clay stiffer, which makes it easier to form fine details. However, the stiffer it gets the less sticky it gets, so pieces of clay won’t stick together as well. Play with it with different amounts of corn starch until you get it the way you like it.
You could use flour instead of corn starch, if you prefer. Try it both ways and see which one you like best.
When the air dry clay is ready, you’ll be able to pull up a thin piece of clay, as shown above. It will be softer than commercial air dry clay, but will hold very small details well. You can adjust the amount of flour and corn starch to make it as stiff as you want, but if you add too much it will be difficult to get it to stick to your armature.
Be sure to watch the video above for tips on using your new air dry clay.
And for a bit of history – my Indian Rhino was one of the very first sculptures that I made using the Silky-Smooth Air Dry Clay.
If you haven’t used air dry clay over an armature before, it can be tricky. Be sure to watch that video for some useful tips you can use for your own sculpture.
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Thank you for sharing this recipe (and so many helpful tips!). I have read that using salt in the dough will help prevent mold and pests. Have you ever had issues with mold or bugs ruining your dried creations? Would it change the consistency to add a bit of salt? Thank you.
Hi Laurie. I don’t use salt in the recipes, and I’ve never had a problem with mold. I apply a very thin layer over the armature, and then make sure it dries as fast as possible (mold can’t grow without water). Then I seal the sculptures with both acrylic paint and an acrylic varnish. However, I don’t live in the tropics or where there is really high humidity. I don’t think it would hurt anything to add salt, but you still need to use thin layers and seal the sculpture after it’s dry.
Hi Jonnie, I’ve been following your work for eight years. Sometimes regularly and sometimes I have periods when life happens.
Today, for the first time I used your clay recipe but I think I may have made a mistake. To smooth out some rougher areas I used a brush with the mineral oil and It seemed to help. Now I’m concerned it will not dry. Thanks you for the best lessons I’ve ever learned about paper mache.
Kim
Hi Kim. I’ve never tried doing that, so I don’t know if it will hurt anything or not. I like to smooth my paper mache clay with a damp knife – it seems to work OK. But give your project a few days to dry – it might be just fine. 🙂
Hello, I’ve enjoyed making this recipe with the toilet paper, thankyou for it. I was wondering though, how does it turn out if the toilet paper is left out? I found the paper fibres left rough edges when I tried to cut shapes out of the clay and hope to avoid this in future.
Thanks
Hi Ruth. I haven’t tried that, but I assume it would be more likely to crack. The paper fibers reinforce the mixture. But give it a try, and see if it works for you. If it does, please let us know 🙂
Hi Jonni, I’ve tried it without the paper. I added some extra flour until it was the right consistency and have a beautiful smooth clay. I do have some trouble with shrinkage, though not so much cracking. I am only creating 2D things (bowls, coasters etc) so this may be why. It is still super strong and I’ve been happy with it. 🙂
Hi Jonni and community, Could you please answer the following questions based on your experiences:
How much time will the clay stay fresh before it starts hardening when you are working with it? And do you think if I vacuum seal the left over clay it will keep? Does the finished product break easily or does the clay dry pretty hard? How does it measure up to store-bought air dry clay such as DAS? Thanks very much!
Hi Kathi. The air dry clay recipe doesn’t contain any plaster of Paris, so it stays soft until it dries. It contains organic products, so it can attract mold if you leave it wet for a long time. If you’ll be using it up within a few days, cover it well and put it in the fridge. If you make a lot and need to keep it longer before using it, I believe you can freeze it. It dries very hard, but I don’t know how to compare it to DAS. It’s used in a different way – you spread this recipe onto an armature, in a thin layer, and I don’t know if that’s how the DAS product is used or not. You’ll need to actually make some and try it to see if you like working with it or not.
I was curious if I don’t have any of the joint compound right now could I use DRYDEX Heavyweight Spackling or Plaster of Paris?
I haven’t used the spackling, so I don’t know if it would work. If you replace the pre-mixed joint compound with plaster of Paris, it will harden within minutes, probably before you have a chance to do anything with it. The premixed joint compound does not contain any plaster.
Hi, I’ve just attempted this recipe step by step, but the problem is, I’m in Ireland and I couldn’t figure out what Dry Wall Compound is! I didn’t know if it should be a powder or a paste! So I used Ready Mixed Wallpaper Paste. I don’t think it’s gonna work. The mixture, despite following the grams, was too wet. So I added loads of flour and some Dry Powder Filler… I eventually got it to a dough texture. But who knows if it’ll dry right, I’ve gone so far off the recipe by now! Any hints on how to figure out what the Irish equivalent of Dry Wall compound is, and is it a powder or a ready mixed paste (I.e. is it goooey or dry?). Thanks so much, been wanting to try this for years…..
No, it’s not like wallpaper paste at all. In the UK it’s called joint filler. This video shows how it’s used in construction. If you ask the clerk at your local DIY store for the product that does what the guy in the video is doing, they should be able to help. It does come in both powdered and pre-mixed form, but it’s the pre-mixed kind that comes in a plastic tub that you’re looking for. Good luck with it. 🙂
The dry wall powder that you used is mixed with water to form a thick paste, this is what we call dry way compound. Alternatively you can use a store brought ready made compound.
Try to look for the brands polyfilla or gyproc.
It also goes by the name joint compound or skim compound I believe..it is basically gypsum powder that has been premixed with wet agents to make it spreadable
It has a consistency almost like margarine or crisco..
Thanks! 🙂
I can see this will work for bas relief. I’m trying to do one of a crow and would like to know what you do for feathers. By the way I want to thank you for your generous tutorials!
Hi Karen. I have used the air dry clay for feathers on my blue-footed boobies, and I played around with making paper mache feathers, too. Have fun! 🙂
Howdy I have a question. I’m making ram horns and the base model I’m using is made out of plastic bags. Will the clay stick on to plastic bags? As I read I saw that cardboard was used as a base. I guess a further question would be, what materials will stick to the clay? and which will not stick ?
You might need to cover the plastic form with some masking tape. Most things won’t stick to plastic. I often make an inner form with crumpled foil – the air dry clay doesn’t actually stick to it, but it sinks into the dips, and that’s what holds the clay in place while it dries. It sticks well to cardboard and paper, but not plastic.
Hi Jonni. Do you ever have issues with the air dry clay cracking as it dries? Should it be dried slowly somehow? Thank you. I love your videos and all of your work!
-Kayla from Florida!
Hi Kayla. It doesn’t usually crack, but if it does, you can easily repair the crack by applying some new air dry clay over the area. It will crack if you put it over a really hard object, like a glass bottle, that can’t shrink along with the drying clay.
Hi Jonni,
Would it be possible to substitute Calcium Carbonate instead of the joint compound in this recipe? How would it change the quantity of the other ingredients? How much calcium carbonate powder do I add? I have been unable to find joint compound where I live.
I bought both your books but it has the traditional recipes.
Thanks soooo much
Lara
Hi Lara. Several years ago I experimented with calcium carbonate instead of joint compound, and you can see that post here: https://www.ultimatepapermache.com/paper-mache-clay-without-joint-compound
You can play around with the quantities of all the ingredients to get the material the way you want it. I only tried it one time, but it worked well in my experiment.
Hi Jonni,
Happy New Year! And thanks for the reply 🙂
I used your recipe – paper mache without joint compound. And I followed it very well. I did use toilet paper instead of newspaper but the weight in grams was the same. My clay wouldn’t stick and I don’t know why. I had to really press it in with my finger and then it would stay but it would all easily peel off if I tried. Is this normal? It was being stuck on an armature made of masking tape on the outside and newspaper and wire on the inside. If I took the clay in my hands and shaped it, it worked well. But it doesn’t stick on the armature. Please please tell me where I went wrong! Thank you so much.
Lara
Hi Lara. I don’t know what would happen, but it sounds like you don’t have enough water or ‘glue’ in the mix. You could try adding just a tiny amount of water, and then mix again and see what happens.
I have used newsprint paper as well as corrugated cardboard. In both cases, I soak these items at least overnight and sometimes for 24 hours before I run them through the “blender”. They both produce a courser textures with the corrugated cardboard being courser, which I prefer for some of my projects. These courser materials lend themselves well to creating “old pottery” items.
Hi Jonni
I’ve been watching some of your new videos and was wondering if you know where in Canada I could purchase that golden gel for smoothing air dry clay and if you could give the precise name of it. Thank you
Hi, do you think I could make coasters out of this recipe? Thank you so much
It might work, but it’s also possible that the flat disks would bend upward while it dried. And you might need to put some felt pads on the bottom to keep it from scratching the table – it dries pretty hard.
Hi,
You may have this on your site but it would be nice to have a “print” version on your recipes. I don’t want to waste ink on pictures etc, and a concise recipe would be easier to follow.
Thanks for considering.
You can download my five favorite recipes as a PDF – just click here.
And if you just want to print the recipes without the images, just highlight the text of the recipe and copy it to your notepad program. Then print that way.
bonjour ,je debute dans l’art du papier maché j’ai fait une jolie poule, je voudrais savoir comment faire pour rendre mon objet plus lisse , je n’ai pas trouvé le composé à joint dont vous parlez , il n’existe pas en france , alors j’ai mis de l’enduit de rebouchage c’est peut etre pas bien
bravo pour vos realisations et merci pour les tutos
This website says you should be looking for “enduit de rebouchage.” Do they not carry it in your local DIY store? The filler you used might work just as well, though.
merci je vais faire ça
bonne journée