Over the past eight years I have gone through nearly four hundred Ikea Malma unpainted wood frames as the base for the project for my Dancing with the Rainbow Workshop. Seemingly the glues used in the construction have changed and the pre-preparation has become more important to ensure sucess in covering the frame with polymer clay
- Remove the mirror- older versions of the frame used a glue for the mirror that was heat resistant, this is no longer true, use a razor blade or utility knife to cut around the edge of the frame
- Pre-Bake the Frame- the wood is sensitive to moisture and humidity changes, bake the frame for a half hour at 270 and allow to cool, if corners separate- push back into place and apply glue
- Apply Sobo - apply two thin coats of Sobo glue to the frame, including the edges allowing to dry between coats
- Wrap Clay- if you are going to wrap the clay around the edges, make sure you have good contact between the wood and the clay- otherwise the clay has a tendency to buckle off the edge when baking
- Allow Frame to Cool in Oven- after you have finished curing your piece, set the oven door ajar and allow the frame to cool slowly
I use the Malma frames too, and have probably gone through just as many! I don’t apply clay over the entire frame, but I’ve had a few separate at the seams–probably due to the change in glue you mention.