We’ve discovered a world exclusive secret ingredient to make perfect strong and stretchy clear slime, that you can pull really thin without it breaking. Here’s our recipe which uses clear PVA glue, a slime activator and the secret ingredient!
Read on to see how we did it, there’s a video to watch too, plus, of course…..find out the secret ingredient!!
This strong stretchy clear slime is easy to make!
Here at Devon Science we help kids make a lot of slime, either at a school workshop, a fun community event or a birthday party, we have literally made 1000s of pots of slime with 1000s of kids. I (chief scientist at Devon Science) experiment with different slime recipes and so I decided to try adding a new, secret ingredient – a chemical I have in the lab, one that I thought might just work….and YES! ….it produced as super strong, long lasting, stretchy & soft slime.
I first tried it using classic white PVA glue, which you can read about here, and below is the details of the secret ingredient being added to clear PVA, which makes strong stretchy clear slime that stretches sooooo thin without breaking.
My secret ingredient is….POLYOX, or polyethylene oxide.
It sounds very science-y, but it is easy to get online. We use it because it turns very gloopy in water and is good to demonstrate self-siphoning liquids. I was so glad I tried it out as it makes the slime really strong – it stretches very thin without breaking, it make bubbles effortlessly for guaranteed crackles!
Materials used
Large bowl and something to stir with
Clear PVA glue (see Lab Notes below)
Activator – We now sell ready to use slime activator in our shop too.
The secret ingredient – Polyox (polyethylene oxide)
Measuring spoon
Covering for table
Tub to store slime
Our method
I poured about 200ml of clear PVA glue into the bowl.
Then I added a dessert spoon of our secret ingredient, Polyox, and stirred this in for 10 minutes until it was completely dissolved.
Finally I added the Activator (borax – see Lab Notes below), a little at a time with good stirring in-between.
Once the slime started to pull away from the sides of the bowl, I knew it is ready to be kneaded in my hands. This is the messy part but you really need to feel the slime to determine if you need to add some more activator. If it feels too sticky, add a squirt of Activator. I kept kneading and squidging, and adding more Activator, until it was perfectly soft and stretchy.
With clear slime, you have to let it sit for a while, as in – a few days. This makes the bubbles that were formed during mixing, settle out. You can play with it with the bubbles – and this slime crackles really nicely, but clear slime with NO bubbles is pretty exciting when you get it out to play with!
Watch the video to see how easy it is to make:
Results
This slime is very strong and resilient, but doesn’t lose its softness. I can pull and stretch it without it breaking, yet it feels soft and pliable. Its definitely a very strong, stretchy clear slime.
Clear Polyox Slime looks so shiny.
I can pull it membrane-thin without it breaking and make huge crackly bubbles with it. It’s long lasting too (we’re storing it in an air-tight container).
Lab notes
UK vs USA Slime
Avoid watching American videos on slime making as they use ingredients readily available over there (e.g. Elmers Glue, Mule Borax powder). You can buy these items here in the UK or online, but they are REALLY expensive and you absolutely don’t need to waste your money!
PVA glue
Go for craft PVA glue. We’ve had success with craft glue from the well known UK shops, The Works and Baker Ross.
ACTIVATOR (BORAX)
You need Borax (chemical name – sodium tetraborate) to make slime. It reacts with the PVA in the glue to make slime.
Nothing else works, you need borax and PVA to make slime!
If you ever see someone advertising “borax free” activator, its either
- Not going to work because it has no borax in!
- They’re trying to get you to think theirs is “safe”, so best avoid, goodness know how much borax will be in it.
- They think their activator has no borax in it (e.g. contact lens solution) but if they check the ingredients they’ll see borax listed, it might say ‘boric acid’ or ‘sodium borate’
We make our own Activator using borax (of course!) which we now sell in our online shop. We make a weak solution of borax that is safe to use . It is the raw ingredient of borax that is hazardous, a weak solution of it is not harmful. You may be able to buy activator from your local shops, but it is expensive and can be watered down so you need loads of it to activate a small amount of slime. Our activator is the strongest it can be whilst still being safe, so a little goes a LONG way!
You can grab a 120ml bottle of our activator from our shop which will activate 2 Litres of slime or one of our basic Slime Kits here, or better still, check out our shop for seasonal slime kits, so for Christmas we have Santa Slime, and for Halloween we add our Spooky Slime Kit.
BORAX SAFETY
You may have heard about safety concerns with borax. In the UK the raw material (sodium tetraborate) is classified as toxic, but a weak solution, e.g. 2.5% is of low hazard. So we prepare our activator solution with sodium tetraborate for you to use.
We now sell ready to use slime activator in our shop too. We have been making our own slime activator for our workshops and parties for over 10 years now and its is strong, reliable, and safe. Grab your bottle now and happy sliming!
Want more slime recipes?
BUY OUR DEVON-MADE SLIME KIT HERE.
Make strong, stretchy, crackle slime
Colour-changing thermochromic slime
Magnetic slime
Fluffy slime
We now sell ready to use slime activator in our shop too.
If you tackle this activity at home you do so at your own risk. If you have as much fun as we did, feel free to share your pictures with us on Facebook.
Have fun sliming!
Bye for now
Ruth
Chief Scientist at Devon Science