Paper mache, more durable then you might think

I made a (garindan)mask out of Paper mache for the anual wine and grape festival parade. There was about 80 people from all over came down to a place near niagera falls ontario. I sprayed four coatings of leather / cloth sealent on it and let that dry. I wore it in the parade and it rained for all of the more then 2 miles of walking. Im not talking a drizzle here or your singing in the rain weather. at times it was outright down pour. The mask held up. The snoot that was in the rain the most held up the best. I only suffered two spots where the hood was rubbing and around the bottem of the mask where water collected. all very reparable. the mask was very soggy but its now dry and fine. Im very happy with the results. -Dan

 

I was surprised at just how well that mask held up. Padawan Bear Clan Helmet made it through with little or no damage (from the rain). I'll be interested to see if it will hold up as well on larger projects.

 

It is great to hear the comments about Paper Mache working so well. That option was recommended to me by a co-worker with a grade school kid. I guess they did a project that was pretty indistructable.

Which receipe would you suggest, Flour or glue?

 

Oh, hey, I remember you form the festival

I remember letting you have some Velcro. Sorry that didn't work our so well Stupid rain.


I didn't know it was made of paper mache. That's really good!

 

Elmer's type white glue seems to make the most durable papier mache. And I agree, that stuff is quite durable. It withstands more punishment than a lot of plastics, and it's easy to repair if anything does happen.

 

I used a DURON wallcovering adhesive/water mixture on a fan film project I did recently. It worked out quite well. The armor held up to soem punishment and would "pop" back into place when it was crushed.

 

How about Mod Podge? I'll be using it as recommanded for my Elven Archer Armor parts base.

 

I've heard very good things about modge podge. We actually can get in in NZ! I saw some at Spotlight the other day.

It comes in an outdoor variety so that may be the best option for something that needs to hold up to a lot.

I'm going to test some for my next project... eep.

 

I've only used modpodge as a thickening agent for paint... worked pretty well for that, dunno about paper mache, but I suppose it could work.

At home depot they also have a silicon wheat paste mix for papermache. Works pretty well, except for the fact I'm allergic to the stuff and my hands swelled up

I would say I would all matter with what you sealed it with. A pretty heavy duty sealant could proabably do wonders.

 

I went the cheap way and used flour, we had a bag going to waste and it really didnt use much. before going with paper mache i looked at costs of other alternatives and gave up on em, plastic - vacuforming - was to high end, and very rigid. I got things now to work on for next time and now I know what to expect out of paper mache. I can try other things. -thanks for the velcro, it was a good testing of velcros attachment factors. the wind was more my enemy then the rain was. -Dan

 

also on the sealent, I used what I had on hand, leather / suede / fabric water resistent spray. took four coats and dried up nicely and didnt make the paint run or nothing. the only problem it kept the water in the mask longer, maybe next time ill have a better sealent or more layers. -dan

 

I previously used Potato Flour, cook with a couple ml of water till it become transluent but semi-thick, to make the Glue for the Paper Marche. But that thing don't last beyond a couple of days, even when I bottle it immediately upon cooking.

Oh! The recipe was also used to stiffen Uniforms but these days, we use Starch Spray or sometimes, Wax (but Wax is only for stiffing collars, applied under it, as after lots of ironing and washing, the fabric will turn brownish).

 

I've used Elmers glue (occasionally mixed with Wood glue) with great success. We watered it down a bit until it about paint like consistency, and then used it to make the skin for Jabba

~H~

 

Those are great pics, I had heard someone made a jabba but I didnt think it was that great. very cool. score more points for paper mache -Dan

 

Hmmmm. Garindan... I was wondering what to have for Halloween...

 

garindan was kind of easy for me but now im thinking bigger ideas... hmmm

 

At a Con yesterday saw Elven armor made of posterboard, newspaper and mod podge. It was actually quite hard.

 

If it's the Elven Archer from LOTR, must be a runaway from Haldir's Elven Archer Forum.

 

Origionally posted in 'Paper Ma-what?'

Ok, so I know what paper mache is. But how do you make it? Do you need to seal it? Will it shrink when it dries? How long will it take to dry?

Big newbie here to this. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Paper Mache doesnt shrink to much
yes you may want to use a sealent.

My recipe that has worked so far is:

three parts water to one part flour

or, Three cups water to one cup flour.

strips of paper, newspaper, can be used.

for more detailed msks or projects, use smaller strips. its easier trust me

place the strips in the paste and let it soak for awhile but dont let the paper mache disintergrate, but let it get soaked or the paper dries to fast and comes off.

for your base you can use cardboard wich is light enuff and the paper mache sticks well to it, I used masking tape, to hold all the card board together becuase its faster the glue drying, other plastic type tapes wont let the paper mache stick to it. You can keep adding paper mache as much as you want

it takes between a day and three days to dry, depending on how much paper mache you have applied. just a little needs a day, and so on. the bigger projects may take longer to dry. like a full size jabba may take a lot longer. you can do like Java-jedi did and use a powerful fan to dry, but becareful with this, if your useing a complex frame. paper mache may slide off with the blowing.

other frame works you can use is balloons, plasterine, but these are harder to work with cuss paper mache wont stick to it.

Chicken wire is good for big projects, but its hard to get a thin covering thats smooth, also it takes awhile using it cuss you have to wrap the paper strips over the wire so it sticks well. if you dont it may slide off.

use wood only for big projects or things that wont be worn.

well if you haveanymore questions IM me -Dan