An Experiment on Waterproofing Paper Mâché

Soaking in a bowl of water for three hours.

Humidity and outdoor exposure can cause paper mâché to weaken and paint to fade.  Spar varnish and exterior paint can help prevent, but not completely eliminate the problem of fading.  Spar varnish will also prevent some water damage.  But if water finds a way to seep in, the item may still be at risk of water damage to the paper and flour paste.  Mold or disintegration of the paper can result from water infiltration. I was looking at some products that might help prevent the problem.

 

                                                           Removing the foam ball.

 This year I have been experimenting with different types of mixtures for paper mâché mixtures.  Rather than mixing flour and water to spread on the newspaper, I decided to try some other liquids in my mix.  For this experiment, I was using some thin-set mortar ad mix with the flour.  I use this product when mixing grout for my stained glass gazing balls.  It is a form of liquid latex.  My goal was to permeate the paper with the product so that water would not affect the paper.  

                                                 When dry, the ball is still intact.

Please note:  If you replicate this experiment, you should wear proper skin and eye protection and have proper ventilation.  

I mixed together all-purpose flour and the thin-set mortar ad mix.  No water was added to the mix.  I don't generally use a set recipe because I find that flour will hold different amounts of liquid depending on humidity.  I just add liquid and stir until the mixture becomes smooth, with no (or very few) lumps.  If the mixture is hard to spread and lumpy, there is too much flour.  The solution is to add more liquid.  If the solution saturates the paper causing it to rip easily or slip, it is too thin.  The solution: add more flour.  If you work with paper mâché often, you will know a proper mix when you see it.

For this experiment, I covered a Styrofoam ball with plastic wrap, then covered the ball in three layers of  the thin-set/flour paper mâché mixture, letting each layer dry before adding the next.  When the ball was thoroughly dry, I cut the ball open in four quadrants and removed the foam ball and plastic.  After that, I put the four pieces of the  paper mâché back together using hot glue to form a hollow ball.  Then three more layers of the paper and thin-set/flour mixture.  When the ball was dry, it was time to see if it would hold up when saturated with water.  No other sealer was added to the ball.

In the picture, you will note that this foam ball has seen better days.  It has been used in four projects so far.  I try to make as much use of my materials as possible.  In this day of Covid-19, I don't want to have to be out and about looking for supplies or paying exorbitant prices from internet sites.   I tend to reuse my recycle until it screams.

I held the reconstructed ball under running water to make sure it was thoroughly wet.  Then I placed it in a container of water for three hours.  At three hours, the ball was completely intact. When dry, all of the edges of the pieces of paper were still tightly adhered to the ball.  

In conclusion, three hours does not definitely prove that the thin-set admix completely and permanently protects an item.  However, it show that the item will last much longer than if this were just a flour and water mix.  Once painted and sealed with spar varnish, it should add some length to the time that a   paper mâché item will survive in extreme conditions.

I blogged about a different product used for waterproofing earlier this year.  The article was published on July 20th, 2020.    If you are interested, you can read the article at folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com.

More Pumpkin Projects

 Updated only affects title

Sorry about the picture placement.  This new blog platform will not let me move the pictures around.  I must say it has ruined the blogging experience for me.

Although I have not posted in a while, I have been busy working on my pumpkin projects.  Since Iposted the last picture of a pumpkin in October, I have worked on four different projects.  These projects take a lot of time, and progress has been slow.  Today, I will be writing about one of the more successful projects. 

I have looked at magazine Halloween pictures of yards covered in carved pumpkins.  They look spectacular.  A yard full of pumpkins is also extremely expensive.  Perhaps they get a discount for buying a truckload of pumpkins.  I would like to do a project with a yard full of pumpkins, but alas, even if I could rationalize buying that many pumpkins, I would not have enough interested friends to help me carve them in a timely manner.

My thoughts turned to using the foam pumpkins.  I could work on them all year.  I could use them for multiple years.  However, the foam pumpkins are incredibly expensive.  The craft store near my home was selling them at thirty dollars each for the small ones.  A few dozen of them is out of the question.  

Undeterred, I move to the next thought about making the pumpkins myself from paper mâché.  I have made two pumpkins from a form I made myself.  This form was made from plastic bags stuffed inside a plastic grocery bag, and then filled out with tubes of newspaper to give it more of a pumpkin shape.  That actually worked, but the pumpkins did not have a real pumpkin shape.  I decided that when pumpkins were available, I would purchase one and I could cover it in paper mâché. 

In the fall, we masked up and went to the farmers market.  We did not stay long.  I pretty much had to grab the first pumpkin I saw that had a nice area for carving.  We did not want to stay long in an area with people in it due to the Corona Virus.  I wish I had more time to hunt for the perfect pumpkin, because this pumpkin was a little large.  I would have preferred something a little smaller.  

So I brought home the pumpkin and covered it in three layers of paper mâché.  The pumpkin was heavy, and I could only work on half the pumpkin at a time.  Also, I had hoped to use this pumpkin for a second project, so I used Vaseline to cover the entire pumpkin before I started adding the paper layers.  My first layer of paper was just paper soaked in water.  That helped insure that the paper mâché would not stick to the pumpkin.   Once the first half had dried, I turned it over and did the second side.  

Using a layer of paper soaked with water is a little more tedious than other methods I normally use.  I would add a little water and paper to an area, then go back and layer on some paper with flour paste.  

This was not just an ordinary flour paste.  I was also trying something experimental with the flour mix.  I am not totally sure that this was worth the effort, but I wanted to make sure that the flour paste was water proof.  Instead of mixing flour and water, I used thin-set mortar add mix as the liquid.  This is a form of liquid latex.  In theory, it should make the pumpkin imperious to water.  (I will be blogging about the experiment to check for waterproofing in my next post.)

Once the pumpkin had on three layers of paper mâché, I cut the layers off of the pumpkin using a craft knife.  I ended up cutting it off in quarters.  I had marked it for eighths, but it came off easily in quarters.  There was not enough flex in the paper mâché to take it off in halves.  The trick is to ease it off so that there are no rips and tears in the layers.  (Or at least as few as possible.)  Another trick is to cut some notches as you take it off.  The pumpkin will go back much more easily if you have the notches as a guide.  

Marking some registration marks is a must.  After you get the thing apart, putting it back together without knowing which piece was next to which piece can take up a lot of time.  I usually mark the quarters on each side of the edges using either numbers or the alphabet.  It really took the guess work out of things.

Once the layers have been removed from the pumpkin, I put it back together using a hot glue gun.  I start with two adjoining pieces and glue them top and bottom to make sure the edges meet properly.  Then I continue gluing the edges and notches until the whole seam is glued back together.  I usually glue each half half, then the other two pieces to create a half.  Then I cover those joins in a couple of layers of paper mâché.  It is easier to do at least those two seams while the pumpkin is still open and easy to reach.  Then, I glue the two halves of the pumpkin together.  There are still two seams that have to be covered on the inside.  Cover them, then cover all the seams on the outside.

Once the pumpkin had on three layers of paper mâché, I cut the layers off of the pumpkin using a craft knife.  I ended up cutting it off in quarters.  I had marked it for eighths, but it came off easily in quarters.  There was not enough flex in the paper mâché to take it off in halves.  The trick is to ease it off so that there are no rips and tears in the layers.  (Or at least as few as possible.)  Another trick is to cut some notches as you take it off.  The pumpkin will go back much more easily if you have the notches as a guide.  

Marking some registration marks is a must.  After you get the thing apart, putting it back together without knowing which piece was next to which piece can take up a lot of time.  I usually mark the quarters on each side of the edges using either numbers or the alphabet.  It really took the guess work out of things.

Once the layers have been removed from the pumpkin, I put it back together using a hot glue gun.  I start with two adjoining pieces and glue them top and bottom to make sure the edges meet properly.  Then I continue gluing the edges and notches until the whole seam is glued back together.  I usually glue each half half, then the other two pieces to create a half.  Then I cover those joins in a couple of layers of paper mâché.  It is easier to do at least those two seams while the pumpkin is still open and easy to reach.  Then, I glue the two halves of the pumpkin together.  There are still two seams that have to be covered on the inside.  Cover them, then cover all the seams on the outside.

After those layers are all dry, I give the entire pumpkin three more layers of paper mâché.  It will look like it was never taken apart.  At this point, it would normally be ready for painting, but that is not the plan for this pumpkin.  I plan to cover it in a plastic wrap and then cast another pumpkin on top of it.  Then that pumpkin will be cut off, and the process will continue to complete it as above.  Using this as a mold, I should be able to make a number of pumpkins.  It might take a while, but by October, 2021 I expect to have several pumpkins, each individually carved and painted.

Paper Mâché Pumpkin

 

I don't have any new photos today, but I did want to give readers an update on the pumpkin.  When I blogged last time, I had said that I had to cut off part of the back of the pumpkin in order to get a brush inside to paint the inside of the pumpkin.  I was uncertain as to whether or not I was going to be able to get the back on and repaired in a satisfactory manor.  Fortunately, I was able to repair the pumpkin.  You would never even know that I had cut the thing into pieces.  

After I was able to get a paint brush inside the pumpkin, I painted the inside with two layers of Gesso and then two layers of metallic gold paint.  I used red-orange on the last pumpkin.  This time I wanted the pumpkin to have a different look.  The paint reflects a lot of light and the inside is really going to glow when I add a battery operated candle or a glow stick.  

The last couple of weeks, I have spent my free time layering more pâper mâché strips over the repair.  It takes a while because I have to wait for the layers to dry before I add the next layer.  Once the layers were on, I began with touch up painting over the repair on the inside.  I had to use a very long handled paint brush to reach some of it through the opening at the top of the pumpkin.  A brush would not work around the rim of the pumpkin, so I used a piece of sponge dipped in paint and used my fingers to hold the sponge. 

Finally, I am on to painting the outside of the pumpkin.  I don't just slap on some orange paint.  The color is built up in layers.  The pumpkin has received its first layer, which is a Raw Umber.  It is very dark.  I have started on the second layer which is Alizarin Crimson.  I am about half way finished with the crimson layer.  Currently, the pumpkin is upside down as I began painting the bottom of the pumpkin first.  It is too big to try and paint all at once.  I made sure to feather out the paint so there is no hard line where I stopped painting.

This pumpkin is going to be a darker shade that the previous pumpkin.  The brown I used on the first pumpkin was a reddish-brown craft paint color called Nutmeg.  The Raw Umber is a much darker brown.  The color will lighten as I add the different layers of paint.  I am okay with this.  I did not want the pumpkins to look exactly the same.  This pumpkin is a vampire pumpkin.  He needs to look dark and sinister.  At least that is how I hope he turns out when all is complete.  (I say I hope because the last sinister project I made did not come out looking scary, it was kind of dopey looking.)

I had a Plan B in the event that I could not get the pumpkin back together again.  I was going to cut off the front half of the pumpkin and use it as part of a door decoration.  Now I have a vision for a door decoration, and I want to make a pumpkin with that expression as well.  So now I have a new pumpkin coming on the "to do" list.  So many projects, so little time.

Next time I post, I will have pictures of the painting process.

Paper Maché Anthropomorphic Pumpkin Phase 2

I have been having real trouble getting and keeping pictures on my blog since Blogger changed to the new interface.  My apologies to readers if you have been getting the blog post without the pictures.

Current state of the project.

 

It has been two weeks since I posted.  Between  paper mâché being such a slow medium and not having much time, things just get away from me now and then.  I can remember when I was regularly posting twice a week on progress on my projects.  I keep saying I will do more, but I have to wait for my last layer(s) of  paper mâché to dry before I can add more.
At least I have made some measurable progress on the pumpkin.  The eyes have been installed.  The  paper mâché has been added around them.  That area is ready for sanding and painting.  Teeth and lips have been added.  Tomorrow I will be adding the first layer or two of  paper mâché around the lips.  At least I have something to show for my time. 

The project two weeks ago.

Actually, I have done some work on the project that you cannot see.  Some of my time in the past two weeks has been used to repair a colossal mistake.  I am not ready to call the project a total reject yet.  At this point I am still hoping to salvage the project as a pumpkin.  If I can't fix it well enough, the project goes to a Plan B.

This pumpkin is not very tall.  When I added layers above the eyes for the brows to give the face more expression, I intruded on the area that would be used to put the stem in the center of the pumpkin.  At first, I thought, no problem,  I will just cut a small hole for the removable top.  So I cut it, without giving it too much thought.  Then I found out what was wrong with the plan.  The hole is so small that I was going to have difficulty getting a paint brush in there to paint.  Even the handles on my smallest brushes were too large to get through the hole.  So I had to cut a more or less rectangular section out of  the back of the pumpkin in order to be able to paint the inside.  My plan was that once the painting was done, I would repair the area using hot glue to hold the cut piece in place while I covered the area with more layers of  paper mâché.  Then I planned to use a sponge to paint over the new area of  paper mâché as best I could.
I cut the area as small as I could, because I did not want much of it to be very visible when looking into the pumpkin from the front.  After making the cut, it was still somewhat difficult to get the paint brush inside, but I managed to get the inside painted.  I still have to put more layer of Gesso on the teeth.  After that, the teeth will be painted their final coats.  After that, I will do any touch up to the pumpkin's inside as needed.  Then I can try to put the cut piece back in place and paint that as well as I can reach.  It may not be my best paint job ever, but I am hoping that it will not be that obvious when all is complete.
If the pumpkin does go back together well, I will proceed to painting the exterior.  If the pumpkin does not go back together well, my Plan B is to cut the front half off and add  paper mâché to the cut edges, then paint over all of it.  The face will be mounted to a wreath and used as a door decoration.  The tiny initial cut into the center of the top of the pumpkin and its stem will be painted to look like a top hat.  One way or another the piece will be used for a Halloween decoration.  I would prefer it was a pumpkin, but only time will tell.
That is where the project stands at the moment.  It is not the way I would normally do things.  It is just one of those times where I have to be flexible.  Check back in a week or so for the latest on the project.

Starting a New Anthropomorphic Pumpkin in Paper Mâché

Since my last blog post, I have started a new anthropomorphic pumpkin in paper mâché.   It is only in the beginning stages.  At the moment it does not have a lot of detail, but I thought I'd share a picture.

Regular readers might remember that I have started casting pumpkins on a mold I created.  I cast a pumpkin on each half of the mold.  When all the first three layers are finished, I pull the pumpkin off the mold and use hot glue to hold the layer together before adding more layers of paper mâché.  This gives me the option to make several pumpkins from the mold rather than starting each one from scratch.  I don't really plan to make too many pumpkins this size as finished paper mâché pieces.  Once the weather turns cooler, I plan to make some pumpkins from hypertufa (a lightweight form of cement) and will use this form to make molds for those pumpkins.  However, until the Coid-19 crisis calms down more, I am not going out to get materials so I am contenting myself with making some paper mâché pumpkins.

I always like to experiment when I make something.  In my last blog post I had written about using some thin-set mortar ad mix to see if it might waterproof the paper mâché.  It worked quite well.  I had made a ball using a paper mache flour paste mixed with the thin set mortar ad mix.  No other paint or sealer was applied.  The ball was wet all over and set in a pail of water for two hours.  After the ball was removed from the water and allowed to dry is was as hard as it was before being wet.  No edges came off or even loose.  The experiment was such a success, that I decided I would try using the product on this   paper mâché pumpkin.  For more information on the experiment or for how I built the form, scroll back to the previous posts from earlier this year or view the blog at http://folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com/

So far, so good.  When I cut open the eyes, mouth, and top with a craft knife, the layers of paper mâché seemed to have bonded together slightly better than they do when just a plain flour paste is used.  There seemed to be less dust falling when the areas were cut.

I used foil and masking tape to build up the features on the pumpkin.  The tape stuck to the pumpkin with no problems at all. 

Right now, the pumpkin reminds me of a tired old man.  I expect he will look much more sinister once the rest of the details are added.  I still have to add the teeth and the eyes.  The eyes hold a lot of the expression.

Since I took the photo of the new pumpkin, I have put on three coats of paper mâché over the features and the seam where the halves of the pumpkin were put together.  I have also started working on the eyes, which are being cast separately from the pumpkin so I can work on them more easily.  The lid of the pumpkin has its first coat of paper mâché.

I will be posting more on this pumpkin next week.  Check back then.