An Experiment and a New Paper Mâché Project

The small ball for the experiment.

Regular readers know that I always have to experiment on techniques with my projects.  On my last  paper mâché project, I tried sealing the piece with grout sealer before I painted it.  I wanted to find a different way to seal the paper mâché against moisture.  I planned to give the piece a couple of coats of sealer after it was painted as well.  Unfortunately, I ran out of the product.  With Covid-19 wrecking havoc everywhere, it might be a while before the piece is sealed. 

Pumpkin halves removed from the form.

While I am waiting for more sealer, I am on to a new experiment with a different product.  We had some thin-set mortar admix left over from one of our home improvement projects.  The milky-looking liquid polymer is supposed to be mixed in a one to one mixture with water and added to thin-set mortar for tiling projects.  It is supposed to help increase the bond and add water/moisture resistance.  I thought that being as I had time on my hands that I might check it out to see if it worked in making paper mâché items.  I wondered about its potential to moisture proof the paper mâché.  So, time for a new experiment.

My first pumpkin is painted but not sealed.

For my experiment, I wanted to know just how long an item made with the mortar admix might be able to resist water.  I wanted to know how long an object made of paper mâché mixed with the admix but not painted would last while soaking in water.  I thought that test would really put the product to the test.  That is the experiment, but before I can try it, I have to make a test object. 

One of my plans for a Halloween decoration was to be some glowing orbs.  The orbs would be paper mâché and spray painted with glow in the dark paint.  I decided that I would make a small ball for the experiment.  (Long time readers might remember my fascination with spherical objects.) 

I used a small Styrofoam ball as a base for the orb.  I covered the orb with masking tape, and then covered the tape with a layer of Press and Seal.  The  paper mâché will not stick to the Press and Seal.  Once I cast three layers of the paper mâché mixed with the admix, I cut the layers off the Styrofoam ball using a craft knife.  I always remove any base I use from my completed projects.  When possible, I try to use items more than once, so I carefully cut the paper mâché away from the base in sections, keeping the base intact.  That way, I have the ball to use again for another project.  For example, I used this same ball to cast the eyes of the pumpkin I made and blogged about in my last post.  Now that I have removed the ball from this project, I will use it again in some other project.

Before I cut the ball off the base, I made some registration marks on the ball so I know how to put it back together.  I have learned from experience that I need to number the marks, so that it can be realigned with its proper counterpart.  I could not remove the ball from the paper mâché layers when it was cut in half without damaging the ball.  The paper mâché was taken off the base in four sections.  Three layers of  paper mâché are not enough layers to be completely rigid.  It is easier to remove the paper mâché while the form still has some flexibility. 

Once the ball was removed, I used hot glue to put the ball back together matching the numbered marks.  I use hot glue, gluing it along the cut edges.  The flexibility of the three layers makes it easy to put pressure on the form to glue it together without too much of a raised edge. 

Once the ball was glued back together, I add three more layers of paper mâché.  This covers the cut edges and is strong enough to keep the ball from coming apart.  At this point, I have added two of the three layers to the ball.  Hopefully, tomorrow I will have time to put on the last layer.  After the last layer has dried for twenty-four hours, I will be ready to try the experiment and see how long the ball will last while sitting in water.

In the mean time, I have also started on another pumpkin.  So far, I have cast the paper mâché for three layers over the pumpkin form I created.  (Readers can learn about making the form by scrolling back through my last few posts or reading them at my blog:  folkartbycaroljones.blogspot.com
 
The pumpkin was removed from the form in the manner described above, except that I was able remove it in halves rather than quarters.  The larger size of the piece gave it more flexibility.  In the photo above you can see the form is still covered in the Press and Seal.  This is still the same layer of Press and Seal that was used on my first pumpkin.  It is starting to come a loose here and there.  When I use the form again I will probably remove the old Press and Seal and add a new layer of the product.  The old layer feels a little chalky from the flour and is coming loose here and there.

Since taking these photos, I have glued the pumpkin halves back together and added two more layers of paper mâché.  Although I have not done the experiment on the small ball, I used the mortar admix with the flour and water for the paper mâché mixture.  Even if it does not perform as well as I hope, it seems to be working for the paper mâché mixture.  I will be blogging on how this is working out in the next blog post.  Check back in about a week and I will have more information on the experiment and the new pumpkin.