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Hi all:
I'd like to know if anyone has tried to mixing anything like a cream for hands (I'm not sure about the name) in the pulp to be easier to spread it and to be smoother than usual.
If you didn't I'd like to know your opinion about.
Thank you
Shali
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Many of the ingredients for hand cream are non-drying or slow-drying, which would seem to be counter-productive in PM.
Just keep some nearby for use after wash your hands.
Sue
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Hi There Shali, Yes, Sue is right and it may leave the piece greasy as well. People add things like flour, whiting (ground chalk), sawdust etc to their mixes to try to get a smoother finish. As a ceramicist originally, I used to make paper clay (70% clay, 30% paper) to be fired in the kiln which burnt the paper out leaving a strong, lightweight ceramic piece. The little bit of paper added changed the whole structural use of the clay before firing, making it easier to handle. I have been thinking of reversing this for a smoother papier mache. Maybe powdered clay added to the paper pulp will make it easier to get a smooth finish as strangely clay has a waxy, buttery feel to it. I expect this could make the work brittle, and definately heavier. I don't know if commercial papier pulps have clay in them or are just called "clay" because of their clay like properties. If you do decide to try this make sure you don't add more than about 20% by volumn of the clay (I am just guessing, this may even be too much), and use a smooth clay with no grog in it.
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If you can get it, carboxy methylated cellulose is good. It acts as a glue paste but is also used in cosmetics (as well as very many things including foods) so it is safe and kind to the hands. I think an article about pastes, including this may appear soon.
DavidO
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Thank you both.
Lesley: I'll try to add clay. After I can let you know about.
David: I need to talk to my dentist to ask him where I can buy carboxy....... and its cost. I think it is expensive.
Shali
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Your DENTIST??????????
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Why David??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Is not this product the same used for dentists to make tooth mould?
If not, oooops, sorry!!!!! English confusion... but I'd like to know what corboxy... is.
Shali ;-)))))))))))
Last edited by Shali (2008-05-10 04:16:42)
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Shali, you may be thinking of the moldmaking material called alginate that dentists use.
Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is a very refined form of cellulose (usually from wood fiber) that is used to thicken or stabilize foods, ice cream, water-based paints, toothpaste, detergents, shampoos and many other things. It is non-toxic, so it tends to be very useful in the food industry. If you have used a soap-type handcleaner that is very slimy, it's probably got CMC in it.
A more common variation is methylcellulose (MC), and it's somewhat easier to find. The only difference between the two of them is that MC doesn't have the solubility or chemical reactivity that CMC has, and for PM, those qualities aren't really needed. If someone wants to give you a pound or kilo, take it, but in my opinion (sorry, David), methylcellulose is just as good. MC is the main (perhaps the only) ingredient in cellulose wallpaper paste.
If you can get MC and have trouble getting it to mix with water, just let it soak overnight, then stir thoroughly the next day, and thin down to the consistency of raw egg whites. I have not seen that it spoils at room temperature, even after months of sitting on a shelf. David mixes PVA (plain old white) glue with his, but I don't do that. I use straight MC.
Sue
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Sue, exactly, I have thought alginate. I don't know why I've confused the words they are very different. :-(((((((((((
But ok, now I know. I've laugh a lot. It's very funny...
:-)))))))))))))))))))))
Shali
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I hope your dentist laughs too!! He he.
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Thank God I haven't talked with him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
;-)))))))))))))
Shali
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