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Okay, I know this is a farfetched idea. But whenver I use cardboard pieces in my projects, I'm always left with scraps. So I'm wondering, is there a way to make a pulp out of these scraps to use for other items? These pieces of cardboard arent' moving boxes cardboard, rather cereal boxes so they're rather thin and pretty easy to tear.
(Side question: How do I smooth the paper dowels I mentioned in another thread?)
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If the cardboard starts coming apart when soaked in water, it should just turn into paper fiber clots, just like any other pulp source.
Smoothing is usually sanding, coating with gesso or a substitute*, sanding, coating, sanding, coating... until it's right.
When you're sanding, you must use a sanding block, even if it's just a 4"/100mm piece of 1x2 lumber. Using your fingers for sanding is a waste of time. Also, if you have money or access, try those sanding sponges. I haven't used them yet, but see that they might be good for curves surfaces especially.
Sue
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Hmmm. is there a way to get a surface smooth without sanding? Considering the surface is paper, sanding it wouldn't be too good for it and it might just tear off chunks of the paper.....
Also, I'm going to try making pulp out of cardboard : D If it works, then awesome! I won't have to throw away those scraps ^____^
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Crap. Double posted >.<
Might as well make the most of it.
Umm. for the dowels I made out of paper, I was considering making the final layer out of paper mache strips. Would this be good for adding strength to the piece?
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Sure, why not? From what I've seen so far, lumps that have to be sanded down are often forms by wrinkled paper and thick glue. But it can depend on what kind of armature you use on your project. If your swords are quite smooth to begin with, papier mache over them carefully, smoothing the wet paper down as much as you can without wrinkles.
As for sanding paper, it works okay. It can be a lot of work, yes. But the combination of the paper and the adhesive usually make a pretty solid object.
If you have access to gesso, several layers of that might help with the smoothness. If you have acrylic paint and some chalk sticks, you can grind up the chalk so it's very fine, then add some to the paint. Apply to your project, and the chalk helps to fill in some of the dips and dents.
Sue
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Hmm I hear a lot about mixing chalk with acrylic paint to fill in the spots, or using Gesso. However, I'm on a tight schedule and budget, so I can't get much of these items with all the other things I have to do.
I was wondering if the toilet paper recipe would be effective for this sword, only I don't have any wallpaper paste or linseed oil....
oh! Here's the progress pictures of my weapon:
http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=1015368
There are others in my gallery, but this is the most recent. The blade currently has 4 layers of paper mache strips attached, while the rest of the weapon is waiting for it's 3rd layer.
I DO have a sanding block that's supposed to be able to go around corners, but I'd prefer if I didn't have to sand too much. Is this possible?
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It's looking very good!
For smoothing, I only know of two choices: sand down the high spots or fill in the low spots.
Sue
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Thank you ^^ It's still not complete, since I still have to attach the details to the middle part of the weapon, but otherwise, it's ready to be smoothed.
I'm going to mix up some of that porcelain finish pulp and use it on the previous failed attempt at this sword and see if it makes a nice smooth texture. If it does, I'll apply it to Fuuraiken and then just sand it and paint : D
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wow! That's a pretty awesome sword! I never woulda guessed you could make these outta pm!
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That's a very good looking sword.
Cardboard for pulp? As Sue says, if the cardboard softens and separates when wet you have a chance. Generally, though, it would only produce a very lumpy paste and would probably be very slow to dry. Experiment by all means but I'll be surprised if you persever with it.
Smoothing? A light sanding after each layer will produce a very smooth finish. The more careful you are about putting the paper pieces on, the smoother it will be. You can also mix some chalk into latex (emulsion) paint if you want.
Dowels - yes, if you want to make them stronger, winding a reasonably strong paper around will reinforce them. It may be best to smear the paste on the dowel rather than on the paper, otherwise it will weaken and break as you work.
DavidO
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http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=1044436
My completed Sword! Sorry it took so long to post it up, but it's finally here : D
It took me about two or three days of work spread out over a week and a half. It was debuted at Momocon with my Ky Kiske costume : D
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Very good. Well done. Thanks for sharing.
DavidO :twisted:
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Thank you ^___^ Hearing that from you means a lot : D
I'm going to make more of my prop weapons out of paper mache ^___^ I just LOVE making dowels out of paper. So useful!
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This thread has got me thinking. Would 'moving box' cardboard make a good pulp? I can get my hands on those types of cardboard easily.
I know you can make pulp out of cardboard egg cartons, so I am hoping regular cardboard boxes might work too.
Oh sure, I could *experiment* and find out for myself - but I rather bug you guys about your experience instead. *laughs*
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That's a very nice piece of work, PA!
Re: cardboard mache. This is just personal opinon, but my little experimentation in using cardboard for pulp encouraged me not to go further with it.
As far as I can see, cardboard has two major uses for me:
1) Laid down & overlapped on weeds, covered by mulch, and
2) Formed and taped to PM over.
It's just too much work to make pulp out of it, and that's just the single-layer stuff. The glue that laminates the multiple layers together doesn't exactly increase your speed. But if you want a REAL challenge, get some 6-ply cardboard and fight with that!
Sue
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As far as I can tell the best rule for PM lies in the weave/felting of the paper fibres. Newspaper and egg boxes are fantastic as they are both made from reformed paper pulp so are already pretty loose. Tissue and the ilk are also pretty loosely bonded fibres so are good to pulp.
I think I agree with Sue on this one, either kill your weeds with it or turn it into armature.
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