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Hi,
New to the site and very impressed with the quality of the work and the helpful recipes. I'd like to make candle holders and light fixtures and wondered if it's necessary to treat finished pieces with a fire retardant or not. If so, what's recommended? Are there products (linseed oil?) that are flammable and should be avoided when making light fixtures?
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Papier mache candleholders sound just plain scary to me!
Imagine the candle melting down to nothing but liquid, combustible wax, and igniting the holder. Even if it was supposedly fireproofed, you would probably want to varnish it to prevent moisture absorbtion from the air, and varnish does burn. I wouldn't use anything with an open flame or wax near PM.
Perhaps you could make a PM candle holder with a ceramic liner, but then you might as well just use ceramic.
I have read of recipes for fireproofing paper using alum or borax, but that was just for raw paper, not part of a composition.
The only things that I think would be safe would be PM lamp bases (electric), lamp shades, and light switch covers. These should be insulated from bare wires and removed far enough from the heat of the bulb to be safe.
'Better to be safe than sorry' has been around a long time simply because it's true.
Sue
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I have made tea light holders using a silk fusion method, which is similar to fabric mache. I use a product called No Burn which is used to make home furnishings fire retardant. I spray it on before shaping the piece. I have had no problems with it, but again I only use tea lights and votives inside a holder. I wouldnt put a bare candle on because of the wax melting.
I haven't tried it with papier mache though. Just hadn't thought of it maybe I'll do some tests to see how well it would work.
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At what point did you apply the No Burn? To the paper, to the PM mix, or to the finished piece?
Sue
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With silk fusion you lay silk fibers on a screen in layers, then wet to "felt" them into a sheet. I then use fabric stiffner or pva glue to make them moldable. I use the No Burn after the glue. and before I mold it. I usually spray another layer of the product after I have shaped it. Just to make sure I have it well coated.
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I am not sure how PM artists do this but there are several examples in Juliet Bowden's book of candelabra and light fittings. I do know that silicon and latex modellers do use a fire retardant when they make similar things.
http://www.firesafetyonline.org.uk/Frspray.html
I suspect that this is the type of thing used. I would contact your local theatre and ask them if you can speak to the people who build sets for plays. They would have to fire retard those.
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Thanks for the help! I had seen a few pm candle holders on line and I'm now thinking they were intended to be decorative, not used with real candles. I might stick to making decorative bases for candles held in a hurricane glass. Will definitely check out the recommended book on light fixtures, thanks!
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Or you could always use something like these instead of candles...same effect, without the fire.
http://www.batteryoperatedcandles.net/e … rgodFSTsgA
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Actually, papier mache, in many of its forms, is not very flammable. Fire needs air and multi laminate and pulp is so dense that it needs a lot of flame to break it down. All I can suggest is - do some tests.
If you make a candle holder, you could place a ceramic pot in the top. Even if you didn't, the flame rises, away from the container. Wax on its own does not burn easily; it needs a wick. As soon as the flame goes out it will cool and harden. If the pm is firm and compact, it should not support combustion at the sort of temperatures at the end of a candle.
But - test it out.
DavidO
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We have just come back from Finland and the house we stay in has a large number of wooden chandeliers and candle sticks. They are varnished and or treated but otherwise the only concession to the candle and flame is a small moulded cup with a lip (like an upside down top hat) for the candle to sit in.
I think David is onto something, mould the candle stick around a tea light holder or similar.
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