Hi, I have been thinking about this too. I made paper-mache lasts of my feet. Obviously it is important to wrap in plastic first. I found on a warm day outside in the sun is best but ended up using a hairdryer as well. I waited for the paper-mache to dry to the point where I could gently remove it, then I kept reinforcing the shape from the inside. I think for whole body shape and to avoid claustrophobia, it would be best to work in halves, in other words do front first, then get a friend to do the back. Later when the shapes are dry and strong, you can join them together. I wanted to use my shapes to design shoes and clothes. What is your project?

What kind of paper did you use?  Strips or pulp?  What kind of adhesive?

Fact of life:  papier mache kind of stretches when it's wet, and contracts when it dries.

You might try two techniques.

Try using a 'harder' paper, a hot-pressed paper like copier paper or kraft paper.  Try to avoid machine- or scissor-cut edges, tear your edges.  Cut edges just don't want to stay down.

Don't soak the paper. Try just brushing your adhesive onto the paper strips and applying, smoothing firmly as you go.  And don't use pieces that are too large.  Large pieces are fine for flat and basically flat surfaces, but they will wrinkle on curves, so you'll have to make them smaller.

When you're sanding, be sure to use a block of wood under the sandpaper, as just fingers and sandpaper won't do it.

If your wrinkles are small, you may find it easier to build up the surface a bit with gesso or a high-quality paint primer. Apply multiple thin coats, letting dry between each.

When David is working with paper pulp, he lets it dry partially, and then burnishes it with the back of a spoon.  I have never tried it, but I wonder if it would help with the wrinkle problem on strip work, too?

Yes, using liquid plaster on body parts can cause severe burns that require multiple skin grafts.  Don't do it!  Bandaging plaster (as for casts) is much safer if used correctly.

Sue

It's been a long time since I posted on this thread -- EIGHT YEARS!

But this exact thread came up yesterday when I was in a grocery store, of all places.  This website, this thread.  What are the odds of that happening???

Anyway, two women were talking in one of the aisles, and as I passed, I heard the words 'papier mache'. Naturally, I slowed down to eavesdrop and pretended to be looking at the things on the shelves.

One of them was telling about finding this thread about using the packaging tape to make two arms (I didn't interrupt to ask why -- I can restrain myself to a certain point).

She said she applied the first layer of tape as explained above, wrapping it with the sticky side outward.  But when it came to the next layer, it was brilliant! She used strips of an old bedsheet, and stuck that to the sticky side of the tape. And then she painted the fabric with several coatings of plain acrylic paint. 

Apparently, she had just done it, and was waiting for the paint to dry. Then she was going to PM it, using the tape/fabric/paint as a mold.

I had never thought of doing something like that. I wonder if the acrylic paint would have any negative effect on the tape adhesive, causing the damp fabric to pull loose from the tape?

If it works, it would be a fairly simple way to make molds for at least a few castings of papier mache.

I just thought that I would pass this idea along, in case it might solve someone's need for a cheap, fairly quick mold.

I wish I had asked her what she was doing with the arms. Now, I will probably wonder about it for the next thirty years.....

Sue