Possible New Material For Pepakura Construction

[tserrof]

i actually might do this instead sence u said its easier

 

[Spartan857]

i was told by my uncle that if you use muslin that its very bad in wet conditions, u get it wet and it just melts pretty much cause its waterbased. is this true?

 

[feigned echo]

i was told by my uncle that if you use muslin that its very bad in wet conditions, u get it wet and it just melts pretty much cause its waterbased. is this true?

i'm fairly certain this is true, but you could always resin it.

 

[Ari]

I was experimenting with this today and I've gotten somewhat mixed results. It can work but there are some significant drawbacks.

The first and largest problem is that water + paper = soggy paper...
I started by trying a 1:1 mix of water and glue. As I continued experimenting I increased the amount of glue relative to the amount of water. Despite squeezing out as much of the water/glue as possible, the paper (i'm using 110lbs cardstock) will eventually absorb the water. Once this starts to happen the piece gets lumpy and starts to lose its shape.

The method that yielded the best results for me was to do small pieces one at a time and drying them right away with a blow dryer. This kept the piece from warping out of shape but the outside surfaces (I put the cloth on the inside) still became slightly lumpy. Not a problem if you're going to go over the outside with bondo or whatever. I believe this method could be used effectively as a non toxic alternative but its slow work having to stop to dry each piece of cloth so you don't ruin the paper. Also, as the cloth dries it tends to expand which can change the shape of the piece but not a terrible amount.

If you have a way to seal the paper so that it doesn't absorb moisture that would make the cloth much easier and faster to work with.

 

[cys920622]

i have doubts of one layer of white glue+ muslin cloth being able to hold your weight without cracking if it's in the butt-plate convex shape. it's a lot more insecure geometrically than the cube.

should't we build cars out of muslin if it equals 15 layers of fiberglass?

i heard 3 should do fine for the buttplate.



and as for muslin collapsing in water... it's probably true. if you want to wear your stuff in rain, i suggest you go over it with resin to make it waterproof.
because resin actually has a chemical reaction that bonds stuff together permanently, but glue, the water just goes away and leaves the glue behind. its all physical.
physical reactions are reversable which means it the water comes back its going to liquify the glue again.
chemical reactions on the other hand, can't be reveresed as easily, let alone by water.
yay for gr 10 chemistry

 

[Rocknrollcows]

u could prolly just resin the outside of it with a few coats and then use the Muslin as a replacement fiberglass on the inside. if you want to be extra safe, you could prolly resin a few coats on the insides too.


EDIT:
hey, is this muslin stuff sandable?

 

[Ari]

u could prolly just resin the outside of it with a few coats and then use the Muslin as a replacement fiberglass on the inside. if you want to be extra safe, you could prolly resin a few coats on the insides too.
EDIT:
hey, is this muslin stuff sandable?

I figured that if you're using resin at all you might as well go all the way and use fiberglass too.

I haven't tried but I would guess that sanding it would make a mess of the cloth.

 

[kanna]

Another possible alternative is Plaster craft strips. I used this to make a Jack Skellington costume once. You just dip them in water and lay on the piece, get's hard as a rock. Also there's a moldable crafting material called Crayola Model Magic. feels like foam-rubber but works like clay. you could easily beef up and customize you pieces with it.
Plaster Strips
Model Magic

 

[rvb18]

this muslin ideal sounds cool but how good is it with elmers wen theres wall paper paste ? might work good!! or might work perfect!!!!!!!

 

[tsau mia]

I was experimenting with this today and I've gotten somewhat mixed results. It can work but there are some significant drawbacks.

The first and largest problem is that water + paper = soggy paper...
I started by trying a 1:1 mix of water and glue. As I continued experimenting I increased the amount of glue relative to the amount of water. Despite squeezing out as much of the water/glue as possible, the paper (i'm using 110lbs cardstock) will eventually absorb the water. Once this starts to happen the piece gets lumpy and starts to lose its shape.

The method that yielded the best results for me was to do small pieces one at a time and drying them right away with a blow dryer. This kept the piece from warping out of shape but the outside surfaces (I put the cloth on the inside) still became slightly lumpy. Not a problem if you're going to go over the outside with bondo or whatever. I believe this method could be used effectively as a non toxic alternative but its slow work having to stop to dry each piece of cloth so you don't ruin the paper. Also, as the cloth dries it tends to expand which can change the shape of the piece but not a terrible amount.

If you have a way to seal the paper so that it doesn't absorb moisture that would make the cloth much easier and faster to work with.

To seal the paper, you can just go to the (craft or hobby) store and pick up some acrylic sealer. It's about $3-$4 a can, But it would work. A cheaper alternative might be a clear coat of spraypaint. I think wal mart might sell it for 99 cents