The First Paper Mache Tutorial

[OverKill]

The First Official? Paper Mache Tutorial

If you cant afford Smooth cast, having trouble with getting your parents to buy Fiberglass Resin, or just don't have cash. Here is an alterative for you...

Paper Mache!

*Also more examples and step by step pics coming soon*

Heres what you'll need:

1. Your Pepped piece (with struts and sealed with paint)
2. Flour (varies in amount)
3. Water (varies in amount)
4. Paper (newspaper 5in. by 2in. or 13cm by 5cm)
5. 1 spoon
6. 1 bowl

Other materials:

1. white glue or wood glue (replaces flour and water)
2. Paper pulp (Paper shredded and soaked in water for 24 hours, dried and mixed with glue)

How to make the Paper Mache mixture:

(not my video)
step 1: add 1 cup of flour to a bowl
step 2: pour in 1 cup of water

step 3: mix till a smooth consistancy

Now lets go outside with the:

1. Pepped piece with sealant (paint) and supports(strut/cardboard, where the piece can warp)
2. Paper Mache Mix (flour and water or glue mixes)
3. Cut up newspaper or printer paper

To start off:

step 1: dip newspaper strip in mixture and take off exccess mixture
step 2: Layer on the newspaper onto you Pepped piece
step 3: repeat steps 2 through 3 till pep is completely covered like so...

step 4: Once Pep is covered set out in the sun, if not done already
step 5: wait till dryed (It depends on the amount of layers and what materials are used)
step 6: Now to add strength to your Pepped piece do step 2 through 6, till the piece is strengthened to your liking.

The Final Step: Once you are done Paper Maching your piece, continue as you would with a resined piece

Tips/Hints:

1. When making changes to you piece you will have to re-paper mache the edges or section changed.
2. The more layers the stronger it will become. (I broke a blade for my exacto knife trying to cut into my chest piece)
3. Have at least 3 layers on inside and outsides of the Pep.
4. Very messy so careful of what it gets on.

My first Finished peices:

 

[PhantomSG13]

This is awesome. Thanks for sharing and taking the time to do this. I know not everyone will do it this way, but great tut and thanks for getting the info out there.

 

[OverKill]

Thanks, I am glad to help.

 

[Roadkiller]

Good idea to put this up!

To make it complete, you ought to include a pic of a finished piece.

 

[OverKill]

Just added some, My first armor I made and that Pic in the tut are of today and my first armor. I will be adding some H1 Marine thigh to this thread once they are done.

 

[Devious]

What about using a watered down white glue mixture instead of the flour? Have you tried this yet? Can you sand the maché?

This looks like a very good method for the resin deprived who still want to build.

 

[Charlieiscool12]

why would you not use the paper mache on the inside of the piece?

 

[OverKill]

@Devious
I haven't tried whit glue yet, but want to and can you sand it? I havn't needed to but the roughness would be becuase of the dried up flour on it so I think you can.

@Charlieiscool12
I didn't say not the inside. If you got mistaken by

1."The Final Step: Once you are done Paper Maching your piece, continue as you would with a resined piece". I meant like bondoing, sanding cutting and things like that after it is hardened.
or
2. "3. Have at least 3 layers on inside and outsides of the Pep". This means 3 layer inside and 3 layers outside, for a total of 6 layers or More If you want it stronger.

Hope this helps and I will be making a new non-warpped H2 ODST helmet and H1 marine thighs, using Paper Mache.

 

[Boba Fett]

Real quick, Paper mache sucks for strength normally. I tried it once, but I used wood glue in the mix. Made it a LOT stronger. just a thought.

 

[SpartanRogue1]

also, i tried something like this, and found out the hard way: seal it first with something like modgepodge or something, becuase when i did it, the mixture wasnt that great (too much water), and it fell apart. just a word of warning for anyone who might attempt this.

 

[Charlieiscool12]

I was just saying that Ive seen a lot of paper mache builds that cover the outside. Wouldnt it be better to JUST cover the inside?

 

[OverKill]

Thanks for the input, I will try to put up a Tut for Paper Mache with a glue base on this thread when I do try it and possibly paper pulp.

@Boba Fett
It can have horrible strength, but thats the amount of layers you put on it. Thanks I will need to try wood glue, if I don't use white elmers glue.

@SpartanRouge1
I forgot to add that...wow that was a fail.

@Charlieiscool12
I think it depends on the thing being paper mached, but as for armor I think it better to cover both because the overlapping of the strips strengthens and that whats really gives it more of its strength.

 

[Trooper114]

Awsome idea puing this up, it has to be a sticky.

 

[sik1276]

Most of the time, the reason why you shouldn't paper-mache the inside is because of the weight and wetness of the strip, the wet strip will somehow warp and contort the pep build itself to adhere to the strip, not the other way around. Doing a layer or two on the outside first will keep build smooth.

 

[PmsProxy]

Guys telling you this as a Art student, If you use flour it gets moldy after a little while!. You need to use wood glue and water, It will dry harder, it wont go moldy, and you can still sand it.

So stay away from Flour!!!

 

[sonic sod]

how did you fight warping with this method??

 

[sik1276]

how did you fight warping with this method??

You could use a sealer or try to reduce the water in the mache. Like I posted before, what works for me is do a thin layer on the outside, then do layers on the inside. That way, it's a little stronger at the beginning and the strips are not wetting, dragging, and warping the pep build inwards
.

Guys telling you this as a Art student, If you use flower it gets moldy after a little while!. You need to use wood glue and water, It will dry harder, it wont go moldy, and you can still sand it.

So stay away from Flower!!!

Pretty sure this is "flour", but yes wood glue works wells.

 

[LMNOspartan]

Another way to go is to use paper mache pulp. You blend up (or cut if you have a lot of time on your hands) a bunch of paper (i used printer paper and it worked well) and then soak it all in water for a few days. you then drain out the water and add either glue or flour. This makes a sort of paper mache clay that you can apply to your armor, and IT IS sandable. And it's fun to work with! you can sand it down smooth as well.

WARNING: this WILL warp your piece if not properly reinforced with more paper mache layers etc.

Any questions just ask.

 

[box o crayons]

A thing you should add is that paper mache to fully cure and dry takes almost 24 hours, so i have seen people mess it up by trying to move it when its wet and having it fall apart, you need to let it fully cure and to get off the excess paper mache after dipping it a trick i use is to run the strip through my fingers then apply.

 

[fury101]

really silly question guys but i have to ask. Im thinking about redoing my Mk VI helmet as i really think i screwed up using Shellshock (everything else came out fine) if i resin both the inside and outside of the new helmet with fibreglass resin to make it good and stiff will paper mache using white glue mix stick to it ok. I am only going to do the inside of the helmet with the paper mache as i want to keep the full detailing on the outside. Obviously im looking at doing multiple layers inside. I need a cheap material which i can take to work and doesnt smell too much (long night shifts doing security = perfect opportunity to get this done) any help is much appreciated