Thank you, I will keep an eye out for an update of the article and news of your source from India.
Yea I fully agree about flour paste. Although it is wonderful to work with, it just doesn't stand up to the humidity and insects here in Australia. This is my opinion of course, I have read of many people (not in Aus) who recommend it wholeheartedly, and very successful PM people they are too.
I put bleach in the paste I make and Eucalyptus oil as well to stop insects munching on it and it works for about 6 months then suddenly the piece becomes dinner.
Mould is another problem and  humidity makes a rock hard piece soft in no time. However it could be that  I don't take enough time to finish my work off with varnish, shellac etc, I simply paint it thickly and thoroughly with acrylic paint, but that is a whole new topic for discussion. lol
Anyway I will continue to try to source it here as well as watching this space for updates. Thanks again.
Lesley.

Thanks again, I will keep looking too, hopefully we will find a decent source, for everyone.
Lesley

I then went looking for a comparison of methyl cellulose and ethulose and came up book preservation wiki chapter that is a bit above my head (to say the least) ... but it does seems to be a fairly comprehensive list of the kinds of cellulose-based adhesives (as well as many other kinds) and suggestions on how to mix them, how they're used and how stable they are. 

http://www.conservation-wiki.com/index. … _Adhesives

The brand names of methyl cellulose listed are:

Methocel A4M, A15C, A4C, A15 (Dow Chemical Co., USA); Culminal (Henkel, Germany, was available through Talas in 1982 and from Process Materials as Process Materials or Archivart Methyl Cellulose, also available in the U.S. from Aqualon); Methofas (Imperial Chemical Industries, England); other brands from unspecified manufacturers are available; Light Impressions Methyl Cellulose.

Perhaps one of these other names might help as well.

-- B

I have looked up the Dow Chemical company and they are also in Australia. They sell the product as Clear+Stable Carboxymethyl Cellulose. I have emailed them for information of price and shipping, but as it is Sunday here, I am not expecting a reply till Tuesday or later. Will post when I do.
Lesley.

Well Peter replied quicker than i thought he would, and with some very interesting information. Here is his email..
"Hello Lesley,
CMC was once used by bookbinders and conservators as a mild adhesive
for Japanese paper and other paper repairs requiring a mild adhesive,
as a sizing agent, and for mixing with the white synthetic adhesives
to dilute it.  It lost favour because it didn't meet the stringent
tests for archival quality.  Methyl Cellulose then took over, after
the conservation industry did their various tests on it.  MC has
become the preferred mild adhesive and sizing agent for use in this
industry.
Unless your paper mache colleagues have advised otherwise, we would
venture to suggest that Methyl Cellulose might be a suitable
alternative as an adhesive for use in PM.
Notwithstanding, CMC  has been traditionally available in Australia
from Hercules.  http://www.herculeschem.com.au.
 
Methyl Cellulose, under the trade name Methocel, has been
traditionally available in Australia from Dow Chemicals and/or their
sister company, Rohm and Haas.  It may also be available from
re-packaging distributors in smaller quantities, such as Preservation
Australia and Archival Survival.
I hope that this has been helpful for you.
Yours,
Peter Krantz."
I will look into this information today to see if I can source both products. I somehow thought CMC and MC were the same thing, please let me know what you think of Peter"s comments about the two.
Lesley.

Well I just reread David's article, and his comments above and it answers quite a few of my questions. A little does go a long way, so it may well be worth the money. I am a bit confused about the difference between CMC and MC. It seems MC is archival quality and CMC is not as archival. I wonder if CMC is any cheaper than MC, but I can't seem to find small quantities of CMC. I also wonder if it is worth having archival quality adhesive for the standard of my work, after all PM is hobby to me, not a business. Also would wallpaper paste do the job just as well with no postage and high expense?? Anyway, I have run away at the keyboard long enough I am off now and await any further input.
Lesley

All this is tremendously helpful and adds a great deal to the knowledge.  Yes it is expensive but, as we have noted, a little goes a long way.

P.S.  It's also good as a laxative (a little goes a long way!!??)

Hi Lesley,

Don't worry about the questions ... it helps me clarify, actually.

I think of MC's stickiness as the equivalent of a mild magnet -- think refrigerator magnet.  Strong enough to hold something light, like a piece of paper, to the fridge.  It's definitely sticky enough to hold 2 (or more) strips of paper together.  You still have to make sure to get good contact between the 2 -- edges will always peel up, regardless of stickiness, if the contact isn't good.  Also, MC connects with the paper in a way that other pastes don't.  I don't really know of another way to say this.  But as David has pointed out in his stuff, when I let a piece of newsprint sit with CMC on it (or my combo) the newsprint 'softens' -- so it's a little like leather.  I find it's actually easier with the 'softened' paper to get good contact between the layers.  (It can get too soft.)

I do think MC is very likely good enough to use by itself.  I like to add the PVA Glue (White glue) and starch because it adds a little strength, so I don't need to use quite as many layers to build something that will hold it's shape.  I'm usually going to put a (thin) layer of paper mache pulp clay on the top of the piece, so with my strip mache I'm going for shape and strength vs. detail. 

I also use a wallpaper roller (brayer?) to paste my paper, and I lay 2-3 pieces together at a time -- so I make sure the contact is there, between the layers, before I put it on my piece.  Does that make sense?  So when I say the newsprint is sitting in CMC I'm not immersing it.  I've spread a thin layer of paste on it, then I squeegee most of it off. 

With the MC+PVA+starch combination I can usually get away with 4-5 layers of paper (on a beach ball or cylinder, say) being strong enough to hold it's shape when I start putting on the clay layer. 

Pieces usually dry within 12 hours.  (Or if they're on a plastic armature -- like a beach ball -- they're dry enough for me to remove the armature and let the insides dry a bit more.

I don't have the patience it takes to do individual layers of strips, let them dry, and then add another individual layer.  : )

As for the uses ... for use #3, you're right -- wet strips work fine as well.  I find sometimes they don't stick together enough for me -- so I use plain MC instead.   For the scrunched paper ... use #5 -- it's not soaked in MC ... in fact it works best with a little less than a full coat of MC -- (this is sometimes how I use up the left over paste on the tray when I finish  -- I lay a piece of paper on the leftover paste, scrunch it into a shape (ball, moon shape, whatever -- and these are scrunches, so it's a loose, general shape.)  After it dries it'll hold it shape.  Before it dries it'll mostly hold it's shape and I can attach it using more MC and/or an MC pasted strip to hold it down. 

It also works to soak strips and build them up -- the dark blue gargoyle's head in the links below was done that way.  But I ended up using more paper than I needed to, which added a bit of weight.  Fine for a gargoyle ... but I'm usually trying to make my pieces as light as possible. 

For use #4 ... I'm using MC strips to cover gaps in a cardboard armature.  So I've got basically a cardboard skeleton underneath ... and I use 1 layer of MC strips to 'skin' the piece.  They're sticky enough to adhere to the cardboard.  Light enough to mostly hold up on top of the gaps.  And one layer dries really quickly.  Once dry, it's solid enough to hold up to my multiple layer strip technique.  Before this I was using oodles of masking tape. 

To be fair, I do still use masking tape if I need to hold something 'against it's will' -- so if I curve a piece of cardboard, I'll anchor it down with either hot glue or masking tape.  And then use strips to build it up / flesh it out, whatever. 

Maybe pictures would help?

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X … directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/1162906120 … 1283849890

Here's the full album (with dark blue gargoyle too) if you're interested ...

https://picasaweb.google.com/1162906120 … loween2011

If you've got more questions ... I'm happy to share.  This is fun.  : )

-- b

Wow, this is running and running . . and very helpful.  My method is very similar to Beth's (bmaskmaker) but I use the paste, slightly thinned down, in Nives method as well when I want silken smooth finish.
Looking at my supplies I see that one is labelled 'Methyl Cellulose' and at the moment, quite honestly, I don't know the difference between this and CMC or SCMC but I'm chasing that one.
I never use starch, just MC and PVA (25%) and this gives me (or least the artefact) great strength.  I get 1.2 litres from 30gm of powder.  The viscosity is such that it almost dries on my fingers as I apply it and I only smear the surface of the newsprint, though not leaving gaps.  This softens the paper sufficiently to lay very smoothly.
Sometime, if I want something a bit more sculptural, I roll the pulp I make to very thin between two plastic sheets and apply it to the laminated surface.

I got an email from Preservation Australia saying I can buy 250grams for $18 plus a massive $12 postage, (can't figure out why it is so expensive, unless it takes into account handling etc which is fair enough but too dear for my liking) so I am going to ask for the postage on the 500gram and 1kg lots. It might be cheaper to get that amount.  It's funny you can send 3kg in a plastic bag like envelope for $11 in Australia, but I don't know how the MC is packaged so this way may not be an option. Anyway it certainly bumps up the price of MC. Oh the hassles of it all.

Back to the replys above now..Thanks David, all this information and the MC is certain to improve my mouldy, insect chewed efforts of late. I love to hear other artists techniques, especially the artists like you and Beth that are good at it.lol  And I agree Jackie, those pumpkins are different, loosely based on Scott Stoll's idea. (Maybe not, sorry Beth if I am wrong). There must have been millions of those characters made but Beth has put her own ideas into it and created a patch of very appealing individuals.
Will let you know about larger amount postage costs asap in what is becoming a marathon topic, I love it. lol
Lesley.

CMC (Carboxymethyl Cellulose) is really the product that is best for us.  It derives from waste cellulose - plant fibres, wood etc - and is treated first with Sodium Hydroxide, Monochloroacetic acid, an inert solvent (like alcohol), purified by washing to extract the solvent, dried, ground to a very fine powder and then packaged.  There are many varieties, suitable for varying purposes and the product from each manufacturer will be identifiably different to an expert.
I  am advised by a paper expert that for our purposes the combination of 25% PVA is sensible to achieve the strength of adhesion we need.
It's good that we are all still researching this.

MC v. CMC?    To be honest, it's not from my experience.  I was told it by an industry specialist.  I still haven't found what the difference is between the two in manufacturing/chemical terms but I'm working at it, as I'm sure you are too.  Ultimately, for us, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  YOUR EXPERIENCE COUNTS.