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Hello,
I am going to buy new covers for my motorbike to ride on track. They are completely white and instead of paying 300€ to let them paint i was thinking to paste them with news papers.
Does anyone have any info/tips how i can to this best?
I was thinking of using papier mache and after it's full of newspaper articles spray it with a varnish?
This is the cover i need to fill up:
Thank you very much!
Regards.
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If you're going to do this, I'd probably just use the varnish as the glue. So brush on a thin layer of varnish on a section of the cover, then lay down your newspaper (are these articles about you? or about motorbiking? or just strips?) ... then brush on more varnish. In this case you're using the newspaper as decoration rather than trying to make the cover sturdier, so you don't have to worry about layering. Just do what looks best to you. Then put at least one additional coat of varnish to protect it, probably more.
Actually what you're doing a little more like decoupage than papier mache.
Good luck with it, and let us know how it turns out.
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Are the covers plastic? Do you know what kind of plastic? How much flex is there with that material?
If it flexes much, the papier mache may start pulling away from the covers. Bmaskmaker's suggestion to use varnish may hold it better than most glues, but plastics are funny. The plasticizers in them differ, that's why different plastics take different adhesives. Some types of adhesives will hold for a while, then start pulling apart.
If you do try it, let us know how it works, okay?
Sue
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Ok, thank you very much for your reply's. The covers are from hard plastic, it's not so flexible.
Which type of varnish should i use? Do you think, if i put enough layers varnish after it, it will hold against rain? (It will only see 3-4 day's rain a year)
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I'd suggest using whatever kind of varnish the cover manufacturer recommends. (So maybe instead of paying the 300 for them to paint, you pay something and they send you whatever they use as a clear coat or final varnish. Also ask them how many layers they recommend ... (You can try to get away with less if you want, but at least you'll have their recommendation.)
By using the varnish as the paste, essentially what you'll be doing is saturating the newspaper with the varnish, so ideally it should be as impervious to rain as the rest of the plastic. I'd think it'd hold up to the rain fine. I'm a little more concerned about dirt and sand and grit. But I'd think it'd hold up about equally to a paint job.
Sue, David, anyone else have other ideas or thoughts?
Good luck with it, sounds like a fun project.
-- Beth
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If you look up the manufacturer of the covers online, what type of plastic do they say they're made from? Some are ABS plastic.
Here is a how-to for painting ABS plastic that might be helpful: http://www.ehow.com/how_4925502_paint-abs-plastic.html
It says that the surface gloss must be lightly abraded with fine sandpaper before painting, so the paint will stick.
They say that you can use 'just about any solvent-based paint'.
I am saying 'paint' here, but I am assuming that the same conditions would apply when using varnish. Here is some info on varnish and the types that exist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varnish. Be aware that some varnishes are clear, some are tinted; some have a glossy finish and some are semi-gloss or satin. The drying or curing times depend on the chemical makeup, some take longer so you would have to take care not to scratch the surface until it is hard.
Sue
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