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Is this possible? Do I want to use a wood PVA glue or something else? I'm likely to be getting a very boring white bedside table - I'd like to make it a lot more interesting - I'm then want to seal/laquer it does this require anything more than I final coat of glue? I did a lot of this as a kid but haven't in years and am somewhat rusty!
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Wood PVA should work. I would sand the surface of the laminate to give it some 'tooth'.
Are you planning on leaving the surface flat/smooth, or adding some dimension to it? Painting it?
Sue
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At least on the top I want it flat for practicalities reasons as it'll be my bedside table. I'm intending having a crepe/tissue paper layer and then various things on top of that which is why I leant toward paper mache as I was not sure other techniques would produce that (and I'm familar with paper mache). I'm not sure of the differences between Decoupage and paper mache... I'm also disabled which makes sanding hard (though I could just take my dremel to it, it won't be the fastest thing). I'll have a google around for how to do Decoupage but any pointers/explanation of the difference/useful links would be very much appreciated.
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I don't quite understand your idea of having crêpe/tissue. Both of these would be delicate and very water absorbent. The idea of découpage is using cut out pictures, making a collage (cor blimey, all these French words!).
Kraft (brown) paper is good because it is strong, blends well and is easily sanded. You could then cover it with your decorative layer. A mixture of PVA with wallpaper paste would work well.
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Paper mache for me has always been several layers of newspaper as a base followed by 2-3 layers of torn up tissue/crepe paper, sometimes followed by pictures etc on top. I am trying to work out how to do this on laminated wood. I would then seal it with (probably) varnish to prevent the absorbency being an issue.
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As Sue said, use PVA to bond the first layer to the wood. I suggest you dispense with the tissue/crêpe. To help with smoothness, you could burnish it with the back of a spoon dipped in the paste and then let it dry totally before adding the découpage.
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dopapier wrote:
As Sue said, use PVA to bond the first layer to the wood. I suggest you dispense with the tissue/crêpe. To help with smoothness, you could burnish it with the back of a spoon dipped in the paste and then let it dry totally before adding the découpage.
Bonding the first layer to the wood is indeed what I was unsure about - wanting to check that PVA would work for that... as to the tissue paper/crepe - I really don't have another idea for getting the effect I want (you need paper that's translucent) is there something in particular an issue with this senario as I have done paper mache with these numerous times and am quite happy working with them *once I know how to get stuff attached to the laminate in the first place*. I am a deliberately going for something not that neat but rather more organic and colourful which that has always produced for me, for actually using it as furniture I can't think of anything that would be an issue given a few coats of varnish?
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Go for it then. Use your instinct.
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Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing... This is what I call crepe paper: http://barbschram.blogspot.com/2011/05/ … dness.html
I have never used crepe paper for PM. When you get it wet, do the wrinkles come out? Or do you use them for texture?
Do you have any kind of photo or link to a photo of what you're wanting to do? You've got me curious!
Sue
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I tend to use tissue paper more than crepe paper in the past though you can use both, I'm currently not able to get to any of my paper creations but a quite google image search presents this as a general example of what I mean. I may well add cut out on top. http://dollarstorecrafts.com/wp-content … nterns.jpg
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Thank you. Just the 'standard' flat PM covering.
If you could find a discarded piece of the laminate material, you could try a few different things, just to make sure they work, before you start on the table. Mainly, to make sure it sticks.
If a trial piece isn't available, maybe you could sand a small spot in an inconspicuous place (like a bottom corner), apply straight PVA glue and let it dry thoroughly, then try to peel it off. This wouldn't be 100% foolproof because plastic materials and plastic glues can take time to work with or against each other.
One thing I would do is to not leave any raw edges or corners on the surfaces. Wrap all of the PM around the edges, including the bottom. This would help to prevent a weak spot from pulling loose, and strengthen the corners.
But it does sound like an interesting project!
Sue
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Hi Numberland. I also have a disability, so I understand the difficulty with sanding things.
I sometimes use colored packing tissue for coloring the surface of papiermache pieces. Because the tissue is semi-transparent, several layers create a slightly more luminous color than occurs with opaque paper.
My best results have come when I first underpainted the surface of the piece with a basecoat of white acrylic, and then sealed it with Mod Podge (like PVA). I also had better luck getting smooth layers if I first painted a thin, even, coat of the glue on the area I want to paper, and then placed the dry tissue very carefully on the damp, glued area and sort of "pat" it down. My glue dries very quickly, so I apply fairly small pieces of tissue at a time. Very much like applying wallpaper to a kitchen wall, only much more gently, as tissue is so fragile.
In the end, you could try coating your finished table top with an acrylic glaze or medium to protect it. Alternatively, you could have a small piece of lucite cut to fit the tabletop for a protective layer.
I hope you'll post your creation, I'd love to see it!
Regards, Scylla
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