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Hello All,
This is my first post on Papier Mache Forums. I am an old retired man in Houston, Texas USA. For lack of anything better or smarter to do, I am trying to encourage development of a new generation of pop-pop steamboat toys that would look more like real steamboats and less like the little tin boats that I remember playing with before WW2. I thought the best way to do this might be on a Yahoo discussion group. I wasn't able to find a group with members who had any interest in pop-pop boats and finally decided the only way to find a group for discussing pop-pop boats would be to start the pop-pop-steamboats group at <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pop-pop-steamboats/>.
One of our members is trying to develop a pop-pop model of Robert Fulton's steamboat, Clermont, that might be used as part of a bicentennial celebration of the Clermont's first trip up the Hudson River in August. 1807.
I am more interested in finding a general method for designing and building small working scale models of 19th century vessels. There are very few kits or plans for models of this kind, so some of us are trying to find methods for converting some of the kits and plans for paper ship and boat display models that are mostly waterline types into working scale models that could be propelled by pop-pop engines. I have seen several posts about methods for making papier mache objects waterproof and will share a source that I found recently at <http://www.aquaseal.com/map-seal.html>.
A customer service guy sent me a piece of a paper map that had been treated with the company's Map SealŪ product. I tested the piece and a piece from an old road map by putting them in a glass of water overnight. The results were that the piece of treated map paper had absorbed some water, but its strength and dimensions didn't seem to have been affected. In contrast, the untreated piece tore when I tried to lift it by one corner.
Most members probably know this already, but for a while during the latter half of the 19th century the principal US manufacturer of small boats made them out of paper.
Go to <http://kcupery.home.isp-direct.com/> for this one.
More next time and best wishes, Frank McNeill
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Hi Frank,
Very interesting read. I shall look up the links you gave.
You may like to have a chat with Chris Shilling (Shilbo) about papier mache boats. See his experimentation: http://www.papiermache.co.uk/exec/cms-d … iew/id-45/
Making a boat out of papier mache really is putting the medium to its ultimate test. Please keep us informed how you get on.
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I just read through all the steps about the narrow boat model. Very interesting and I will pass the information along to a member of the pop-pop-steamboats group who lives in a narrowboat made of steel.
Best wishes, Frank
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Interesting.
What has happened over time with the wet map? Did it dry thoroughly or mold?
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Hi Seeria,
It wasn't an entire map, just a small piece that had been cut from what appeared to be a topographic map with elevation lines. I should have mentioned that the treated piece of map paper wasn't sopping wet, like the way a piece of untreated map was. It felt damp and was bone dry within a few hours. The printing looked the same as before, and there weren't any wrinkles, as there probably would be on untreated paper that was dried out.
If any members of Papier Mache Forums would like to use paper mache to reinforce a paper model, they might go to <http://www.papershipwright.co.uk/index.html> to visit David Hathaway's website. David is located in the UK and has several free models that can be downloaded as PDF files. We have one member who designs and sells kits for paper models. Go to <http://www.micromodelsusa.com/> for Matthew Sparks's website. Another member might use his kit for a model of Fulton's steamboat "Clermont" as the basis for developing a pop-pop Clermont that could be used later this year at a bicentennial celebration of the Clermont's first trip up the Hudson River in August, 1807. The Clermont wasn't the first steamboat in the US, but it was the first one that actually turned a profit by hauling passengers between New York City and Albany, New York at a breakneck speed of from 5 to 8 miles an hour, depending on whether it was up or down river, and which way the wind was blowing.
I don't know if there are distributors for Aquaseal products in the UK, but anyone who is interested could find out by going to <http://www.aquaseal.com/map-seal.html> for their email address. Ask for Dan, the super customer service guy who sent me a sample that I hadn't actually requested.
In closing, I would like to invite everyone to visit the pop-pop-steamboats group at <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pop-pop-steamboats/> where they can read messages without joining. Joining is subject to approval by a moderator and requires a few words of explanation about why people want to join. If any forum members decide they want to join, the word paper, papier, or mache, would be enough to obtain approval.
Best wishes, Frank (frankmcneilll)
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Thanks for the info 
I found a couple suppliers of Map Seal so might just have to snag that for outdoor product testing.
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Hi Seeria,
If you do snag some of the stuff, do a mini-test to see if it might be used as an alternative to Elmer's PVA stuff for sticking pieces of newsprint together. Otherwise, I might actually have to snag some for myself!
Best wishes, frankmcneilll
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I am under the impression that Map Seal is much like Thompson's Water Seal, a silicone product. I read about it many years ago. I hope I remember it correctly. If you happen to have some lying around, you might try it.
Sue
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Hi Sue,
I didn't receive a sample of Map Seal, just a small piece of a map that had been treated with it. The treated sample was slightly stiffer and more springy than paper from an old road map I used for comparision and remained that way after being immersed in water overnight.
The company's literature states that it is a water-based product, nothing more. I suspect that what it does is act as a surrogate for the lignin that keeps trees and other plants from flopping over like rag dolls. The lignin is removed as part of the process for turning wood into paper, and I think that Map seal probably replaces the lignin with something that acts in a similar way to hold cellulosic fibers in place when the paper is wet. The advertising also claims that Map Seal makes maps more resistant to folding and unfolding by acting like an extra hinge.
Frank
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All they say is that it is a polymer, and it's proprietary. Not much to go on, is it? Anyway, since many polymers are made from wood cellulose, you may be right.
Sue
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