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This is the first time I have been on this site and have found it very useful. I want to make sure my papier mache is completely 'green'. I have decided to use either organic fairtrade flower or eco-friendly wall paper paste.
I have found some eco-friendly emulsions - do these seal as well as the normal paints - has anyone used them? Do they last as long over time?
I would also like some of my models to look recycled and therefore need a clear sealant - I was thinking of eco-friendly clear varnish - has anyone tried this? Does anyone have any other ideas?
The models will only be inside.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Jo :-)
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Sue (Catperson) and others will probably be able to give you a very knowledgeable answer. I would say that any of the 'environmentally friendly' emulsions - basically (I think) water based - are fine. They will give an adequate seal for indoors and a good surface finish.
For the paste, methyl cellulose is OK. Even as wallpaper paste, with fungicide addition, it won't be a problem unless you dumped it in large quantities. Methyl cellulose seems quite difficult to find. I think we ought to build references in the Forum as to where it can be found in the various countries and what name it goes by. (How about it everyone?)
DavidO
The Ozzard of Wiz
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Our family is moving towards being totally green and eco friendly. All natural, no chemicals, renewable, recycled, etc. The cost for most items that fit this is very high, so we're not in the position to use them as testers while we're still learning the craft.
As money allows, we'll pick up items to test out. One thing you might do is write to the non-POV paint companies and other greenery type companies and explain what you're testing out. They might be able to give you more details on their products, share testing they've done or provide you with samples.
We'd love to hear any results you have.
Kind regards,
See & family
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Jo,
you don't say where you are. David and I can give you info for UK products but for the US you will need Sue(Catperson).
Thanks for the question though, I realised that I have no idea how environmentally friendly the paste I use is. I have always worked on the assumption that cold starch or cellulose pastes are ok as they are plant by products, obtained through simple extractions. But I know nothing about the fungicides employed.
Re: paste, if you are really worried then I would make yourself a batch of boiled flour paste and add drops of oil of cloves to the finished glue. The flour and water is a standard starch adhesive and the oil of cloves is pretty effective at detering mould. I suspect you could probably also use Teatree for the same thing only it would be more expensive.
You are going to struggle to be truly green with paints, even if you have a non toxic, water solvent base, the paint manufacturers used pigments that are likely to be fairly noxious.
If they are from plant sources then they will be susceptible to light damage.
I found the following site
http://www.davidcolwell.com/article.html
and have contacted Darcy Thomas to see if he has any recommendations. Will let you know what I find out.
One thing that I would recommend, if you are armature building for your PM, try to use stuff like polystyrene. It is a great way of keeping it out of landfill and is very eco-friendly to recycle that and plastics as art pieces.
Best of luck, hopefully Sue (catperson) will give you some better info.
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I am going to assume that you are British, as I've heard what we call latex or acrylic paints (waterbased) in the U.S. are called emulsion paints there.
All paints have three components: the pigment, the binder and the carrier.
Pigments consist of the prime pigments that provide whiteness and colors, which depend on the pigments used for toxicity.
The binders are commonly either oils/alkyds, or latex/acrylics. These last two are usually PVA (polyvinyl acetate polyner), which is generally consider nontoxic, but they advise not to drink it or use as an eyewash.
The carrier is what makes it liquid, and it will evaporate to make a solid surface. For the oil/alkyds, it's usually paint thinner. For the latex/acrylics, it's water. (For shellac-based primers and varnishes, it's denatured alcohol, sometimes called shellac thinner; for lacquers, it's lacquer thinner.)
Right off, you know that paint thinner and lacquer thinners aren't all that 'green'. The warnings are a clue. Lacquer thinner can contain various components, most of which are toxic, but the definition isn't stable.
Denatured alcohol is methyl alcohol that has been poisoned with acetone or methanol. It seems to be toxic when wet, and nontoxic when dry. Shellac is used to coat pills (okayed by the FDA in the U.S.).
One paint you might want to consider is Milk Paints, which are literally made from milk. There is some info here http://www.milkpaint.com/ and googling 'milk paint' will net you much more info. It is supposed to totally nontoxic, but I don't know exactly what kind of pigments are used.
When you want to know the toxicity (or not) of a substance or product, type in your search box the name or type of product and 'MSDS' which stands for Material Safety Data Sheets. There are hundreds of thousands of these out there, on nearly everything you can think of.
Sue
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For methyl cellulose, don't forget to check bookbinding websites as well art supply stores.
Donna
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Great info, thank you!
For those looking for non-POV paints or similar you can try doing a search, there are a lot out there now days. Check these ones out for starters:
http://www.greenplanetpaints.com/
And the milk company Cat mentioned.
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Found this today
http://www.earthpigments.com
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"
CatPerson wrote:
Denatured alcohol is methyl alcohol that has been poisoned with acetone or methanol. It seems to be toxic when wet, and nontoxic when dry. Shellac is used to coat pills (okayed by the FDA in the U.S.).
When you want to know the toxicity (or not) of a substance or product, type in your search box the name or type of product and 'MSDS' which stands for Material Safety Data Sheets. There are hundreds of thousands of these out there, on nearly everything you can think of.
"
Actually, denatured alcohol is ethyl alcohol that has been made non-potable, not methyl alcohol.
Any hoo, take the information on a typical MSDS with a grain of salt. These sheets are intended for laboratories and manufacturers, etc. so the data and information listed on them is worst-case-senerio type stuff. And they are all written in a way that reduces liability of the company that issues them. They can sometimes make certain chemicals seem more dangerous than they really are. For instance, this MSDS for table sugar makes it sound deadly: http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/S7394.htm
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Jeez Louise! I need to proof-read my copy a little better!
Yes, it's ethyl alcohol (fermented from grain), NOT methyl alcohol/methanol (often called 'wood alcohol', but I don't think they make it from wood anymore).
Nice catch, Sebrink!
And yes, salt and a MSDS go well together. But you can still use them as a guide.
Sue
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I just found a book FULL of information on paints and finishes, past and modern, including naturual paints which is the theme of the book.
The Natural Paint Book by Lynn Edwards and Julia Lawless
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I worked in a sugar factory for years... sugar IS deadly.. the process of turning an innocent little beet into snow white granules is quite nasty and the stuff will get you eventually... ahh.. but what a way to go...
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