Best paper mache "recipe" and techniques?

Question

I was wanting to know which paper mache recipe was best, flour and water, glue and water, or wallpaper paste.

Which one ends up the most durable?

Also newspaper is the best paper to use so I hear. Would tissue paper work?

And how do I get the surface smooth? A paint brush?

Any and all help is appreciated!

Thanks

Answer 1

For paper mache I really love the clear paper mach paste made by Elmer's. It's a dry powder so you can mix up as much as you need. Plus it doesn't spoil like flour and water. It's super durable when you layer your paper to 3 or 4 layers. What I like to do is take a paint brush and brush half sheets of paper full of paste and then stack them on top of each other while I do a bunch or sheets. Then I Tear smaller size pieces and stack the pieces on top of each other for 4 or 5 layers right away. make sure you really let it all dry well before you paint your piece. Tissue paper I find rips too easily for the regular mache part, but it works excellent when you are trying to get hair or a texture like that.

Getting the surface smooth is really about laying your paper down nice and smooth while it's all wet. Really massage the wet paper mache to the armature so it can dry smooth.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I have not used paper mache, but I have used plaster of paris, it comes in either a bucket that you mix with water and then the news paper strips like in regular paper mache, or you can get pre dipped plaster of paris strips that all you have to do is dip in water and then apply to your surface like a mesh mold or balloon, and since its plaster you can smooth out any dumps while you apply or after its dried gently sand away the imperfections, best part for me is dries rock hard and is very durable, not delicate like paper mache and is still light weight.  You can find it any craft store or at hardware stores, and its not very expensive.

Answer 3

Flour & water is my personal favourite. Smooth with your hands like clay. Newspaper and lots of it work best. Paint after smoothing. Start from screwed up brown paper and cover with mache. shredded paper is good like from a paper shredder for disposing of files. coloured confetti from the paper punch. paint.

Answer 4

I personally like glue and water because with the other ones, it creates a pretty big mess. I haven't really tried any of the other ones, but once the glue dries its  hard and strong. And yes, newspaper is the best paper to use. But if your planning to paint it in a light colour, you should use toilet paper so it would intervene with your light colour. Tissue paper unfourtunately is too thin for this kind of job. To get the surface smooth, you can use some glue and a paintbrush. Spread the glue on the layer, and use the paintbrush to get rid of any bumps or tears from the newspaper. Hope this Helps! =)