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Old 10-14-2008, 12:55 AM
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The Art of Paper Casting for Card Modeling

The Art of Paper Casting for Card Modeling
By Gil Russell

Background
Paper Casting is simply the art of making paper with a mold. Paper casting for the purposes of card modeling is relegated to shapes which are difficult or nearly impossible to achieve with standard construction methods. Surfaces which exhibit compound curves are candidates for paper casting.

Paper can best be described as a non-woven felt made from plant fibers. Handmade paper is generally made by collecting pulp fiber suspended in water on a frame mounted screen (deckle). The sheet is then carefully transferred to a felt and stacked in preparation for pressing to remove excess water. The sheets are then carefully peeled off the felts and hung to dry. The method explained here uses essentially the same method but differs slightly in the sheet forming method.


Cotton linters are the best fibers for paper casting. They are the short strands of cotton fiber that remain attached to the cotton seed after the cotton bolls have been removed using a cotton gin. The seeds are further processed to extract cotton seed oil in which the cotton linters are removed. 100% cotton paper consists of these fibers and serves as a ready and available source of cotton fibers for paper casting. Cotton linters can be purchased from paper making suppliers.

Casting Pulp Ingredients:
4 Sheets of 100% Cotton Paper
0.5 liter (2 cups) water
1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) Methyl Cellulose (Note 1)
30 ml (2 tbsp) Calcium Carbonate (whiting) (Note 2)
15 ml (3 tsp) PVA (white glue)

Equipment:

Kitchen Blender
Pellon interfacing sheets (Note 3)
Paper towels or absorbent cotton towels (non-terry cloth)
Sponge or sponge paint roller

Notes:
1.)Methyl Cellulose is an archival water-based adhesive that is reversible. It is used to size the paper and strengthen bonding when casting with pulp. I find that it also aids in keeping the pulp in suspension aiding in the sheet forming process. It comes in powder form and is available from papermaking suppliers (see resources).
2.) Calcium Carbonate (Whiting) protects the paper from acidic contaminants in the air by slightly increasing the paper’s alkalinity. It also acts as a filler filling in between the fibers for a smoother and brighter paper. It is available from papermaking suppliers and ceramic supply stores (see resources).
3.) Pellon interface is used as a stiffener in dressmaking and can be found at any fabric supplier. It’s a non-woven cloth made from polyester/nylon/rayon and doesn’t stick to the pulp.

Pulp Preparation
Begin by tearing 0.5 inch wide strips off the cotton sheets into 0.5 inch square pieces. Place into blender. Add 0.5 liter (2 cups) of cold water and blend until the paper is dissolved back into pulp. Add 1.25 ml (0.25 tsp) of methyl cellulose to the mixture and blend till the mixture becomes slightly “pudding” like. This is the thickening action of methyl cellulose. Follow this with the addition of 30 ml (2 tbsp) of calcium carbonate to the blending mixture and 15 ml (3 tsp) of PVA White Glue sizing. Blend mixture well.



Sheet or Slab Preparation
Lay down three or four layers of paper towels (or absorbent non-terry cloth towels) on a water durable surface. Lay a page size piece of Pellon in the center of the paper towels.


Pour some of the pulp onto the Pellon Matte.
Place the second Pellon Matte on top of the poured pulp and proceed to roll out the pulp. A hand sponge can also accomplish this task.



Lay another 3 or 4 paper towels on top of the rolled out pulp. Gently roll the pulp to extract water from the pulp. A wetter pulp is desired for layups with a high amount of surface detail.



Remove the paper towels. Gently “peel” away the Pellon matte to reveal the rolled out pulp.



Fold the Pellon matte with the pulp on it in half to double up the thickness. Roll the pulp to join it together.


Fold the lower edge of the Pellon matte up to “square” the edges of the pulp. Roll to join the pulp together.


The pulp slab is now ready to use.



Paper Casting a Part
Prepare a suitable mold to accept the paper casting. These can be made out of most any material as the pulp isn’t as adhesive as many other substances are. Just the same I use petroleum jelly dissolved with a little paint thinner as a release agent. Others include Parafilm, Silicone spray, Vegetable Oil (cooking spray) and Green Soap. Be careful with the Silicone spray use it in an outdoor area.

Cut a piece off of the pulp slab suitable for your mold. The one used for this tutorial is a bullet shaped piece that was left over from another project and being handy it was used to make a mold. A sharpie pen is approximately the same size as the intended mold part a was used to prepare the pulp plug.


The finished plug:


Insert the pulp plug into the mold. Tamp it down and press it around the circumference to insure that it’s surface conforms to the mold surface.


Let the cast pulp dry. I usually put the molded part in the path of a small muffin fan that circulates air at room temperature over it. Don’t try to hasten the drying of the pulp by drying it in an oven. It will only cause it to deform and roughen the finished surface. Try to examine the layup several times over its drying period which will take 10 to 24 hours depending on conditions. Gently press up the pulp against the mold while the pulp is still damp. Don’t do this if the pulp appears to be too dry, it will cause cracks in the surface.


The finished piece can be eased out of the mold when dry. Fill any defects with joint compound followed by sanding when it’s dry. I usually harden finished pieces by soaking them with thin Cyano-Acrylate super glue.


Epilogue

A good way to increase the surface smoothness of cast parts and also help minimize shrinkage is to use China Clay or Kaolin Clay as an adjunct to the Calcium Carbonate additive. It’s available from papermaking and ceramic suppliers.

Resource List
Magnolia Editions www.magnoliaeditions.com
The Papertrail www.papertrail.com
Twinrocker www.twinrocker.com

Last edited by Gil; 10-14-2008 at 01:09 AM.
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Old 10-14-2008, 07:09 AM
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Thanks. That was very interesting, I may have to try this.
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Old 10-14-2008, 07:53 AM
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Thats really something to pick up along the road!!
Very interesting stuff!
Thanks a lot for sharing Gil!!
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Old 10-20-2008, 05:55 AM
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Hello Gil,
Finally managed to get on the net from still sunny Italy,were I promised my wife we'd go last week on monday,all the while hoping to see your results . Absolutely fantastic, can't wait to get back and try it on my old L-19 mold. As Don remarked earlier you are literally a cutting-edge paper modeler.
Best regards and my hat off to you,
Serge
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Old 10-20-2008, 08:55 AM
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Very useful! Thanks!
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Old 10-20-2008, 02:00 PM
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Hey now... this is great. I'm thinking wheels, control-stick hand-grips and nose cones. Thanks for the information!

David
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Old 10-20-2008, 02:49 PM
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Next Step...,

Thanks to all for the plaudits!

Currently working on applying casting to a modeling segment that can well appreciate it...,
Have to finish the design and make a mold first though...,

Best regards All,

+Gil
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Old 10-22-2008, 10:39 AM
Golden Bear Golden Bear is offline
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Oh yeah. Gil that IS great stuff. Now if I can remember to find this when I need it.


Carl
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Old 10-25-2008, 12:24 AM
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Stitch of Progress...,

A very old project, dusted off and brought back to life for the next project phase.
Making progress toward obtaining enough parts to build a mold...,

+Gil


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Old 10-25-2008, 01:57 AM
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WOW! I have to try this one day.
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