So, I made a pen blank using a nice piece of paper with small butterflies on it. I turned an ash wood blank down to size, and sanded it up to 600, then used Mod Podge to glue the paper onto the blank. I had a very slight overlap where the paper came together because I wasn't sure I could accurately get straight seam to come together. I have never used MP before, so wasn't sure what to expect. It seemed to dry fairly quickly, but not wanting to rush things, I waited a couple hours in between coats of glue. Eventually, I had five or six layers on, which I thought was enough to have some thickness over the overlapped paper. I then took it up to the lathe and added several layers of medium CA glue, and since it didn't seem to go on smooth, I stopped after every second layer and sanded it lightly with a medium grip sandpaper. I did about 10 layers of this to make sure it was thick enough that I wouldn't hit the paper. Once I thought it was thick enough I sanded it until it looked and felt smooth, then added several layers of thin CA glue and sanded it up to 12000 for a nice shine. Now, I made one mistake while sanding, and it was a silly one. I had just finished an acrylic pen so wet-sanded it, and withour thinking, I wet sanded the decoupage blank. Then noticed a slight discoloring on either end of the paper and it downed on me that water had seeped in. I also noticed that I must have pulled out a small piece of the paper when I was trimming off the ends as you can see in one of the photos that a small piece of the wood underneath, at one edge, is showing. I also found that the Mod Podges doesn't dry hard, it still seemed a bit flexible. Maybe I need to leave it for a couple days? I found it hard to get an even, flat coat, of glue on with a small paintbrush, so maybe need to try something else.
First attempt at decoupage. Made some errors.
- Thread starter Anita
- Start date
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Kenny Durrant
Member
It looks like a good start to me. I've never tried doing it with a wooden base then building up to a finish. What I do is glue the paper to the tube then cast it in resin. Here's what I do with that procedure that might help you. I've cast a lot of Origami Paper. I like the busiest patterns. I cut the paper almost twice the size needed to wrap around the tube. Then instead of cutting a straight line for the seam I cut around the patterns and unless there's an obvious overlap of colors the seam disappears. Another issue I had was the resin soaking through the paper and discoloring it. I bought some cheap Acrylic Water Base paint, white, and painted the back of the paper. Since doing that I've had very few issues. As far as glues I use Elmers Clear. Mod Podge works great for others but never for me. Now my opinion you might think about to help your process is to paint the back of the paper and seal the wooden base with CA. Then I'd glue the paper to the wood and let dry. When it's completely dry spray the blank with an Acrylic base clear coat and let that cure. Then just do a build up with CA and sand and polish. I think using a flexible glue on the surface of the paper might cause separation when sanding and polishing. Anyway that's MHO and good luck figuring out what will work best for you.
JohnU
Member
Like you I have mixed feelings on MP. I've used it a few time with success and other times it didn't work as well. I've made a few pens applying things over wood. Something to think about… make sure you over turn the wood below your bushings so that you have plenty of room to work. This can be tough with many kits being there isn't a lot of room between the brass tube and top surface. The Majestic Squire and Sierra Vista offer the most room for that. Also, make sure you seal the woods and grain with CA so moisture can't get behind the paper. If your wood grain is dark or your paper is light, you might want to spray paint the wood first. Most papers get a little transparent when wet or coated with something. Just give it a day to cure before gluing the paper. Also, make sure you sand or mill your blank ends before applying the paper. Then trim the paper to the tube ends with a razor blade for a clean cut. Sanding or milling the paper can tear it. Lastly, I wouldn't be too concerned about leveling every layer of ca. Just try not to apply too much at one time and build up several layers. Then you can always use "thin" after you've sanded it level. Just make sure you don't leave too heavy of sanding scratches. Sometimes thin isn't thin enough to fill them and you end up sealing scratches inside your finish. I usually apply a couple layers of Ultra thin over a sanded surface first. It fills the scratches. You might be able to seal the paper with an art spray sketch artists use over pencil and charcoal drawings. It seals the surface and usually has a UV protector so it doesn't yellow. Several thin layers of that might be better or easier than MP. Keep at it, your doing good and I'm looking forward to seeing your success.
Some good suggestions Kenny, I had thought of gluing right to the brass tube, but wasn't sure it would adhere well. I also hadn't thought of sealing the wood base first. I'm going to try this again, and wait longer for everything to dry.
Yes John, it had occurred to me that I needed to turn the wood blank a little smaller than the bushings, but this particular kit doesn't leave much room so I took it down as small as I though I could without ripping it apart, and the sanded it smaller. I did trim the paper with a razor blade, but I think the glue was still not really set, and I pulled out small pieces of paper at each edge. I do have some of the art spray you mention as I also dabble in charcoal and pencil sketching. It hadn't occurred to me to use that on the paper. Thanks for your suggestions.