I receive a lot of emails by folks who would like to put their paper mache sculptures outside. Can paper mache be waterproofed?
I’ve always said “no,” but I never actually tried it myself. Therefore, I decided that I needed to do some experiments to see if there really is a way to weatherproof paper.
I was delighted when I discovered that Jackie Hall, writing for the Papier Mache Resource website, beat me to it. Jackie tried just about every finishing material that she could think of, and carefully documented her results.
In the end, she discovered that you really can waterproof paper mache sculptures, using yacht varnish. This product may be sold as marine varnish at your local paint store.
Now that I know you really can keep the weather from ruining a paper mache sculpture, I’ve got to try it mysel. When I do make an outside sculpture, I’ll do a few things differently during the building process. These things may not be necessary, but they do seem reasonable:
- I would use a high-quality carpenter’s glue to stick the paper onto the sculpture, instead of using the usual flour-and-water paste. I would do this because flour is one of the favorite foods of fungi (yeast is a fungus, and you know what happens when you add yeast to bread dough). Flour is also a favorite food for animals, like mice, raccoons, and golden retrievers. The varnish might mask the odor of the flour, but I would play it safe and use the glue instead.
- I would keep the bottom of the sculpture far enough above the ground to prevent splashback from rain or sprinklers from covering the sculpture with a thin film of mud. Soil microbes, especially fungi, are incredibly strong, and could eat their way into the sculpture and cause it to rot. Some fungi is strong enough to work it’s way into concrete and even rocks, so a paper mache sculpture would be a piece of cake for them. To prevent the bottom from getting wet, the sculpture could be placed on top of a rounded rock that allows water to drain away. I don’t know exactly how a larger sculpture (a hippo, for instance) would be protected, but there must be a way to do it.
- As Jackie suggested, I would re-apply the marine varnish at least once a year.
- I would make sure the sculpture is heavy enough to keep the wind from blowing it away.
If you have ever made a papier mache garden sculpture, please let us know what happened to it. Did it survive out in the weather? Did the paint colors fade in the sun? I would really like to know, because I’m running out of room in my house for all the critters I’ve been building, and I’d love to fill my garden with some weird and wonderful animal sculptures.
- My favorite online bookstore.
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve made several paper mache characters that have lasted over 8 years in rainy conditions. Although they are only kept outside for approx. 1.5 months during Halloween. I actually cover my sculptures after paper mache with plaster, craft outdoor paint and then a coat of clear spray sealer.
Good input – and I love the name of your website. Thanks.
Hi jonni,
I am currently on an architecture project where I am required to build walls (around two meters tall ) that will be made out of paper mâché .
I read up on paper mâché and I need to make some enquiries
1. How am I able to make paper mâché walls using cost efficient materials like glue that require the least manpower to make the wall structurally stable ?
2. Are there any methods to keep the paper mâché walls waterproof and fireproof too?
3. is it possible to construct using envinmentally friendly materials or recyclable products?
Thanks so much for taking ur time to answer my enquiries!
Hi Sean. You have a lot of engineering questions here, and I’m not a good person to answer them. Some people have luck waterproofing paper mache using deck or concrete sealer, and then using Spar varnish after the paper mache is painted. I don’t think it’s a permanent building material, though. Do a google search for paper mache boats or canoes, and you might get some historical ideas.
The cheapest form of glue is white flour and water. For strength using recycled materials, you may want to create a honeycomb armature with old cardboard.
Good luck with it!
Hi Jonni!
I’m doing a community art project where I am painting a 4.5 foot tall fish and want to wrap the base in newspaper (as a play on fish wrapped in newspaper). I’d like to wrap the fiberglass square base tightly as a present in the paper, but then I
d like the paper to come up the sides (like tissue paper around a gift). My scupture will be displayed outside probably indefinitely and I’m wondering if any of the products mentioned would allow the paper to stand up straight with some crinkling and withstand the weather all the while keeping the newspaper legible…so not smearing the ink. Any advice would be appreciated!!!
Thanks,
Sammy
Ouch – the only thing I can think of that would do what you want it to do is a clear resin with some kind of UV filtering varnish over it. Since this is intended as a permanent installation, and the paper needs to be visible, that’s the only thing I can think of. You might want to give a call to the folks at the Smooth-On company, to see if they have any ideas for you.
Thanks so much for your help!
Sammy
Thank you for an interesting discussion.
Rather than try to prevent water getting into my large outdoor paper sculptures, I’ve left them unsealed and more recently actually added scientifically grown fungi into the work.
My logic is that if you compress paper (which comes from wood), it creates a durable artificial hardwood.
In fact, initially the paper was so compressed that the water couldn’t get into to trigger the fungi growth.
By reducing the density of the paper, I have now successfully got the fungi to grow after three years-see website.
I have another unsealed paper sculpture (without the added fungi) outside for the last decade and there does not appear to be any structural weakness, despite it’s exposure to the elements.
What an interesting experiment! Thanks for telling us about it.
Hi Jonni, the first couple of mixes I applied very thick, probably around 5mm so there was no shrinking to speak of. Later mixes have been thinner, almost smeared on but so far I haven’t seen any shrinking. I tend to do the upper half separately to the bottom so if I see any gaps I can patch them then.
I’ve been thinking of using jars that a tea-light candle will fit into and I’ll be hoping to get a layer thin enough that the candle flame will show through in places.
I hope you’ll let us see them when they’re done. I’d like to know how they turn out.
Hi Jonni, love your site. I’m partway through coating some glass bottles and jars to use as candle holders and vases. Using your pulp recipe and applying by hand I’m ending up with a bark-like texture which I really like, very rough and woody looking. I’ll be painting them using acrylic paint then I need to seal the vases so they are waterproof. Recently during a web crawl I found a waterproof fabric sealer called Paverpol, paverpolusa.com Just wondering if you or any of your visitors have used it and what it turned out like.
Thanks, Mark.
PS: Part of the blurb from the Paverpol site: Paverpol can be used with fabric, paper, paper mache, silk, metal, air-dry clay, chamois leather, baked polymer clay, plaster, concrete, pottery, stone and more. And unlike most other hardeners, Paverpol will not deteriorate polystyrene foam.
This one-step water-based creme gives sculptors, dollmakers, mixed media artists, painters, interior and exterior designers, theatre set crews, quilters and fabric artists a serious new medium to expand their scope of work, either indoors or outside.
Mark, a lot of people have recommended Paverpol, but I’m not sure anyone has actually used it yet to see if it works. It’s rather expensive for experimenting with. I also recently found foam coating, for waterproofing and protecting foam signs and sculptures, which might also be a good option for those of us who need to make sculptures for outside display. This site sells two kinds, one a plastic-based product that would be a bit slick to paint (although they say you can do it) and a gypsum-based product. They’re a bit expensive, too, so I haven’t tried either one yet. If you do try the Paverpol, please let us know how it worked.
By the way, are you experiencing any cracking as the paper mache clay dries and shrinks slightly over the glass?
Hi!
I’ve used Paverpol on a number of sculptures that I put outside and it’s amazing stuff.
I did a huge sculpture of someone coming out of a wall all made from fabric and it looked really good on the side of a building.
Highly recommend but not if you would like to keep some tactility to the material. I’ve used it on felt before and it just wasn’t right.
Loving the site.
Bree
You might be interested in the staying power of papier-mache in this article. http://www.arm.ac.uk/history/moore/Part03.html
It wasn’t perfect but the dome did manage to survive the Irish weather for a number of years!
Hello,
I am a total novice to paper mache, only having trying it once for a “Pharaoh’s Mask” project I did with my daughter and using a glue mixed with water technique. I found your link by doing a search regarding waterproofing paper mache. I lead a group where we create a float each year for a holiday parade for our dance company (for Nutcracker). This year we are constructing a building that we are topping with an onion dome. The dome itself has its ribs created by cove stick, and wrapped in chicken wire. Now we want to paper mache over it and paint it metallic gold. However, being the parade could include inclement weather, I want to make sure the dome is waterproof and that the paint won’t sludge off in the rain. Finally my question. I see you recommend using carpenter’s glue. Should the carpenter’s glue be mixed with water with a 4:1 ratio like using regular glue or some other combination? Also, since the project won’t be outside long term, do you think we could pass on the yacht varnish? We plan to save the project because we will rotate it back in for use in several years so we do want longevity, but it will be stored inside.
Any advice or perspective you can provide is most appreciated.
Hi Jeanette,
If your float is only going to be outside during the parade, and will be stored inside for most of the year, I think you could just use some water-based Verathane or Minwax for the final coat. It’s a lot easier to work with than either diluted glue or the oil-based marine varnish. You would want to give it several coats to make sure you don’t miss a spot.
I hope you’ll let us see the float when it’s done.
Hello Jonni,
Thanks for your response. However, due to me being so inexperienced, I am still unclear and need some clarification. Do you suggest I use the carpenters glue with the newspaper as my first layers, then coat it at the end with the Verathane or Miniwax? I see the Verathane is a spray (had to look it up!). And do I dilute the carpenters glue for those first layers? I am such a novice I really need a clear idea of the recommended process.
I’d love to share photos of the float when its done!
Thanks again!
Jeanette
Yes – sorry I forgot the glue part. Some people use glue as a final finish, although I’ve never done that. If you use a diluted carpenter’s glue instead of flour paste, your paper mache will be somewhat waterproof. But the paper will still get damp, so I would suggest you use a final protective finish of Verathane – which also comes as a water-based product that you brush on. With a project the size of yours, the brush-on product is probably much less expensive.
You could probably get away with using a flour and water paste instead of diluted glue, as long as you let it dry really well and then cover it with several coats of polyurethane.
Thank you Jonni! I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!
Jeanette
Modg Podge has a product that is an outdoor finisher. But your have to keep re-applying every year I think to keep it water proof.
I like your idea better
HELLO AM SURPRISED NO ONE HAS USED MOD PODGE TO WATER PROOF I MADE A FOUR FOOT GERMAN SHEPHERD I PUT MOD PODGE IN MY FLOUR AND WATER WITH CARPENTER GLUE ALSO PUT MOD PODGE IN MY PAINT THEN MOD PODGE THE WHOLE DOG THREE TIMES I HAVE FOUR WIZARD OF OZ LIFE SIZE THAT HAVE BEEN IN FAIRS BUT MY DOG NEVER DID DRY AND DID NOT MILDEW AND HELD UP SIX YEARS SO FAR AND IS HARD AS A ROCK ALSO I BUY LARGE A GALLON OF CARPENTER GLUE ONE PART GLUE TWO PART WATER MUCH BETTER THEN FLOUR GOOD LUCK LORRAINE
I’ve been using slightly diluted white glue for my paper mache projects, never thought about looking for a waterproof wood glue for outside ones. Will definitely try it out!
Thanks for your post, Jonni, and for all the helpful comments!
I made a papier mache Easter Island statue/letterbox, which we call Man Friday. After I finished the papier mache statue, I fibreglassed it and painted it, with sand in the paint, so it looks like a stone statue. I put a length of pvc pipe out the bottom, which is cemented into the ground. I also put some ballast foam inside it to give it weight against the wind. So far it’s been out in the weather for two years and isn’t showing any signs of wear. We love our letterbox!
Very nice!
Hi,
I stumbled upon this site accidently and cannot believe my luck. THANK-YOU for being out there and for publishing your hard won advancements on the web. I am crazy about paper. I think it has great potential to change the way we consumme and live. I have been thinking for a long time about being able to make water proof structure for outside. There is a commercial product called “Paverpol” that doesn’t need to be recoated every year. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to experiment with it as yet. But when I do will let you. Especially about longevity.
I looked up Paverpol on the Internet. It looks intriguing. They call it a fabric stiffener, and they’re using it to make some very interesting sculptures.
I’m going to try using waterproof carpenters glue in place of the Elmers in my paper mache clay recipe for outside sculptures. The tinfoil they use on the Paverpol site is a good idea for the inside form – I was worried about water getting inside and causing a sculpture to rot from the inside out. This weekend my father showed me how he connects rebar with little wires and a special tool, and showed me which inexpensive propane torch I can use to bend it easily. He uses this equipment for his concrete benches. With a rebar skeleton covered in crinkled tin foil and then waterproof paper mache clay – and then coated with marine varnish when it’s all done – I think it would create something that would be safe out in the weather. Thanks for mentioning that product – and do tell us how your experiments come out.
Thanks!! I am doing Halloween decorations and I wanted to put a bunch of fake pumpkins outside but they are so expensive!! I figured I could make paper mache ones but we live in Florida and it is humid and rains nearly everyday. They only need to last once season but I’m excited to try it out.
What about making your paste up using plastic resin glue powder ala this web site… http://familycrafts.about.com/od/papermache/a/resinpmpaste.htm. I am on the verge of experimenting with it having just purchased some. You could use the paste in the pulp mixture.
That’s an interesting idea. They don’t say it will make the paper mache waterproof, but it sounds like a good thing to try. They also sell, at the hardware store, premium carpenter’s glue that is supposed to be waterproof. One could use it for a paper mache project, but you’d have to leave out the flour. It would probably work to just dilute the glue with water and dip in your paper strips. The carpenter’s glue costs almost $30 a gallon – I wonder how much the plastic resin glue powder costs?
The elephant fountain at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans is largely made up of paper mache structures. I believe they were then fiberglassed.
Here is a pic:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/25010622
Painting the rebar first with a rustoleum type paint would also keep that from happening.
Hey Jonni,
I’ve been away awhile, but am glad to see you are trying the waterproofing so your sculptures can be put outside. I was one who asked.
I’m working on my first paper mache sculpture of a sandhill crane. I took quite a few pictures and came up with a pose I liked. I’ve been following your instructions but am having trouble coming up with base material to use for the legs. As you know cranes have thin legs but bulbous joints. The material has to be strong enough to hold up the body, but not too thin that I can’t apply the newspaper.
I’ve wondered about wood dowels.
Dowels would work. I once made a 24″ high paper mache wattled crane using thin tree branches for the legs. I made sure the knots ended up in the knee area. I didn’t cover the branches, but left them natural, which I liked a lot, but a lot of people told me it was too weird.
Another option, which would be easy to wrap paper mache around, is rebar, which you can get at your local lumber yard. You can bend it but it’s very strong, and the ridges on the bars would make it easy to add paper mache. However, I have been told that the rust from the rebar can move to the outside of a paper mache sculpture, although I’m not sure how this would happen if the material was completely dry.
Good luck with your sculpture. We’d love to see it when it’s done.
Try Bamboo.
Do you think that you might be able to make boats out of paper mache, using the yacht varnish? It would be really cool if you had a paper mache boat that actually worked (I’m talking mostly about toy boats, but maybe someday there could be a lifesized paper mache boat ^-^)
Actually, real boats used to be made with paper. A company built world-class racing shells with paper between 1861 and 1901. I don’t have all the links now but I did some online research a few months back and it looks like they used some kind of copper solution forced into the paper to waterproof it. It didn’t look like something a real person would want to do in their back yard. If you try to make a boat and waterproof it with marine varnish, let us know how it turns out! But try it out on shallow water, please.
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So can I use plain carpenter’s glue to paper mâché, or do I have to mix it with something else? I have a big sculpture that I need to paper mâché, and I have never used paper mâché before.
No, you can use a paste made from flour and water. I mentioned the carpenter’s glue because it won’t attract mold, but it would probably not help waterproof a sculpture. The final finish would have to do that. I have never been brave enough to put paper mache outdoors, so if that’s what you intend to do, you should follow the link to the original experiments that are mentioned in this post. The lady who did the experiments should be able to answer questions about waterproofing paper mache much better than I can. Good luck.
Bonjour,
Je suis contente de vous avoir retrouvée, je suis dans la région de Montréal aussi. Je vous laisse mon addresse e-mail.
Que de souvenir agréable me sont remonté dans mon coeur,
Chantalxxx