I have purchased every glue on the market. I have done hundreds of experiments making homemade glue for two years...... and I still have not hit on the perfect glue for white japanese paper.
I need it to stiffen...really stiffen! thin rice paper, mulberry, kozo, unru paper, etc. I need this glue to be translucent, colorless, water resistant, non yellowing, and does not re-absorb atmospheric moisture. I need this glue to be cheap and non flammable. My kitchen is open to trying anything. I have experimented with Elmers, Modpodge, Decoupage, flour, soda, cornstarch, cake batter, sugar, varnish, gelatin, hair gels, borax, soaps, waxes (parafin, soy, and bees wax) potato starch, rice starch, tapioca beads, hot glue, silicone, putty's and........? Believe me the list goes on. My attempt to stiffen and seal handmade papers have all but failed. They usually come out too flimsy, too brittle, too opaque, too yellow, or it re-absorbs moisture. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Have you tried bottled "stiffeners" that are found in fabric stores (and maybe elsewhere)? Aleene's is one brand, and there's at least one other --maybe called "Stiffy."
Clear acrylic finishes for wood (like Rustoleum's Varathane**) might work too, and can be applied in as many coats (drying between) as you want for greater strength.
**comes in semi-gloss and gloss and one very-very-matte, as well as in indoor/outdoor versions and water-based/non-water-based versions.
The indoor, water-based, Gloss one is the one I'm mostly familiar with, and I believe it does not yellow.
(more info on that particular brand can be found on this page:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/finishes.htm )
Also one of the "two-part resins" should work (perhaps a polyester one like Castin' Craft... I think the epoxy resins will yellow a bit over time if exposed to too much ultraviolet light, but they do better at "coating" than the polyesters --though one version of Polytranspar Artificial Water says it's final surface might be suitable .)
(Btw, if you don't want paper to become translucent from applying resin to it, you'll need to coat it first with a thinned white glue to seal it, then dry.)
There's more info on 2-part resins on this page if you want to check them out:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/other_materials.htm
As for "white glues," I don't know if more expensive ones (or "industrial" white glues) would end up drying any stiffer than ordinary Elmer's Glue All (but that is one of the cheaper ones on the market). "Industrial" white glues are usually more water-resistant though (and some may be more UV resistant too) than the cheaper white glues. (For added stiffness, you might try doing several coats.)
Translucent "liquid polymer clays" will stiffen, but they need to be baked (home oven) after application to cure them. Some brands will also be perhaps a little frosty looking unless they're sanded and buffed (which you probably couldn't do), but that may not matter for what you're doing. (The Fimo brand and the Kato brand will be clearer than the more available Sculpey brand though, but usually need to be mail ordered.)
After baking, they can also be coated with an acrylic like Varathane, etc. for shine and more visual depth. They are very water resistant. More info here if you're interested:
And here's something you might want to check out from that page:
"....Eberhard Faber's lesson on making cone shape (cardstock or?) heavy paper sleeves (with images on surface "decoupaged" both sides with liqud clay), into which a small bulb from a string of lights is placed
http://tinyurl.com/aw7cf
...You can make flowers out of tissue paper, and then give them a thin coating of liquid clay
...You can form items out of paper (such as a trash can) and paint it with liquid clay...after baking, paint and decorate. Ellen"
And there's more info on using paper in similar ways on this page:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/mixing_media.htm
(look under the category "Paper")
Good luck!
Diane B.
CAS Hanwei to showcase its handmade Japanese sword
