Hi. Welcome to the group.
Here are my perceptions of the characteristics that you ask about.
Keep in mind that I've never tried to polish papercrete. I'm
extrapolating what I THINK will happen based upon various experiences
I've had. Until someone tries a particular idea specifically it's
difficult to know for certain what will really happen. That being
said, here are my educated guesses:
How papercrete reacts to polishing, sanding, cutting, etc. Will
obviously depend on a number of factors.
What ingredients are in the particular mix in question?
What ratio of ingredients?
How dry is the papercrete?
High levels of "hard" ingredients will tend to polish to a higher
sheen. High levels of "soft" ingredients will tend to polish to more
of a matte finish. One risk might be that large chunks of hard
ingredients might tend to pop out during the polishing/sanding
process. This might be a good thing or might be bad. It all depends
upon the desired effect.
Wetter papercrete will tend to not hold together as well. This might
be an advantage if rough carving is desired. It will probably be a
negative if trying to achive a fine finish.
Your idea of sealing it to get a particular finish seems to make the
most sense.
Papercrete is a wood product. Think of the processes that are used
to put a finish on wood. Sanding is used to smooth the surface, then
some kind of surface treatment is usually applied.
Again, I'm not certain I'm correct, but these are my impressions of
how the material will react.
Please post your experiences. Good and Bad. Tell us what happens
whether you like the results or not. We all can learn from each
other only if we share information.
Hope this helps.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "thesilentchamber"
<thesilentchamber@...> wrote:
>
> First I would like to say hello.
>
> I've been working with concrete in a "decorative" since for some
> time now, things such as counter tops, tables, lamps, shelving,
ect.
> So I am not new to the techniques and procedures of normal concrete
> and many variations of standard mixes. I've heard of papercrete for
> a while now and finally got around to mixing and casting some
today.
> Made mixes of cement and paper; cement, paper, and sand; and
cement,
> paper, sand, and gravel. I also made castings of dyed and natural
> color. I have a few questions though. In reading what I could find
> online it seems as if everyone is mixing a batch and letting it air
> cure, where as I'm accustomed to wrapping a casting in plastic and
> keeping it moist for several weeks- as this continues the hydration
> process and makes for a stronger piece. Is there any reason why it
> seems nobody does this with papercrete? I also wanted to know if
> anyone has successfully polished papercrete? I realize that it is
> fibrous and will not polish in the same manner as sand and stone
> mixtures, but I'm thinking with an epoxy surface sealer it might be
> possible to produce a nice polish on it and have a unique finish.
> The mixes that I added dye to look very good so far, lots of color
> variation from clumps of paper absorbing different amounts of the
> color that give it a nice effect. Anyway, right now these are the
> only things I can think of that I was wanting to ask about. Maybe
> someone can help me out with some answers, suggestions, or farther
> knowledge.
>
> -Daniel
> TheSilentChamber
>
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