Papercreters: [papercreters] Re: very fine paper pulp

Sunday, July 27, 2008

[papercreters] Re: very fine paper pulp

While I haven't conducted precision testing on this point, I'm
confident that the lumpy bumpy texture of papercrete results from a
variety of factors. How finely ground the paper gets is only one
factor.

To get a very fine grind of paper. Use a very sharp mixer blade.
Keep checking back on the sharpness of the blade. They tend to get
dull fast. Spin the blade fast. Spin it for a long time. Use a
little extra water so that it's easier for the paper particles to
move around. (you always can strain/drain away the excess water
after mixing.) If your wet mix is thick like bread dough, it's hard
to get a vortex going and break up the particles. If the mix is thin
like cake batter it's a lot easier to break down all the little bits.

Another trick to breaking down paper faster and finer is to use HOT
WATER. The hotter the water the more the paper tends to want to fall
apart on its own. In most cases, this is overkill, but if you really
want to get it fine, this can help speed the process. In most
construction cases, using hot water will just be a waste of energy.

The type of paper used can also be a factor. Clearly cardboard will
tend to produce a more rough texture. I've also found that copier
paper seems to break up into a finer texture than newsprint. There
may be other types of paper that break down even better. I don't
know.

Even with extremely fine paper grind, you still may get a very lumpy
bumpy final surface texture.

The papercrete tends to develop lumps and bumps as it dries. I guess
it's like an old geezer's face after a few years of wear and tear.

Compressing the well drained but still very damp slurry shortly after
mixing and pouring will help dramatically if the papercrete is
getting formed into blocks or forms. The papercrete will shrink
less, and therefore "lumpabumpify" less.

My experimental mixtures where I have included lime in the mix seem
to have a smoother consistency and a smoother final surface texture.
Clay can also be helpful, but keep in mind that clay increases the
drying time.

Some of the best surfaces I've produced have been the downward facing
surface of block samples that I poured on top of a very fine window
screen stretched over a wooden frame. They were rectangular
samples. The other 5 sides got the lumpy bumpies. The 6th side
facing down stayed really nice and smooth. It did have a faint
imprint of the fine window screen texture. It's important to note
that I didn't try to move, turn, or handle those blocks as they
dried. They stayed in place on that screen for an entire month and
dried completely without being touched. On some of my best ones, I'm
confident I could write on the one smooth surface with a fine point
ball point pen and it would have looked like writing on a sheet of
paper.

I don't know if this is the answer you were necessarily looking for,
but I hope you can find a few tidbits that are helpful.

Please post and share with us what you try, learn, and discover.

Pictures of your various attempts is always a good thing.

--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "ngrdh" <hnegaard@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am looking for suggestions on how to get a very finely ground
slurry paper pulp. I don't
> want the normal bumps and pieces that normal papercrete has; I'd
like it to be very smooth
> and finely chopped so you would not even know that it is paper.
>
> I'd rather not do a rough and then a topcoat, I'd like to be able
to do one pour and have it be
> smooth, like your basic fine sand/cement mixture.
>
> Any suggestions on a larger scale to achieve this? I've tried the
bucket with a paint
> attachment and it still gives me bumpy slurry.
>
> I'm thinking along the lines of a industrial blender with a cutting
action?
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Heather
>