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I’ve been experimenting with two new recipes for weatherproof paper mache clay.
Note: We had a vote, and we’re now calling this new recipe “Paper Cement Clay.” 🙂
I should have done these experiments way back in 2013, because that’s when Warren Eggleton wrote a guest post for this website. He showed us how he made his giant pots using a version of our paper mache clay recipe, with the addition of Portland cement.
The last time we heard from him, his pots had been outside for six years, in Australia.
- I recently made a casting of a leaf with this mixture.
- And I sculpted a garden toad to go on the leaf. The new sculptures will be left in my garden over the winter, to see how well they hold up
- And there is now an update video, after the garden toad spent most of a Minnesota winter outside. So far, he seems to be doing OK, but it may depend on the climate and the product used to seal it. Be sure to do your own experiments.
Our friend Lee Bell developed a sculpting recipe that she uses in her beautiful abstract outdoor sculptures. She recently wrote a book about it, which includes her recipe. You can find her book here.
I made some changes to Warren’s version of weatherproof paper mache, just to make sure every batch comes out exactly the same.
I also created two different recipes. One of them contains all the usual ingredients for paper mache clay, but the flour is replaced with Portland cement.
The second recipe leaves out the drywall joint compound, because it’s hard for some people to find.
I tested both of my new recipes by spreading small samples onto cardboard every 30 minutes, to see how long we could continue to use them before they stiffened up too much.
The mixtures will eventually get hard in the bowl because of the Portland cement, but I was able to continue using them for at least 3 hours, with the room temperature at 76° F (24.4 C).
Warren told us in his post that it will get stiff faster in warmer weather.
Test pieces for weatherproof paper mache clay recipe with drywall joint compound.
Test pieces for weatherproof paper mache clay recipe without drywall joint compound.
How the two recipes are different after they dry:
The texture of the recipe that includes the drywall joint compound is smoother – you can see that in the test piece on the right in the image above. However, for an outdoor sculpture, the difference may be so small that it really doesn’t matter.
Try the recipe that you think you’d prefer, and put your sculpture out in the garden.
After it’s been out there for a few months or a year, please come back and let us know if the rain, snow or sun has caused any noticeable damage.
Weatherproof paper mache clay recipe with drywall joint compound:
Note – be sure to watch the video at the top of the page to see how the ingredients were measured and mixed. If you want to make a larger batch, you may want to mix it with a paint mixer attachment on an electric drill.
Mix together:
- 1/2 cup drywall joint compound
- 1/2 cup Elmer’s Glue-All (PVA glue)
- 1/2 cup damp toilet paper or recycled paper*
Mix until there are no lumps of paper in the mixture. Then add and mix well:
- 1 cup Portland cement.
*To see how to weigh the damp paper, watch the video on this page, starting at the 3:06 mark. You’ll need to scroll down the page to find the video. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, soak the paper in hot water, then squeeze out most of the water (but not all of it) and use 1/2 cup of the damp paper.
Weatherproof paper mache clay recipe without drywall joint compound:
Mix together:
- 1/2 cup Elmer’s Glue-All (PVA glue)
- 1/2 cup damp toilet paper or recycled paper*
Mix until there are no lumps of paper in the mixture. Then add and mix well:
- 2/3 cup Portland cement.
More experiments needed!
Warren had great luck with his pots outdoors in Australia. But I can’t know if these recipes will work here in Minnesota until I make a sculpture and leave it outside to see how well it does in our crazy weather.
In fact, we all need to consider these experimental recipes until we’ve had a chance to try them ourselves, in our own climate.
If you experiment with one or both of the recipes, please come back after a few months and let us know how they worked! 🙂
Related Posts:
Original Recipe for Paper Mache Clay
Jonni’s Air Dry Clay Recipe
Toad Made with Paper Cement Clay
