Making Tissue Foil Paper

Jonnycakes · Post by **Jonnycakes** » February 2nd, 2009, 8:09 pm

I have had luck with large, thin foil-I have found a couple places that sell 18" thin foil. Dollar stores or supermarkets are worth checking out.

I also spray the tissue paper with glue, then apply the foil. I tape the corners of the tissue paper down first, though, so it is wrinkle-free and stays still.

insaneorigami · Post by **insaneorigami** » February 2nd, 2009, 8:53 pm

hmmm, I was using 18 inch medium thick foil, and I was going to "publix" (not the best place for most origami needs)

Ben385 · Post by **Ben385** » February 7th, 2009, 5:59 pm

Would it be possible to use PVA glue to make tissue foil? It's just that I am in no position to buy anything and all I have at home is PVA. Thanks!

arnorigami · Post by **arnorigami** » February 7th, 2009, 8:16 pm

PVA works fine for me. I dilute it with water and apply it onto the foil using a small roller. Then I apply the tissue paper, unrolling it from a cardball tube.

Ben385 · Post by **Ben385** » February 7th, 2009, 8:20 pm

Thanks! What ratio do you use?

Falcifer · Post by **Falcifer** » October 28th, 2010, 5:30 pm

Today was my first attempt at making tissue-foil.

The glue I used was rather watered-down already, but it had instructions for watering it down, so I watered it down some more. About 1:1.

The tissue I used was folded a lot, and I didn't take the time to roll it up properly before applying it, so there were a lot of wrinkles, but not any air bubbles.

I may have applied too much PVA to the foil, too, and some small areas kept revealing themselves even after applying glue. I went over those areas with more glue after applying the tissue.

Also, I pretty much followed Sara's video, so thanks Sara!

I'm still waiting for it to dry, so I don't know how well it turned out yet, but I have a couple of questions;

Should I wait a few minutes after rollering the glue on to the foil, to let it dry a little, before applying the tissue?

The tissue is very thin, so when I tried to smooth out wrinkles, I ended up tearing it a little - is the glue/water mix too wet, or is it just the result of thin tissue paper?

I'll be sure to post again once my foil is dry and I've folded something with it.

oz · Post by oz » October 28th, 2010, 8:10 pm

What I've found that works extremely well is spray adhesive. There are a few limitations, you need to be either outside or in a garage, it's a little harder to find, and it's a little more expensive than PVA (I paid $7.00 for my can). It works fantastic though! I spray one side of the foil, carefully lay down the tissue, turn over, repeat, and I'm done. I can literally just take it inside, cut it into a square, and fold it right away, I don't have to wait for it to dry. It's a really good bond too, since it's a spray glue.

Just an idea for you.

Falcifer · Post by **Falcifer** » October 28th, 2010, 8:34 pm

Thanks, Oz.
I have some experience with spray glue (not with making tissue foil, though) and found it to be less consistent than the liquid stuff.

Also, I don't really have the luxury of being able to make the stuff outside, so I don't think spray glue is an option at the moment.

I'm using a piece of the tf I made, and it's not too bad, actually. The wrinkles aren't massive, and they add some texture to the paper - which is thin enough to let some of the reflectivity of the foil through.

Once I get used to making it, I think it'll be alright.

bethnor · Post by **bethnor** » October 28th, 2010, 9:19 pm

in all honesty, i'm not sure why anyone bothers with tissue-foil. if you have a large surface where you can let a sheet dry, you might as well skip to resizing with MC and call it a day. the amount of work appears roughly the same, and the final result, by all accounts, is easier to use and more pleasing to the eye.

Falcifer · Post by **Falcifer** » October 28th, 2010, 9:36 pm

bethnor wrote:in all honesty, i'm not sure why anyone bothers with tissue-foil. if you have a large surface where you can let a sheet dry, you might as well skip to resizing with MC and call it a day. the amount of work appears roughly the same, and the final result, by all accounts, is easier to use and more pleasing to the eye.

I don't know about anyone else, but for me it was more about trying a new kind of paper to fold with - I've been using copy paper and cheap kami up 'til now.
Also, PVA and tin foil is very easy to find and relatively cheap.

And I don't have a large work area, I have to use the large mirror in my brother's bedroom, which is rather inconvenient.

Post by **origami_8** » October 29th, 2010, 7:43 pm

If your paper gets wet when making tissue foil, you used too much glue. A ratio of 1+1 white glue+water sounds all right to me. When applying the glue to the foil it should be a hardly visible uniform layer. Since the layer is so thin the paper doesn't really get wet, but only a little bit moist. Usually my paper dries within two minutes or less, so I can cut and use the paper right after I made it. For tissue foil I found a rotary cutter to be the better knife since it doesn't crinkle the paper together like a usual knife might do, it's a bit more expensive though.

Why do I sometimes use tissue foil? Well, it comes in very beautiful colours of my free choice without having the problem of colour bleeding. I also like the little shininess and that it is easily malleable with keeping its form so good. Contras are that you have to be careful not to get wrinkles and that creases reverse really bad (even though this is better on tissue foil made with white glue than on tissue foil made with spray glue).

Here's a picture of some tissue foil I made some time ago:

And here is a model I folded with this paper (Skier by Robert Harbin):

Falcifer · Post by **Falcifer** » October 29th, 2010, 8:18 pm

Thanks for the advice, Anna! I had a feeling that I had too much glue...

The tip about a rotary cutter is a very good idea, too. I'll have to look into that.

orislater · Post by **orislater** » November 1st, 2010, 7:16 pm

just a tip: dont buy elmer's spray adhesive, it sucks.
it makes the paper way too thick and you have to spray very little to keep the paper from clumping up when folding. then the edges peel and your tissue foil falls apart! worst 10 bucks i ever spent. it still works but only for very simple models

oz · Post by oz » November 2nd, 2010, 9:04 am

True statement, and a warning I had forgotten!

I'm using Aleene's "Tacky Spray," which works amazingly well. You have to place the tissue paper down almost perfectly because of it's instant cling, but it's forgiving enough for you to push most of the wrinkles out of the paper before it's stuck.

The rotary cutter works extremely well too, another idea I've adapted over time.

Gfolder · Post by **Gfolder** » November 2nd, 2010, 11:06 am

My method to make tissue foil is very.... simple

.
I first cut a square of foil, then using my trusty bluestick(like a gluestick, but BLUE

) i glue a sheet of tissue to the foil, and cut round the original square. This works very well for me and I found it works better than the spray glue i had used for a while.