The Origami Forum

I just bought a few sheets of gampi silk paper from Amazon, but the first sheet tore as soon as I tried to flatten it on the wet acrylic (to treat it). It's ridiculously thin--probably no more than 15gsm--but too soft to be folded as-is.
Does anyone have any tips on how to be more careful with it (and on other papers) so I don't waste the rest of the $25 order?

That is a shame. It also sounds like the paper has short fibers, which is why it tore easily. I would just drop it on another sheet (different material) that is wet with MC. I would not brush it, as it sounds like it would be too weak to handle that. Good luck! - Marc

P.S. I have used Kozo (Mulberry Bark) paper before at 15gsm, so not all thin papers are weak.

Thanks for the suggestions.
Would you happen to know if there's a way to treat the paper alone instead of backcoating it? I'd originally bought it for models that require super-thin paper (i.e. a Scutigera).
Maybe I'll try getting some kozo though. Do you mind telling me where you buy it from?

"Treating" the paper is basically adhering the weak short fibers to something stronger. Even paint will add a lot of strength to paper, but you still have to figure out a way of pulling up the sheet after it dries.

To state the obvious: if you need super thin paper, but have to double the thickness, you can join four sheets together to get the same relative thickness.

I get my kozo typically from NY Central Art Supply in NYC,USA. I happen to live in the same city, so I make a trip there about once/year. They do ship internationally.

Yeah. I feel like a single coat of MC would be enough, considering the thinness of the paper, but my main problem is getting the sheet to lie flat on the wet acrylic.

I'm treating a larger sheet of hemp paper at the moment--thicker but more durable as well.

I'll definitely consider ordering from there or visiting if I'm ever in the area. Thanks again.

i recently got vietnamese do paper and am not shure weather or not to treat it with mc. would appreciate the help.thanks.

It depends on how the paper behaves. Did you try folding it untreated? Is it very thin? Does it hold a Crease?

its quite a lot like origamido

Origamido is actually not really any specific stereotype of paper, since Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander makes the paper according to a customers wishes. They make model-specialised paper. The type you buy online was made for specific projects, but they likely had leftovers and then sold them. As such, I would advise you to follow Anna's (Origami_8) advise.

If you want the paper to be stiffer, more responsive, better at holding creases, in short: more crisp, then you should treat it with a layer of MC. If one layer is not enough give it two. If you like it as is, don't treat it.
Of course, if you're not sure about whether or not you want it treated, you could cut out a small piece and treat it, and then try the resulting paper.

Baltorigamist wrote:I just bought a few sheets of gampi silk paper from Amazon, but the first sheet tore as soon as I tried to flatten it on the wet acrylic (to treat it). It's ridiculously thin--probably no more than 15gsm--but too soft to be folded as-is.
Does anyone have any tips on how to be more careful with it (and on other papers) so I don't waste the rest of the $25 order?

A few things come to mind that might help. I haven't used the silk paper, and it may be that ultimately you'll need to double it up. But...

It might be worth trying to use a slightly thinner mixture of mc, letting it dry, and then applying the mc to to the top. I'm not sure how you are laying your paper onto the acrylic, but I've found rolling it onto a paper tube and then unrolling that onto the surface cuts down on pulling/wrinkling of the paper. Third, I'm not sure if you are using a brush to spread on the top coat of MC. It might be worth trying a rolling brush with long fibers.

All the best,
al

I had success with gampi by treating it on a mirror with MC. First I treated the four corners and let them dry to anchor the paper in place. Then I treated the rest of the paper. After it all dried, I used a razor blade to pull up one edge of the paper and then slowly pulled the whole sheet off the mirror.