MC - Methyl Cellulose

General discussion area for learning about paper, and the different types available.
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origami_8
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Post by origami_8 »

It depends on the paper you use.
One tissue paper alone is hard to handle, so I would always recommend to glue two sheets together. Some handmade papers are thick enough on their own, so one sheet should be enough.
I do not have many experience with handmade papers, most of the ones I tried weren't suitable for Origami at all. They were either too thick or didn't hold the shape.
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origamimasterjared
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Post by origamimasterjared »

If you are making something like an arthropod, which has very narrow, many-layered flaps, you're gonna want to use just one sheet. If you are making something with more body or broader flaps, back-coating is probably better. Also, if you're making something with skinny legs, you're also going to want to add more MC later in the folding process. This is what is known as MC-folding or dry-wet folding.
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JeossMayhem
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Post by JeossMayhem »

Hmm, then what would you suggest for my tortoise design? It's almost entirely covered in some kind of paper-inefficient tesselation, so I would think to use only one later, but with a thicker paper, the pattern would stick out to the eye so much better.
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Post by origami_8 »

Two layers of tissue paper still aren't thick, nearly every pre-packaged Origami paper is thicker. I'd recommend to try the two layers of tissue paper first, it becomes like one paper of approximately 40gsm and has fantastic properties for folding. If you feel it is too thick you can always try with only one sheet, but for most applications the two layers will be better to work with.
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JeossMayhem
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Post by JeossMayhem »

Hmm, I should have bought more than two sheets of unryu then... Does it make sense to back-coat with a different kind of paper? Is there such thing as a high-quality, not necessarily patterned, pH balanced, INEXPENSIVE paper?
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Post by Jonnycakes »

I don't know about that, but depending on the paper thickness you can just MC treat that one sheet. It is also much easier than trying to glue 2 sheets together-just brush MC over the entire sheet. I did that with a sheet of hanji to fold my phoenix and it worked fine.
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origami_8
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Post by origami_8 »

Like I mentioned before I do not have many experience with such kinds of papers, I don't know anything about the properties of unryu.
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Max
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Post by Max »

Hey!
Concerning the storage and glass plate problems, i store the plate vertically leaned near a wall. There it consumes very few space. Román Diaz wrote in Origami para Intérpretes he just uses the windows of his house for making paper *G* Depending on your fellow students or parents this could be a problem but after the removal of the paper you could perhaps score some points because you are the only one regularly "cleaning" the windows *g*

For the plate i use a frameless picture frame like origami8. In Germany bulky items are regularly taken away by the garbage disposal. Thats always a nice opportunity to find suitable plates... If you have a big table you could also consider using the table. (No food for 25 hours :wink: )

With MC you can glue neary all kinds (exept foil) of paper together. That offers nice opportunitys. If you want two colored kraft paper or thicker paper its very easy to just glue a layer of tissue beneath it.

You can wet-fold or dry-wet-fold the paper. Román Diaz also mentioned he folds some models when the applied MC hasn't dried yet, but i havent tried that yet...
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JeossMayhem
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Post by JeossMayhem »

About how big of a pane of glass do you have? I want something around 50cm. My father suggested getting the plastic panes that substitute for the glass ones. Lowers the hazard level too, ha.
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Post by angrydemon »

My MC is so thick it won't even soak through the paper. Is that a bad thing? At least I don't need to go around asking for giant panes of glass.
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origami_8
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Post by origami_8 »

JeossMayhem wrote:About how big of a pane of glass do you have?
70x100 cm. You can see a picture of it in use here.
Fortunately my friend and I have enough space to have a whole Origami paper preparation room :D
Amazing how much the library has grown since these pictures where made one year ago...
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Post by HankSimon »

I think we are talking about two different things: making paper vs. backcoating for wetfolding. I dunno about making tissue paper/foil.

I know only a little more about backcoating:
(Misquoting Michael Lafosse talking about his frog)
1. Make a thin solution of MC - about 1:4, about as thick as egg white. MC doesn't dissolve quickly, so let it sit for a few hours. You can always add a little more water to make it thinner. In average humidity, paper wetted with MC will begin to dry in about 30 minutes while you are folding.

2. Coat one side of the paper with enough MC to wet it. A thick piece of paper will be as pliable as wet leather. (Not sure about tissue).

3. It may be easier to coat the "inside" of the model, than the outside, because paper sticking to itself is easier to deal with than paper sticking to your fingers ???

More my opinion... than my advise.


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Post by origamimasterjared »

HankSimon wrote:I think we are talking about two different things: making paper vs. backcoating for wetfolding. I dunno about making tissue paper/foil.
Back-coating is back-coating. Back-coating does two things. First, it adds sizing to the paper, so that it holds its shape better. This is important because thin papers usually have little to no sizing, so they are floppy. Next it sticks two sheets together, making a much more solid, thicker sheet.
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Post by qtrollip »

Here's what you need to prepare MC:
Image

1. MethylCellulose - 3 teaspoons

2. Water - 500 milliliters(or a pint glass)
If you don't have a pint glass, get a life.
If you are from Germany, use half of a "Stein"!

3. A container to mix it in.
Preferrably a container with a lid to prevent the water from evaporating and thus changing the concentration of the MC. Also easier to store and prevent hours of cleaning the slimey stuff off the carpet after spilling.

4. Spatula or chop-stix to mix the MC solution.
If you have a tight closing container and you are aka 007, you can also prepare it "shaken, not stirred."

5. Time
Let the well mixed solution stand over night.

6. Brush.
Wide brush to brush the solution to the starting paper. Thin brush to brush the solution onto the model before the "finishing" folds are done (known as dry-wet-folding or MC-folding).

You can alter the concentration as you wish, but this would make a solution quite similar to egg-white.

Don't quote me on the above.
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origamimasterjared
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Post by origamimasterjared »

I use the exact same MC.

The only thing is I would use a much wider brush for MC-ing the entire sheet. And probably less water. Besides, you can always water it down afterward if it's too thick. The reverse is really hard.
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