Plywood

[Acey]

Currently building a prototype for a scratch-build mod. Using 4 different materials (wood, paper, plastic, steel). Built a full-plywood case a couple of years ago but what I don't have time to test now is paper pulp on plywood.

I need a lot of pulp on the surrounding wooden case so will the wood starts peeling off its layers because of the moisture? :think:

[blueonblack]

Short answer: probably. There are special moisture-resistant plywoods available, though of course they're more expensive. I'm not familiar with the method you're using, is it possible to seal the plywood with some kind of finish before applying the pulp?

[Acey]

I thought of clear coating the plywood (2 types of plywood at home unused) but not really sure if the pulp will stick after that. That can be fixed but the splitting at the edges that im worried about.

[jdbnsn]

What I've done in the past to seal wood tightly is dilute wood glue down to about 1:4 or even less and paint the surface of the ply with it. It make a great seal and I think it will retain a good surface for your paper to adhere. One option might be to apply the paper while the glue is still slightly wet.

[Acey]

wood glue eh? ohsum, will try it. Thx jd!

[crazybillybob]

most plywood that you would get at the home center use themoset resins to hold the plys together.... so the amount of moisture that you talking about coming from the paper pulp should not cause it to de-laminate. Now all bets are off if you try an use MDF or lewon .... but some nice 1/4" or 1/2" birch plywood should stand up to anything short of submerging in boiling hot water for a week or three! (even steam forming plywood is OK!!! done that!)

If your worried about the pulp adhering. Scuff the wood surface with 80 grit, and mix a little white glue into the first batch of pulp that's going right on the wood... White glue is more flexable then many of the other glues, and water soluble so it thins nicely wit the pulp mix, but still keep the base stuck fast to the wood!

CBB

[Acey]

Thx CBB. White glue's awesome when it comes to holding the pulp to steel/wood surfaces. Tried lousy yellow ones and they don't really grip well.

Anyways I'm gonna start cutting and hammering up the frame for the next mod next couple of hours so thanks everyone for the adv and tips. :D