Zor

ErikMB,

I suspect where and how you got the idea of having wet paper.
No surprise you got a hole in it. It is not possible to stretch wet paper and next to impossile to apply it evenly without wrinkles.

Again what I do is just to inform readers. You are a reader; are you not ?

I apply the paper dry, pull on it gently and even it out without wrinkles in the process of gluing it all around.
I then apply another coat of glue. I use nitrate dope but other material can be used for gluing.

If oher than dope is used we must make sure it isa thin coat. We do not wish wrinkles created by thick glue.

After all the periphery has cured I spray the whole surface with a water atomizer like a windex sprayer containing water. Just moisten the paper so it all looks wet but is not soaked.

Let it dry at room temperature. Do not used a hair dryer or any forced air. The covering has to dry on its own evenly.

When fully dry we can apply a coat of nitrate dope using a high quality artist brush (1/2" wide) that does not loose its hair. The dope dries very fast so we have to work fast and brush one way then immediatly at 90 degrees or so to even out the layer.

Dilute the dope so it feels like maple syrup. If you have never used maple syrup then make it a little more fluid than corn syrup. On paper use only the tips of the brush hair. On fabric you can push a little to get the dope to penetrate the fibers.

If you apply a second coat of dope, wait an hour or so. The second coat can be more nitrate or can be butyrate.
Butyrate goes on top of nitrate but never apply nitrate over butyrate. You can try it on your test piece if you made one.

Voila ___questions ?

Zor

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