Wheat paste

[pudidotdk]

Ingredients

Ordinary flour and water.

 

Other

For preparing the mixture you will need normal kitchen equipment such as measuring cups, pot, bowl, baking pan, stove and a whisk (preferably electric).

 

Optional

For extension of the durability vinegar, paris green, or sodium salicylate can be used.

Other chemicals may be used as well, but be careful if using poisonous powders like paris green, because you don't want any contact with it, and it is therefore not recommended.

http://www.pyroguide.com/images/thumb/5/5d/Whpa-001.jpg/151px-Whpa-001.jpg

 

 

Step 1

Start by measuring out three parts of water by volume, and pour it in to the pot.

Let the pot of water heat over the stove until it boils.

http://www.pyroguide.com/images/thumb/6/64/Whpa-002.jpg/151px-Whpa-002.jpg

 

 

Step 2

While the water is heating up, mix three parts of cold water with one part of flour by volume in a bowl.

For instance if you boiled 150 ml of water, you must now mix 150 ml of water and 50 ml of flour. It must be mixed thoroughly until it looks like milk.

http://www.pyroguide.com/images/thumb/3/3e/Whpa-003.jpg/151px-Whpa-003.jpg

 

 

Step 3

When the water is boiling in the pot, slowly add the mixture from the bowl into the pot and stir.

http://www.pyroguide.com/images/thumb/d/d5/Whpa-004.jpg/151px-Whpa-004.jpg

 

 

Step 4

Stir until you have achieved the desired viscosity and take the pot off the stove.

If there are any lumps in the wheat paste at this point, pour it through a strainer to separate the lumps from the paste.

http://www.pyroguide.com/images/thumb/4/4d/Whpa-005.jpg/151px-Whpa-005.jpg

 

 

Step 5

The paste is now finished and can be used as it is, however the paste is hot. To cool the paste rapidly, transfer it into a baking pan. The paste is then stored in a container with a lid. You will need to throw the paste away 1-2 days after you have made it, since it will start to smell bad. To extend the durability of the wheat paste, a few teaspoons of vinegar can be added while boiling the paste. Paris green or sodium salicylate in powdered forms can also be added, however vinegar is both easy to obtain and non-toxic.

http://www.pyroguide.com/images/thumb/7/73/Whpa-006.jpg/151px-Whpa-006.jpg

 

- pudidotdk

[gods knight]

Thnx for the tutorial its very informative.

[Tweetybird88]

If it goes bad after a while, does it make shells smell bad if used?

[TheSidewinder]

No it won't, unless you store them where it's really humid (and that's bad for your shells anyway).

 

There are several chemicals you can add in small amounts to the paste, to prevent bugs from eating your paper casings. Copper Oxychloride is one. Paris Green (Copper Acetoarsenite) is one of the best, but is very toxic as everyone should know by now. In addition to being a pesticide, it's also a marginal preservative.

 

But if kept properly dry, the pasted shells won't smell bad.

 

M

[Mumbles]

Benzoates, and salicyliates have been used to preserve paste and gum arabic. I believe I have heard of people using sodium silicate to preserve it as well.

[krackerjack9]

For the amount in your Tutorial I would add about 2 teaspoons of Sodium Benzoate, its a preservative and should keep it from turning into a green carpet of fuzz if you know what I mean.

[Pretty green flame]

For the amount in your Tutorial I would add about 2 teaspoons of Sodium Benzoate, its a preservative and should keep it from turning into a green carpet of fuzz if you know what I mean.

Nah, it won't work. The efficiency of preservatives depends on the ammount of micro organizms already in your materials. So if you did want it to work you'd have to have sterile equipment and starting materials (Water, flour). So probably the best thing is to make the paste as you need it unless you're serious about storing it, but then you have to add something that will kill off anything alive in the paste (Paris green for example)

[Pretty green flame]

I've been pasting shells for the past two hours now and i've noticed that my wheat paste lacks adhesivnes, i was having a hard time making the paper to stick to the shell.

 

I'm guessing the flour is to blame, what kind of flour should I use to make the paste so i get the best adhesive properties? High gluten content?

 

Thanks

[Mumbles]

I found my main problem was a lack of cooking. If you don't get it hot enough, the gluten is not extracted/converted to a good paste. I used standard white flour. It was what we had at the time. When it gets up to boiling or very near so, it will thicken considerably. This is absolutely required. I tried the first time, after not getting it hot enough, and had the same problem you did. I added more water, and fully boiled it, and it turned into the reminiscent mush of wall paper paste.

[ActiveA]

Don't get caught with this stuff....

 

 

Its REALLY illegal because of its graffiti uses. Take it from me, I've been there and done that and this stuff will not come off if you put it on a wall. Its what people put posters up with so they won't come down.

[h0lx]

If you are licensed, you just say you use it for shells.

If not... well you got much more to worry about than wheat paste..

[justanotherpyro]

Don't get caught with this stuff....

 

 

Its REALLY illegal because of its graffiti uses. Take it from me, I've been there and done that and this stuff will not come off if you put it on a wall. Its what people put posters up with so they won't come down.

Its about as illegal as a tree in your yard. Its misuse could be illegal, but so could the misuse of anything. Most people mixing up a batch of wheat paste are probably using it for paper mache anyways. Hardly an offense that will have a police officer kicking down your door unless he likes crashing kindergarten parties.

[cplmac]

Hardly an offense that will have a police officer kicking down your door unless he likes crashing kindergarten parties.

Who doesn't?

[crazyboy25]

lol

 

 

good tutorial though i used it when pasting my 4" shell the paste was like mashed potatoes but it worked fine my kraft paper dried very hard i have found when rolling shell casings for cylindrical shells and probably pasting watered down elmers glue works fine to.

[marks265]

Thanks Pudi! I used your little class and made my first layer of 3" inch shells. It ALMOST looks like I knew what I was doing and the paper layed down nice.

[nath0r]

On the topic of wheat paste, is there any real advantage to using it for pasting shells other than it's relitively cheap production? Up untill now ive used a mix of water and PVA/Wood glue for pasting my shells and haven't noticed any problems in doing so.

[FrankRizzo]

No, it's advantage is the cost and relative flexibility after drying. Thinned PVA glue shares this flexability, so there's no disadvantage other than cost. If you start making shells at a decent pace, the economics of wheat paste will come into play. If you switch later, you'll also likely have to re-calibrate your burst due to PVA's strength advantage.

 

Though with wheat now approaching over $10/bushel (even $20 last week), flour may not be as economical in the future.

[Mumbles]

I dunno, there is still something about having your hands soaking wet with wheat paste that really is part of the pyro experience. Might just be because I slather it on, but I think it breaks the paper faster, and better. It also isn't quite as tacky as white glue, which gives some good handling properties while it is still wet.

[Frozentech]

I used to use thinned PVA, but after using good wheat paste I would never go back. It cleans up so much easier, feels better on your skin, and I love how virgin kraft breaks with it, as Mumbles mentioned. It dries "crispy" almost, makes the shell seem almost fiberglass coated.

[nath0r]

Well thanks for the responses, I'm certainly going to give wheat paste a try on my next batch of shells to see how i get on!

[Mumbles]

Functionally at the end I noticed no differences really, I just think it has better handling properties. It has a unique smell too that I am kind of a fan of. I've taken paper strips and ended up not using them before. If I were to strike someone with it, it may draw blood. It was extremely stiff, I was actually very impressed that shells can handle 18 layers of the stuff without just turning into a salute.

[jointluver]

it's a great tutorial but what is it used for??? im new here so can you help me out?

[oskarchem]

You use wheat paste to paste your shells. Or for the more experienced, to roll tubes, (the paste is used as glue).

[nejc@]

Did anybody tried with dextrin?

I think glue that made from dextrin and a little of water is stronger, faster to make and it doesn`t start smelling bad after some time.

Anyway, I tried using water glass solution and paper from notebooks for pasting a canister shell and reinforcing paper tube. Both of them are rock hard and have beautiful shine. I hope they`ll work good too..

[oskarchem]

Well, dextrin can be used as a paper glue, but I think, that wheat paste is somewhat stronger, somone would have to verify that.