How to Dry Mount a Watercolor Painting done on Rice Paper onto another Sheet of Mulberry Rice Paper

Imported from Japan, Silicone Paper is easy-to-use heat-sensitive for dry mounting. Silicone is coated on one side of the release paper. The acid-free adhesive melts at 180F heat and bonds to paper, fabric, plastic, wood, etc. as it cools off. It flows under heat and pressure, and can be patched, overlapped and pieced together. It is removable when reheated. The release paper keeps adhesive film clean and makes adhesive film easy to handle and protect the artwork and the iron or press machine. Silicone paper is available at
http://www.blueheronarts.com/product_...

Great for dry mounting thin papers, rice paper, tissue paper, parchment, watercolors, silks, and other fabrics.

Basic Mounting Method 1: Direct Mounting

In this method the orginal painting is mounted directly to the silicone paper.
1. Dampen the painting first. You may spray the original painting evenly with water.
2. Cut the silicone paper to the size exactly same as the original painting or slightly smaller.
3. Put 4 layers of denim cloth on the table as mounting surface.
4. Set the iron temperature to 180° F (between silk and wool) and start the ironing movement from center out, first in cross and then in X movements to avoid bubbles.
5. Apply less pressure in the beginning and gradually increase pressure later. Don't press too hard or set temperature too hot. In other words you want to avoid any big fold or wrinkles which would become permanent. Small wrinkles can be streched out easily with hot iron.

Basic Method 2: Indirect Mounting.

This method is to transfer the silicon adhesive film to the backing material first, then take the release paper off and mount the painting on. Here are the steps:

1. Cut the Silicone Release Paper to the same size as the backing board or a little bit smaller (about 1/4" - 1/8") than the board. (No need to measure!)

2. Place the silicone release paper filme side facing down, or mounting board, foam board etc.

3. Iron it at 180 degree fahrenheit and let it cool a little bit.

4. Peel the release paper off and save it for use in step 6.

5. If necessary, trim the extra adhesive film along the board edge with a glue gun, knife or scissors.

6. Lay the artwork face up on the adhesive film and cover it with the release paper from step 4.

7. Now it's ready to iron it on.

Here is a play list with some Youtube videos showing you how to mount a small ACEO or large piece of panoramic landscape painting--

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list...

FAQ:

Q: When would you use dry mounting and when wet mounting?
A: Good question! If you use western watercolor pigments on rice paper they would bleed when wet mounting so dry mounting would avoid such problem with color running or ink bleeding. Some rice paper are very thin and maybe too fragile to wet mount. If you are in a hurry, dry mounting takes less time than wet mounting.


Thank you!

Henry