Im about finished sewing my 1st project , A 20 ft tipi . im going to paint it and was wondering what paint to use and how much to thin it so it remains flexible so i can fold/unfold it and still have the paint where I put it . any help would be appriciated .
I painted mine about five years ago with outdoor latex house paint,thinned with water about five to one. I used a tan color and painted it one color. If your putting designs or stripes on it I think you have to use it full strength. I got the information from a book,which I don't remember the name of right now. It wasn't the Laubins book.
thanks JD . may i ask how often yours is up in the weather and how well it seems to be holding up ? your advice seems to be simaler to what im reading , and yes , im going by the laubins book to make it .
Quote from: mrclean100 on March 29, 2012
thanks JD . may i ask how often yours is up in the weather and how well it seems to be holding up ? your advice seems to be simaler to what im reading , and yes , im going by the laubins book to make it .
Please post some pictures during the process..I'm sure it will turn out great..
After a fair amount of research Ive come up with "golden" (brand) fluid acrylic paint . designed for , among many other things , use on cloth as it is supposed to remain flexible and hold its color well in the weather . The folks @ reese tipis had good info on this . colorado tipi as well as nomadic tipi ( right here in Bend) have fun little apps on their sites that let you click on the color and design options and it creates that pattern for you . I think I have enough info to finish this up . Maybe this weekend .
I made mine from painters tarps ,using the Laubins book, about twelve or thirteen years ago. Back then I set it up three or four times ayear at rendevous and in my back yard for aweek or two at times. I painted it because it was grey and weathered looking. The thinned flat latex was more like a dye gave it a smoked buckskin look. Since then I,ve only put it up about twice a year, but so far its held up well. The name of the book I was referring to is " Make Your Own Tipi" by James E. Jones.
J D , how much did you thin the paint ? i guess to what consistancy did you thin it to would be what im looking for . something like heavy cream or closer to milk ? thanks for your time and advice .
More like milk. I think about 4-6 parts water to 1 part paint is what i used.
Brian I have a book that has the recipe to mix if you want to come over and borrow it. It's that tp book I told you about. Just got back from cali tonight call me tomorrow.
You guys that made your own tipis, I'd sure like to see some pics of them an the process if you made any, I'm planning on making me one from some painters canvas this summer, ordered the Laubins book plus I've down loaded several plans off the internet. Thanks
I think mrcleans computer is down. Here are some photos of it on the gym floor during different stages of construction, I'll see if he wants to use my computer to give you some pointers.
This is most likely to late but we wet our lodge before painting it to help paint sink into fabric better & not crack when rolled up. only way to camp lodge with a nice fire at nite..............Tom
I did a fair amount of online research but ended up using the Laubin book exclusively . They did all the research , tons of it . Their pattens are easy to follow . My clubs Rendezvous is next weekend , Ill be taking pics of the tipi and will get a few posted .
Wetting the canvas before painting does indeed help with the painting . Be mindful of just how much you wet it as it does effect how the paint goes on and how it penetrates . Very wet canvas will make the paint spread a bit . To waterproof , I got the whole canvas very wet then put it in a large tub of very watered down white paint ( exterior ) . made sure it was all stirred around and kneaded then wrung and hung to dry . This is a very messy process but I liked the results .