Watercolor Painting & Sketching Group, Community, and Blog › Forums › Seeking Advice › How Much Water Can Paper Take › Reply To: How Much Water Can Paper Take
When I was first taught in school, oh, say a hundred years ago…we had to size our paper. We taped it down all the way around, thoroughly wet it and let it dry. It can be helped along with a blow dryer.
Nowadays many papers come already sized. Has anyone mentioned the difference between working with sized paper or not? They don’t need to be wet all over like the old days. Generally I work with 130 lbs, 300 is too expensive to use everyday as a hobby for me, and 90 lbs is too light and buckles too easily.
Weight affects how much water the paper can take as well as if it is 100% cotton or if they are using other fibers. So the answer is paper can take as much or as little water as what it is made for. Arches Cotton Rag 300 lb sized block of paper can take A LOT of water. A 90 lb mixed or recycled cotton cannot take much.