papier-mache

[Loandbehold]

Just a quick one. Should I burst the balloon before or after I paint the paper?

When it's dry, pop it, then paint. That's what I would do.

You need to make sure the paper is totally dry inside as well as outside first, before you pop the balloon. Otherwise once popped, the paper will not be supported, and may wrinkle and shrivel a little as it dries out.

So, I would paint the paper after the balloon has popped, otherwise, if any paper shrinkage happens and it's already been painted, it may cause cracks to appear in the paint coating.