I submerged punched paper circles in one ounce of water for 32 days, heated to about 200 degrees for ten minutes on day one (to simulate a heat tool.)
Copy paper visibly degraded after one day and eventually turned to mush; no surprise there.
All of the craft papers, plus the 100% cotton bond 32 lb business paper, survived the water just fine and kept acting as always once dried. Surprisingly, the Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Heavystock separated into two layers starting at day six and completing separating by day 23.
Most samples sunk to the bottom of their tiny jars pretty quickly as the sizing (if any) became waterlogged. However, the Strathmore watercolor paper floated for 15 days and the Arteza watercolor and American Crafts Vicki Boutin mixed media paper floated for all 32 days.
If you are avoiding animal products for religious reasons, you should know that many papers are sized using gelatin. Check out https://www.worldofvegan.com/vegan-art-supplies/ for a list of art supplies that use wheat starch or chemicals (alkyl ketene dimer) instead.
The smooth samples were: Strathmore Bristol smooth, Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Heavystock, Ranger Dylusions mixed media, and American Crafts Vicki Boutin mixed media.
The high-tooth samples were: Strathmore watercolor and Arches watercolor.
Complete list of papers tested:
Copy paper
Neenah 110 lb
Strathmore Bristol smooth
Southworth 100% cotton 32 lb
Mofuny mixed media
Ranger Dylusions mixed media
Ranger Distress Heavystock
Ranger Distress watercolor
Arches watercolor
Strathmore watercolor
Arteza watercolor
American Crafts Vicki Boutin mixed media
I am a stamper who loves watercolor, so I want a smooth-textured paper that can really handle water. My conclusion is that the Ranger Dylusions mixed media paper and the American Crafts Vicki Boutin mixed media paper are my choice for future purchases. You may have different crafting needs and thus may reach a different conclusion, but I hope this data is helpful to you!
Papercraft Crystal 