Adding to suntail skins?

[Mermaid Tuwala]

So, i'm looking to make my suntail skin a bit more unique and realistic. I would love to add on some extra fins as well as paint over the skin to give it some texture instead of just being flat. Has anyone here tried anything like this before and if so what worked well for you?
Any advice is appreciated!
Marie

[Mermaid Aria]

There are a few threads on here where people have coated their fabric tails in silcone caulking to give a more wet/shiny look or add a scale texture. I'll also help the colors to not fade from the chlorine/sunlight.

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[Lilyrose Fish]

I have a thread I just started about adding fins and a longer fluke to my spandex magictail. If you have any questions after you read it feel free to ask.
38472

[Mermaid Tuwala]

Okay thanks so much guys! I've never seen the silicone over fabric but I may have to try that!! I was thinking of using Lumiere 3D but maybe silicone would be better. Ive never worked with it before though but we'll see. It is a great idea!
And lilyrose I did se your thread and it turned out beautifully! Did you figure a way to reduce the drag in the end?

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[Lilyrose Fish]

No, I think the magictail monofin is not powerful enough to overcome the drag. I am planning a tail skin for my new mahina monofin, probably painted neoprene.

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[MermaidBrandie]

No, I think the magictail monofin is not powerful enough to overcome the drag. I am planning a tail skin for my new mahina monofin, probably painted neoprene.

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I had a neoprene tail with my mahina for a while. the float caused by the neoprene caused enough drag that it was awful to swim in. I was using 5mm thick neoprene but you could try a thinner neoprene to get rid of that.

To the OP: Silicone will adhere to spandex just fine. I would make a DTD of your legs to ensure that the silicone will still fit you. Or at least make a cardboard cut outline of the tail to put inside it so the silicone doesn't soak through and stick on the other side. Dragonskin 10 silicone is most commonly used to make silicone tail. Some people use caulking, but I wouldn't with something as thin as spandex since it will have contact with your skin when it soaks through the fabric and it's not advised to have prolonged skin contact with some caulking.