Repairing a Mertailor Tail

[BlueMermaid]

I'm looking for someone who can either give me some advice on fixing a tail, or that can fix it for me in a short amount of time, for a reasonable fee.

I ordered 3 tails from Mertailor in November, one for me, one for Luna, one for Sirena. They arrived in mid Feb. Mine had a horrible strong chemical smell, so I took it outside to air out, but it didn't help. I had hung it on a towel rack and when I went to get it, the paint had come off the tail and stained the rack. Eric offered to fix it, saying that it must not of cured completely. He said it would take one week to fix, and here it is over a month later and he still hasn't fixed it.

The other 2 tails also have the paint coming off, and Sirena's tail had a silicone plug come out. It was apparently something inside the fluke that was used to help keep the water out. He also offered to fix those, however, I do not trust that he will get them back to us in a reasonable amount of time. So Sirena and Luna would like to do it themselves, if they knew how, or, I would pay someone who knows what they are doing and can do it for us.

If you can help us out, please let me know. Thanks!

Alasea's Tail
25212522

Luna's Tail
25232524

Sirena's Plus
2525

[Kanti]

Maybe some photos of the actual damaged areas would help people decide on whether or not they're
able to fix it.

Are they silicone or "latex" tails?
The paint jobs will probably have to be completely redone.

[BlueMermaid]

Good idea Kanti, I'll get those added.

They are "latex".

[babsannee]

Yeah, I also wanted mine repainted, and the fluke has come away from the skin. It's the same as that first blue one, any tips?

[laamberry]

Oh wow, that's awful! You're going to have to repaint it...if it were me I would finish it with an airbrushed layer of water/ALEX mix.

[BlueMermaid]

Laamberry, I wish you were making tails in November, I totally would of bought from you instead! Would you be able to give us instructions on what to do? Or would you be able to fix them for us?

[Coradion]

Silicone can be hard depending on what kind he used. Some of the silicones won't stick to themselves. So after it's cured you can't fix it by just pumping more in. I'd suggest using a silicone sealing caulk to make a new plug and then maybe go to an aquarium supply store and see if they have something that will rebond silicone or find a glue that will do the job.

[laamberry]

You don't need me to do it, it'll be super simple :) the first tail there looks like Createx pearlized blue (cheapest place to buy is here : http://www.dixieart.com/Createx_Airbrush_Colors.html) so that should be easy enough to match. I'm not sure about the colors on the second one but you might be able to match them with paints from the opaque and transparent section. Do you have an airbrush? Any one will do. If not, you can get a simple airbrush without a power source at a michaels or joanns...you can buy a hose for them that attaches to an air compressor like you have in the garage to blow up tires. You take the paint and mix it with either a store bought thinner or windex until it's the consistency of milk then airbrush on.After that, you'll need to heat set the paint with a heat gun. Then once it's all painted up you're going to want to mix some ALEX plus with water until it's also a milky/water consitancy, then airbrush that on as well then allow it cure for a couple weeks. It;s a fairly simple process but I understand it can be difficult if you don't have the tools! If you really want, feel free to PM me or email me at Laamberry@gmail.com and we can work something out. Good luck! I have a local friend who ended up having to repaint her mertailor tail as well :(

[BlueMermaid]

Thanks laamberry! I will see if Sirena can do this, I think she has access to an airbrush. If not, I will contact you. Thanks so much!

[Kanti]

I assume he still uses caulk, right? Do the scales feel gummy or do they feel like a latex glove?
Latex has more of an "airy" feel and it's much more lightweight than caulk. Also since it's white.
A lot of high-grade latexes come in a natural yellowish color. The only ones that come in white are
the ones used for very specific theater applications that usually cost much more to color. So it's
odd to me that the paint rubbed off and we see white underneath. Not to mention it looks like the
scales were imprinted with a net which you can't do with latex unless it's thickened up the arse.

Anyway, I assume you could just repaint the tails in the way laamberry suggested, with ALEX and
water mixed with the paint of your choice. Matching the paint at this point will probably be difficult,
so you may just want to repaint the entire tail. If I were you, I'd paint an inconspicuous part of the tail
first just to test out how well it sticks. Allow it to cure, probably 24 hours just to be safe, then test it
out in the water and see if it scratches off.

For the chunk of caulk that fell out of the one tail, you should try using neoprene cement or simply some
caulk. Neoprene cement will definitely grab the neoprene, and it's supposed to be very versatile when
it comes to surfaces. However, if may be pricey and only come in large tubes so I'd try caulk first!

[laamberry]

Thanks laamberry! I will see if Sirena can do this, I think she has access to an airbrush. If not, I will contact you. Thanks so much!

Hey no problem! I really hope things work out, what's happened is so unfortunate :(

[Mermaid Sirena]

I do have an airbrush & I am 100% positive I know what paint color was used for my tail. The only thing I'm really concerned about the how the tail bubbles and fills up with air and then water. I don't know if neoprene cement will bond to smooth plastic or not..... or how I would go about fixing that.

[Mermaid Photine]

Can you get to the plastic to roughen the surface a bit? Is there any way you can test beforehand?
I'm so sorry to hear you are having tail trouble.

[OrcaMatt]

I assume he still uses caulk, right?
snip
A lot of high-grade latexes come in a natural yellowish color.
I think he quit using ALEX a while ago. You're right about the scales though.

Looks yellowish to me...reminds me of my tail damage (and color underneath, though it's a fatigue crack and not a scrape, but the theory on fixing it should be about the same), which I'm really going to work on one of these days. That said, this particular damage is the one I didn't really have a solid plan on how to tackle.