Got my Mertailor Tail today!

[Lyna]

Hey guys! As soon as I get a chance to sit down and write a REAL REVIEW I plan to do so. On both my tails. For now though....here's an up close of the fluke detailing because EVERYONE is always asking about that regardless of the maker...and yes, that's the biggest flaw I saw when unfolding my tail for the first time. Really hoping it works itself out....but I have a feeling that...."seam" is just...gonna be there....

[Lyna]

I can't wait to get it on and water test it. I'm up to 2 tails. *sighs* I feel complete.

[Mermaid Annariea]

its a really pretty color!! i hope it works well for you, and maybe that crease will smooth out after a few uses.

[Lyna]

oh good. hopefully the vinegar smell does too. lol

[ShyMer]

That fold looks really weird to me. Is it doing that because the footpocket slid? I hope it's not permanent that way. I love how thick it looks though. They seem to have a lot more spring to them than the older ones by the looks of them.

[Lyna]

yea, the fin looks crooked. you can see all the lines of the finis inside and they slant a bit. i still have yet to try it on, so i'll know more later.

[Stillwater]

I hope it works out for you, Lyna. If it smells strongly of vinegar, everything is still curing. You might be able to work out the fold a bit with your fingers with some very gentle heat (such as in the afternoon sun or something). Once the latex cures, you might be stuck with that fold.

Good luck!

[Lyna]

ahh. good to know. i was hoping to take it out in the water this week, but it doesnt look like ill have any time off work, and my heel is still healing from my last mermaiding afternoon.

[Mermaid Bubbles]

:)I like the color of your tail

[happyguava]

oh good. hopefully the vinegar smell does too. lol

Haha, I hear you!! Mine had that smell for about a month... I was sooo unbelievably happy when it finally went away. Just use it lots! :D

[Lyna]

i hope to. :D

[Mermaid Annariea]

ahh. good to know. i was hoping to take it out in the water this week, but it doesnt look like ill have any time off work, and my heel is still healing from my last mermaiding afternoon.

oh no :( what happened to your heel??

[Mermaid Celissa]

Pretty tail! If you can't fix it back, email the Mertailor and ask if he knows what to do or if he can fix it himself, since that's the way it was shipped.

[Mermaid Annariea]

^ hopefully he will be more helpful than in other situations ive heard...
but if not, then at least you have your fish butt :D

[AniaR]

I actually wouldnt swim if it still stinks, I know that's what he's always telling people to do- but if it stinks it isnt cured, and if it isnt cured you dont want wet caulking touching your skin. I'd set up up with a fan to help it dry faster (not sure if you've seen my photo of doing it lemme know if not I'll track it down)

As for the seam, I dont think he'll do anything about it. Sometimes he says he will but then he never does. You can fix it yourself, but you'd have to take it apart and allow more curing time. So maybe swim and see what you think :)

Hopefully it all works out for you

[Lyna]

Thanks Raina. No, I don't think I have seen that video. I thought the smell was from the solution he cleans the tails with? That's what the instruction set says. And it's lined...so Idk what would be touching my skin. My Fish Butts wasn't fully cured I don't think when I took it out into the water. It worked great, then started to cloud afterwards once I was out (because her paint goes under the latex and preserves it better) and a little time in the sun erases it back to normal every time. It doesn't feel gooey, or sticky, or anything I expected. (Ugh it is sooo heavy though.) How long do you think I should wait then? Because it took him since March to make...and he's been telling me since end ppf June/beginning of July the tail was done but awaiting paint. (Not that you van ever believe anything he says....)

[AniaR]

I know he tells people all that stuff but I wouldnt want to take the chance honestly. If stuff comes out cloudy in water that's not cured and that stuff is toxic on skin. I had that experience with my tail made of the same stuff, and it got absorbed into my blood and actually showed up on test results. Plus when you read the warning labels it has all that stuff. I dont like seeing people STILL make tails out of stuff that isnt meant to be on skin or water. Because even if it is fully cured, it's still not meant to be on skin or sunk in water. But that's my own opinion and issue.

Here's how I used to set mine up to dry
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/268701_226876454013772_1863167_n.jpg

I dont buy the whole "the smell is a cleaning solution I use" because he's lied about things like that before AND why the heck would he need to clean a brand new tail that has never been used in or out of water? You dont spray things to prevent mold in something that is already dry. Also, he totally lied on his FB the last time someone had an issue with this. She said it stank really bad, gave her a rash, and then after soaking it in the tub as he suggested the smell made her bathroom so bad she couldn't get the smell to go away from the bathroom even after she cleaned the BATHROOM with bleach. The whole thing is on here, the entire thing. How does he tell his fans on FB when she contacts him again? Says she read on our forum to clean her tail with bleach, no wonder she got a rash, stupid customers kinda BS. And people believe him. His way of saying "dont believe what you read on forums".

So yeah, I'd take precautions, there's NO reason why your tail should smell. Something that is properly cured has no smell, and has no REASON to be "cleaned" with something smelly.

[Kanti]

It seems the Mertailor ships his tails out while they're still uncured. I guess I partially can't blame him
since he probably doesn't want to take the extra week or two to wait for it to cure but he should at least
explain that there's a possibility it's not cured and then tell you what to look out for.

I think this is the 4th story I've heard of a Mertailor tail smelling weird or the paint rubbing off too easy
or some other indication that it's not yet cured.

[Lyna]

yea it was COVERED in white powder and you could smell the vinegar the second i cut the plastic wrap. i had seen another mer saying about the vinegar smell, so instantly I was like oh yep.there it is...
i wiped it down with a damp rag to get a pic and it's been sitting in my room since.

[AniaR]

yeah curing alex plus, and curing silicone caulking, in my experience, smells very close to vinegar. Thats really the only thing I could compare it to. I had to fix a hole in my fluke that a kid made (yes, a kid dug and picked a hole in my tail grrr) and I used a silicone caulking and that's EXACTLY what it smelled like. I know he fills the fluke up with it- and it takes a LONG time to dry. Im betting that's what it is. SO just keep airing it out, put it somewhere hot and dry, and be patient. You can make this work

[Lyna]

well we got the heat right now...but it's humid as (insert any word here). and he s ays NOT to leave it in the sun....mermaid parties says to do exactly that...and it worked amazing to speed dry my tail and cure it faster. so hmmm.....i REALLY want to swim in this thing this weekend after my pirate event saturday.

[AniaR]

if youre really desperate try wearing socks and tights in the tail when you swim so nothing gets right on your skin. if it's the caulking in the tail fluke that's not cured it doesnt matter if there's a lining it'll still get on you. I couldnt get out of a gig when my tail hadnt cured after months (too humid here) and I wore tights and socks.

[Raivynn]

My tail smelled very strongly of vinegar when it arrived also, Lyna. My tail was too big in the hips and thigh area, and so he altered it for me free of charge. I am anxiously awaiting its return! My tail had a lesser degree of the same fluke fold, and I think part of it is just where the monofin is a slightly different shape than the fluke. I could be wrong, though.

I'm hoping to finally get some time swimming in my tails soon! My FishButt should also ship next week!

[Lyna]

haha we were just talking about you...i hear it shipped today....or this week. whichever. lol
mine's really loose too. gonna see what it's like in the water before worrying about altering it.

[Raivynn]

If it's loose on land, it will be looser in the water. I couldn't keep mine from falling past my butt!! I sent it back to him to alter (with new measurements) at the beginning of July, with assurances it would be completed in a week...

[Winged Mermaid]

It's true. Even if a tail seems to fit well dry it can still be baggy enough to fall off in the water. Shipping something like that is expensive, and last I checked he charges for size alterations. If I were you I'd try and take it in myself or take it to a seamstress. You can always ask the seamstress for a quote, but you'd probably save money and you'd certainly save time.

[Lyna]

well i know he takes forever. and if the sizing is wrong it's his fault...because i copy and pasted the identical measurements i had sent to him when i ordered my fish butts tails, so they are both made to the exact same time taken measurements, and his fits very very differently. i'll more than likely cot it down myself, and find someone who can take it in.

[Raivynn]

Lyna, he agreed to alter my tail free of charge because of my wait time -- but I did have to pay for the return shipping (which was about $25). He said it'd be complete within a week. I had to email him about 5 times to remind him that I needed my tail by a specific date. I am going to Gulf Shores, and I'm hoping to be able to wear my tails at the beach!! :D That being said -- Eric is SWAMPED getting ready for Merpalooza, and I do believe he is going to take a hiatus from customer tailmaking to indulge his creative side. :) IT'S ABOUT DARN TIME. The man has overworked himself to the point of really needing it. Find a very reputable, experienced seamstress for your tail, and explain to them how expensive your item is before you let them touch it. I sent mine back to Eric for alteration to avoid the "oh, it was someone else's fault" kind of thing. He knows the materials and the item better than a seamstress. BUT, I did have to wait for another month to get my tail sent back out.

:D

[AniaR]

people never get them in time, never have, probably never will.