Neoprene Rubber Question

[Ashton]

Hi there, I was wondering when you make a tail do you use neoprene rubber or do you have fabric laminated the sides of it?

Example:
plain rubber
http://www.foamorder.com/neoprene.html

laminated rubber:
http://www.macrointlco.com/category.jhtm?cid=10

Which do you recommend for tail-making?

Thanks.

[Jessica]

You need the neoprene to have a fabric backing on both sides. I don't know of anyone who has made a tail with plain/raw neoprene. The fabric backing is great...you can get in a color to match your tail design.

[Ashton]

ok, good to know, I wanted to make sure.
Plain rubber doesn't sound like the most likely of materials to make a tail from.

[Mermaid Oshun]

It depends on what your final project will be. If you are simply painting the neoprene I would DEFINITELY go with smooth. If you want to put latex on top I would only then go with fabric coated neoprene. The only benefit of the fabric on top is that gives latex or silicone coatings something to grab onto. It allows the latex coating to embed into the neoprene/fabric and marry easily. If you are not doing latex on top and just want to paint the neoprene, please go with smooth because the results painting the fabric coated neoprene are not very aesthetically pleasing. The smooth rubber would be a much better surface to take the Jacquard paints than fabric. Jacquard paint on smooth neoprene rubber can produce some very lovely shiny dolphin like effects. Paint on fabric coated neoprene will just absorb the paint and produce very unsatisfactory, dull final paint results. Also I would go with white or a light color neoprene. Trying to paint over black or dark neoprene will produce very unattractive results also.

[Ashton]

Do you think that it would be the same grip idea with ALEX caulking?
Also I have a question about sewing: how hard is it to sew 1.5mm vs 3mm and should I even sew? Are there glueing options?
Sorry for all the questions.

[Mermaid Oshun]

I never tried the Alex sorry. You can get a gallon of regular latex for about $90 (get latex thickener too ). You could get a tailor at a dry cleaners to sew the 2 side seams for you if you have problems sewing through the rubber using a curved needle and a thimble.

[Jessica]

You can glue neoprene together....a few people on here have I just can't remember who! Check your local dive shops for the glue or I'm sure you could find it online too. Most people sew neoprene though so you might want to do a little more research about which is better.

[Ashton]

Good to know! Thanks a million!