Mermaid Kate Silverfin's Silicone tail journey

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Hi everyone,
After doing a lot of research on here and online, I have decided to take on the challenge of a silicone tail! I've made my own fabric tail, which is what I currently use, but it is getting completely destroyed by the sand.
So far, I have cut out all my scales (I am using a teardrop like shape out of craft foam) and I have started sticking them to my scale board using hot glue (E6000 isn't sold in Australia). I have made a smaller test piece that I have done a fiberglass mould of today just to check everything works, and then I aim to complete my scale board and start my fluke sculpt! Something new that I found out from a cosplay forum is the best way to seal craft foam is using modge podge, so I will be testing that and also that it doesn't inhibit the cure of the silicone.
I have already bought and received my monofin (a Hydra), so I'll be able to start sculpting when I get my clay.
I thought I should post up here to share my journey and also to make sure I see this through!


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[Mermaid Adriel]

Yay! Good luck! :D

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

A little more detail on my scales! I have decided to have a transition in sizes on the body, with small scales at the fluke, grading to larger ones at the waist. I tried several ways of transitioning the scales, with a straight transition very unsuccessful (I had to rip lots of scales up), and the best way I have found is to do it with a v shape, with the smaller size in the centre and slowly introducing larger ones on either side. So far, my scales look like this:http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/12/qasu8atu.jpg


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[sashiyoop]

Oh, nice. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

[MerAnthony]

I love the look of the scales. Can't wait till it's finished to see it complete.

[Mermaid Amelia]

Good work Kate, hope it goes well for you xx


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks everyone, I'll try to take better photos soon (my phone is second hand and the camera lens is scratched, hence the dodgy photos), but I haven't had a chance to get out my better camera yet. I just checked on my scale test, and it seems to have succeeded so far (no cracking or melting), super excited to demould it sometime this week :D

[Mermaid Wesley]

Good luck!


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[Kishiko]

Awesome! I'll definitely watch progress on this (:

[Little_Orca]

I will be watching to see how this one turns out. :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Okay, so a bit of a setback...
I demoulded my scale test a few minutes ago, which took quite some doing (more mould release required!!!) and it turned out less than perfect. For some reason the gel coat has gone all prune like (it looks like when you've been in the water too long and your hands go all wrinkly), and the fibreglass got underneath some of the scales, making it very hard to remove the mould. I think these things may be due to a number of reasons:
1: Scales were not sealed enough (solution: do more coats of mod podge)
2: Mod podge is incompatible with the fibreglass (solution: use different glue)
3: Hot glue is incompatible with the fibreglass (solution: use different glue)
4: Too much catalyst was added or conditions wrong for the fibreglass/gelcoat - the gelcoat dried way too fast, and also it was a really weird day, it was sunny in the morning, then just after I finished putting on the last coat of fibreglass it suddenly turned dark and pelted with rain for the rest of the afternoon.

If anyone has any experience with a similar thing happening, please let me know. I'll try to do more tests to try to determine the cause, and ask at the supply store I got the fiberglass from.

[Mermaid Amelia]

:(


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I called the fibreglass place today, and they were so helpful! They suggested a number of things that might have contributed to it, all of which I think played a part.
1. Too much catalyst - I only did a very small batch, so a small inaccuracy in measuring leads to a big problem!
2. Not waiting long enough for the gel-coat to dry - I did think it dried super fast, but apparently I should have waited longer.
3. Weather - if it is too cold, the resin on top doesn't cure quick enough to prevent damage to the underlying gel coat.

I'll be doing another test to see if I can get it to work properly, however I probably won't be able to for a little while, I'm currently doing my Honours, and my literature review is due next week, so I'm busy finishing that (eeekkkk).

[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

Go Kate go! Btw there is a "change your name" thread where you can request to change your name to kate silverfin!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Jess :) I found out about the name-change thread a while ago, but I've posted on a few other threads and am still waiting for replies, so I want people to be able to find me! Not sure if it updates my name on previous posts...

[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

I think it does. And also you put in your signature that you were "formerly known as" so people don't get confused.

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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Hmm, I might do it then! Can't get my signature to show properly though, can you guys see it?

[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

I can see your facebook link.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Quick update:
I've cleaned out the mould that I did (turns out clay sculpting tools are really awesome for that), and I can definitely see some of the places I went wrong. I'm pretty sure I didn't put enough gel-coat on, and didn't let it cure long enough before the main resin, as I can see places where the polyester resin has come through. The catalyst was also likely a problem, as the drying super fast indicated.
I've built a new test sheet of scales (the old one got destroyed during demoulding), and hopefully can test it soon, though it still needs more sealer. I also have to wait for better weather, as polyester resin is very particular about its temperature. Hopefully I can try again this weekend!

[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

Woooo you go girl!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I picked up some spray sealer today at the hardware store, which will make sealing the original positive so much easier (painting in all those little crevices is so tedious, and so many brush marks!). Also found on special some plaster spatulas of various sizes, which will make sculpting and smoothing the fluke sculpt a lot faster, and some new paintbrushes (my other ones are rock solid from the resin).
Also, I forgot to note one of my discoveries: DO NOT use plastic cups of recycling number 6 (not sure if this is an international standard or not), as the resin will dissolve the cups, starting at the join of the sides and bottom. Both my gel-coat and resin decided to migrate out of the cups towards the end of when I was applying it :p According to the resin place, plastics of recycling number 5 should be fine :)

[MermanOliver]

Yes, the recycling codes are international. 6 is polystyrene, which is eaten away by solvents pretty easily, but as it is considered foodsafe and is cheap, it gets used for drinking cups a lot. 5 is polypropylene, so that should be okay for most mixing and resin purposes.

By the way, I guess most of the people using with resin made the experience of their mixing cup dissolving and getting resin all over the place. Happened to me, too. ;)

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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Haha, good to know I'm not the only one!
I knew that polystyrene is eaten away by polyester resins, but I had assumed since I bought hard plastic cups that they were made with a different sort of plastic. Turns out I should have checked the recycling numbers!

Update: I've done more rows of my main scale sheet, yay! Still a long way to go, but I'm getting there! Unfortunately the weather has been absolutely horrible, and so I haven't been able to redo my fibreglass mould test :( Maybe tomorrow!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Sigh, the weather is still too cold for fibreglassing, so I've been working on my scale sheet instead. Each colour is a slightly different size, and I found that this was the best way to transition them. Had to cut out more of the green size as I underestimated how many I would need!
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/27/e3a9uvyp.jpg

[Mermaid Wesley]

Are you doing different sized scales?


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Yes, I am. The scales are slowly getting larger towards the top of the tail. I have to do it in 2.5mm increments though, as otherwise the transition is too harsh.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Nice! I'm planning on doing that with mine too :) can't wait to see more of this! I love when there's a scale gradient :)


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

It is a challenge, just a heads up! Things don't quite line up properly when you transition the sizes, I have ripped a lot of scales up when I have been unhappy with how they look. Lots and lots of patience required!

[Mermaid Wesley]

I love a good challenge! But I will be doing it a bit differently since I'm going to (hopefully) be borrowing pearlie's one-scale-at-a-time technique :D we shall see!


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I do love Pearlie's technique, it has turned out beautifully! Good luck to you!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Thanks! Good luck to you too!


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Whooo! Good news! I remoulded my test patch of scales, and it looks like it has come out perfectly! I will be scrubbing it out once it has aired a bit more (it is still pretty smelly, indicating it is still curing), and then trying out some Dragonskin! :D

[Mermaid Wesley]

Hooray!


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

So finally it was warm enough today to pour some silicone! It has been raining sideways (and even upwards) for the last couple of weeks, so not good weather for silicone to cure :( I can't wait to see how it turns out! I mixed up a bit too much, so I cast not only my good scale test, but the other crinkled scale test (don't want to waste any silicone!) to see how they turn out. Now I just have to wait the five hours until I can demould it! So excited to finally be making progress again, the weather has been holding me up so much, and I don't want to lay down any more scales until I am sure that the materials I am using won't stop the silicone from curing. Fingers crossed!!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I pulled the silicone out of the moulds, and it has turned out almost perfectly. The textures of the failed mould are quite interesting!

'Failed mould'
21898
21899

'Good mould'
21900
21901

Only problem that I had was small patches of uncured silicone, generally on the tips of the scales. I'm not sure if it is because of the weather, or because of it touching the hot glue (I don't think they are quite compatible), but for the most part, everything has worked, yay!!!

[Trident True]

i like what i see on smaller projects such as fins etc. plaster of Paris works great for these things. i could suggest using it for your scale sheet but you would have to make it quiet thick in order to move it. the plaster i use is very strong. i can give you link if you like. just mssg me on here as i don't always check threads. :) I use a gloss fixative that you use on drawings to seal them, such as pastels etc. its called crystal kote works great. one other reason I recommend plaster is that its cheaper than most other materials and works twice as good. good to see another Aussie on the form. ... due to weather you must be located in Melbourne? good luck with your tail :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Hey Trident,
I decided to go with fiberglass because it holds up much better with reuse, as I may make additional tails later, and I've heard plaster degrades pretty quickly. Plus, it's probably not going to be stored in great conditions, so I want something a little more hardy! I'll definitely look up crystal kote, where is it sold? I just got sealer from Bunnings :p
No, you would think with this weather I would be, but I'm actually from Perth! It's been bucketing down this month and very very cold, which is very unusual. Pretty sure it is the wettest winter we have had in a very long time.
Thanks! :)

[Trident True]

sure i found some on ebay. you will probably get it cheaper than this. I bought mine from a discount store that sells arts and crafts over 8 years ago. the bottle is still the same. surprise, surprise. arts and crafts stores are your best bet to find it. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Helmar-Crystal-Kote-Fixative-Spray-400g-/181006871959?pt=AU_Art_Supplies&hash=item2a24d9ad97&_uhb=1

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Awesome, thanks! Have you used it with Dragonskin before, and if so, did it cure alright?

[Mermaid Jessica Pearl]

Riot sells it kate

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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Jess :) I'll pick some up!

[Mermaid Wesley]

You're kicking some serious fin on this! Keep it up, girl!


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[Trident True]

Awesome, thanks! Have you used it with Dragonskin before, and if so, did it cure alright?

ive used it on my moulds, i have used it with the smooth on series. mold max 27T i don't think you will have any drama's just test a bit. what the crystal kote does is seal the mould so that the silicone will cure. I dont see why this won't work with dragon skin. Also i have used his on a mould i used for a platinum silicone. (Australian brand) and it cured perfectly.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

MerHopefully- thank you :)
Trident - Thanks! Did you have any problem with the sealant sticking to your mould, rather than the original?

[Trident True]

no. it doesn't stick to the silicone.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Sorry about the lack of updates guys, I've been busy at uni, but I've still been working on my mould in the evenings. Look how far I have got!!! (Glue gun for scale) I've got about 30cm more to do, but I've run out of hot glue, and need to cut more scales. Almost there!!
I've also painted one of my test pieces with the colours I'm intending to use, and it turned out beautifully! I want to keep the colours a surprise for now though!
I'm still working on finalising my fluke design, but I'm close to one I am happy with, so sculpting will start soon! Then I just need to wait for good weather, then I can make my moulds, yayy!
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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

So the scale sheet is finally all done! I just need to seal it (I tested whether mod podge was compatible with silicone the other day, and it was fine) and fill in some gaps beneath some of the scales (planning to use monster makers). Then I just have to buy my fibreglass and wait for good weather!
I've been wanting to start sculpting my fluke, but I have nowhere to store the half finished sculpture, so it may have to wait until the scale mould is done.
Yesterday, I also got my partner to help me make a duct tape dummy (actually packing tape, it's much better for that) and it turned out great! Making good progress now!

[Mermaid Amelia]

Whoo hoo! Your on a role!


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[Seatan]

Looking forward to seeing it! I love your scale shapes!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Amelia and Seavanna :)
A note on the scale shapes, I've cut every scale by hand! I'm really good at getting them even now :p

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

More progress! I've filled all the gaps under some of the scales that had lifted up with monster makers clay and the whole thing is sealed, so as soon as I get a chance, I can make my scale mould! I bought my resin yesterday (I worked out I'll need about 10kg all up) so I'm good to go! I'm quite enjoying working with the monster makers clay, it has a very nice texture and heats up well in your hands. I've only used air dry clay and red clay before for other craft projects, so it's nice having a clay that doesn't dry out on me! I haven't started sculpting the fluke yet as I need a sturdy board to put it on and I'm out of space at home currently, so hopefully I can do that once the scale sheet is done! I know what shape I'm going for though, although I haven't decided on the extra fins - not sure how many or what style yet!

[Seatan]

What kind of resin are you using? When I used resin with Monster clay the heat set off a reaction and it bubbled like CRAZY. Wesley had the same experience, too! We were using Smooth On's Smoothcast Colormatch.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I'm using polyester resin. I called up the local place that sells monster makers and asked if it would be okay, and they thought it should be

[Mermaid Wesley]

Do a small test first. They told us it would be ok too.


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I definitely will! How long did it take for the bubbles to appear?

[Seatan]

It took about ten to fifteen minutes for my bubbles to appear, but I was using a slow cure so it heated up more slowly than fast cure. Yeah, our guys at Reynold's Advanced Materials (a well known Smooth On vendor) were really surprised it happened. They even tested it in their stores, trying to figure out what was happening.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Wow, that is nuts! What was the weather like when you did it if I may ask? It is winter here at the moment, so maybe the cooler temps will help prevent that

[Seatan]

I live in Texas where we all have central air conditioning, so the temperature for me was a steady 75 degrees, no humidity. The heat actually comes from the resin itself when it begins its chemical reaction (it gets SUPER hot, like burn your hand bad if you touch it hot). The bubbles were on the inside of the mold instead of the outside, showing that they were not from moisture but from the clay itself. I switched to a non oil based clay and I think Wesley changed mold types. The guys at my Reynolds said they think the oil must release some gases when it starts to soften from the chemical reaction's heat. Hopefully you will have better luck though!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

The reason I asked about temperature was that the polyester resin I work with is quite sensitive to it, so I was wondering if yours was too... But that temp does not seem unreasonable at all!! I shall definitely do some tests!!

[Mermaid Wesley]

What she said! And good luck!


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks! I'll post what I find out!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

So I quickly made up a side fin out of clay and fibreglassed it, and we shall see what happens! I didn't put the gel coat on this one, so I can see what goes on better.
Sorry for the potato quality picture, this is the best I can upload on my phone :(
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/24/udamy3up.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Okay, so I think the monster clay is fine with the polyester resin (also known as fibreglass resin)! There are a couple of bubbles in the mould but I think that's mostly due to me not gel coating it, and the fibreglass pulling away.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/25/ebenaqer.jpg
I have put all the mould releases on my scale sheet and am waiting for them to dry, then I will gel coat it! So excited!!
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/25/uja2u2ev.jpg

[spottedcatfish]

It's looking great so far! I'm still trying to figure out the molding process.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Okay, so wall of text incoming, just a heads up...

I demoulded my scale sheet this evening, and it did not go as smoothly as planned... The top half came up okay, not too much pressure required, but then around the light green and yellow scales, it started getting stuck. Oh oh... I had put tonnes of mould release on, of both kinds (wax and PVA), but the scales were just ripping up from the base. No biggie I thought, I'll just pull the scales out.
So I tried prying it up with a spatula... That didn't really work either. I remembered that the PVA is water soluble, and you can release it by pouring water down it to dissolve it. And well since I was in the bathroom, we hauled my whole scale sheet and board into the shower... It only just fit. So I pried the scale sheet away a bit and let the water pour between the layers. However, it still wasn't budging. So I hopped into the shower with my scale sheet and pried it apart further, with great difficulty. Eventually I got it apart, but when I pulled some of the scales off, the gelcoat was crinkled! So I lay the sheet down and started tearing the scales off by hand. Just a warning, fibreglass is pointy :( I finished with far too many cuts, and a semi clean scale sheet.
The wrinkling of the gel coat isn't too extensive, so I may be able to fix it. Tomorrow I'll experiment with clay and silicone to find out! For now sleep!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

More progress has been made! I've been using a dremel to smooth out the bumpy parts of my scale sheet, and although it is slow, it is working well. I have also done most of my fluke sculpt, I just need to detail the flat areas and do the ridges!
I also ordered my silicone today, so it should be here around the end of the week! Yay!

[Mermaid Amelia]

Oh yay! So glad you are doing good now. Can we see pictures of the fluke? Or are you keeping it a surprise ;)


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[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I want to get it a bit more fixed up and make sure it is properly symmetrical before I post photos, but I will soon! It's not quite finished yet either, but hopefully I'll get some time this week to work on it :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Dum da da daaaa!
My finished fluke sculpt! I shall be fibreglassing it tonight! I'm really happy how it turned out :)
As with anything, please don't use this design! It's much more fun creating your own anyway :)
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/09/namuqehu.jpg
Here's a closer shot showing some of the detail
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/09/aju8aje4.jpg

Silicone hasn't arrived yet, but hopefully soon!!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

More updates! I poured the first layer of the fibreglass last night, to avoid the bubbling problem I had last time where the fibreglass cloth pulled the resin away from the sculpt. It was reasonably cool, and so I had to baby it for ages until it started to harden (to make sure the high ridges kept some resin, it kept running off). I didn't use a gel coat because I ran out while doing my scale sheet and none of my fibreglass places are open on Saturday afternoons :(
Today I put a second layer down with the cloth embedded. Something I noticed right away was the original layer I put down last night had pulled away from the sculpt, although it still caught the details. I think this is due to the warm day we are having, and so the difference in heat caused it to flex. Only problem is, some of these parts where it had pulled away had openings at the top, so when I put the new layer on, it filled up a small area beneath the bubble. Pressing it down causing the resin to come back out seems to have worked reasonably well, so I hope everything will be alright. Also, because it is so warm today, my resin kicked so fast! Last night it took hours for it to start to harden, today it only took about 20 minutes! Lucky this meant that the cloth didn't have time to pull away again, so it looks like it should be fairly bubble-free!
Now to wait patiently for a day 'til I can demould!
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My scale sheet is coming along too, I've sanded a fair bit of it, although haven't had so much time recently to do it as I have been working on the fluke so much. I love sculpting (I usually make fantasy creatures out of clay, nothing this big though!) so I had a lot of fun making the fluke sculpt. Getting so close!

[Mermaid Amelia]

Yay so exciting. It's really coming along nicely now.


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[Trident True]

I love this. its very different to the others on here, OOAK. the shape looks great too. what do you use to do the fine detail? it looks so smooth. this is going to look great and for your first tail your doing a fab job. if only I can get mine done. :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks, this is a similar design to my fabric tail, I love the more dolphin shaped flukes :)
I did the fine detail with a clay tool turned on an angle, shown below. It is good at carving details without leaving all the mess behind :)
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/10/e4ube5yp.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Oh also, before I carved it, I made the clay nice and flat using different sized paint strippers (the tool, not the chemical). The hardware store had a pack of 5 different sized ones for cheap, and I thought they'd be useful! Turns out they work incredibly well, but because they are so sharp, beware of fingers! It's really easy for the blade to get stuck in the clay and then release all of a sudden, and you don't want your fingers in the way, as I can attest to :p

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Sigh... So I am one disappointed Mer :( I demoulded my fluke sculpt, which was much harder than expected (the clay stuck to the board pretty hard), and am working on getting the clay out. Unfortunately I have found that there are strange lumps in the ridges of the fluke, mostly where they join the main body of it. They seem to be caused by small bubbles that look like they have expanded with heat and pushed into the sculpt :( They are not on the surface is the mould, but cause a lump to protrude out. Has anyone encountered this before, know what causes it or how to fix it? I'll be trying to sand it down unless anyone has other ideas, as it seems like the only solution to me :(

My silicone has also been delayed till late this week due to it not being in stock when they thought it was... Ah well, it seems like I'll be fixing my moulds for a while anyway!

Just keep swimming I guess! I'll get there one of these days!

[Mermaid Wesley]

I would say just sand it down... Could you post a pic so we can see what you mean?

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I'll try to get a picture when I get home, the resin is really clear so it doesn't photograph well, but you can feel that they are quite prominent

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

These are the best images I could get... It's still a bit hard to see the bubbles...

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/14/unezu5ah.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/14/7u7ubyqa.jpg

[Trident True]

Do a test piece in the region with silicone to see if you like it. I reckon it will add uniqueness to the fluke.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I've thought about that, I may give it a try. I spent so long getting the ridges smooth though, I just feel really disappointed they didn't turn out that way

[Mermaid Wesley]

You can sand them smoother in those areas partially. I'm thinking they're like joints in the tail bones :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Hmm it could work... I shall give it a shot and see :) First I need to get all the monster clay out of the ridges, it's taking ages!

[Mermaid Wesley]

I was recommended a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol also a hairdryer to melt it.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I've been using a hair dryer, and I read online that naptha works well, but I'm worried it will affect the fibreglass.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Hm OH dish soap works wonders on hands so a small amount of soapy water with a toothbrush should do the trick

[OceanRose]

I don't know how it would work on a large area but recently I made some small sculpts out of monsterclay and cast them using polyester casting resin, and to get the remaining clay out I poured boiling water over at a distance so it dislodged the clay. It worked really well for me.
If you go with that method, maybe do a small test first to see if it's ok.

[Trident True]

I've thought about that, I may give it a try. I spent so long getting the ridges smooth though, I just feel really disappointed they didn't turn out that way

I understand where your coming from, it is disappointing, When i first Casted my fluke I used plaster, I ended up getting small holes in it were the air bubbles were. I was so pissed at the time that i re-casted another and it was perfect. when casting larger areas especially with plaster I get very, very nervous as you've only got so much time to get it into the mould. It gets a bit daunting when you have to do things by yourself. basically you get better as you learn from your mistakes. I tell ya, ive probably made more mistakes making my tail then any other member here. I bit off way more than i could chew, but these lessons have taught me so much in the process. so please don't feel dis-hearted and if you end up doing a small test piece in silicone post it here and us members will let you know what we think. Uniqueness makes you stand out from the rest. :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks for the kind words Trident :) I'm currently scrubbing all the clay out, making slow and steady progress. Then I'll be able to assess how bad the bubbles really are and what I want to do about them

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Yay a clean fluke mould! I found the best way of getting the clay out was heating it to a liquid, then wiping it up with paper towel. It worked really well, and was super quick compared to scrubbing it out.
I had a go at sanding the bubbled bits down with wet/dry sandpaper, and it seems to even the lumps out without much effort. Definitely better to sand it wet! Given it seems to be working well, I think I'll be continuing with this! :)

[PearlieMae]

Remember, a lot of imperfections will go away if you do a final 'slime' coat of silicone over it when you've finished putting it all together.

Or, as my mom likes to say, "couldn't see it from a galloping horse". :rollover:

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks PearlieMae, that's true too :) I did a test bit before and it really does fill the gaps, but I also found some of the imperfections were visible because of the way the pigment reflects light. At the moment I'm happy with sanding them down a little so they are not so obvious, and then I'll let the slime coat hide the rest (hopefully!) :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I did a small test piece in one of the ridges, and although the bubbly parts are still visible, I think the paint and slime layers should cover it fairly well. I was previously intending to do most of the pigmenting in the silicone, but it looks like I'll need the extra layers to hide some of the imperfections.
I also had a few curing issues, where I think some liquid may have been left over from when I cleaned my mould, but also against the monster clay that I used to confine the silicone to part of the mould. When I pulled it out and let it cure overnight, these patches cured though, so I think it is just to do with moisture in the clay/mould rather than a chemical.
The weather has turned horrible here, hopefully once it fines up a bit I'll be able to pour my fluke! My scale sheet still needs a bit of work, then that can be poured too :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Just realised I didn't show any pictures of the test piece, sorry! Sorry the quality is so awful, my phone camera doesn't do macro shots very well!
Also, my cats are totally perplexed by it... I think it is the texture, they keep poking it cautiously with their paws!
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/21/za6ava9a.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/21/uvane8e4.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Guys, guys, I think I am in love!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/23/1fc481dcbeb533c0d765b25ce5ce69ac.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Second half poured and cured!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/24/654aaee4bcd6cd2481d629d0daf39ba6.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Painting painting... I am having a bit of trouble covering up where some of the dark purple silicone overflowed, I guess more coats are required. Also, I am having a great difficulty with bugs! They are insisting that my fluke is the best place to land and they get stuck in the wet silicone :( so now I have random patches where I had to rescue these bugs out of.

Also, apparently I have silicone in my hair :p My partner thought it was dandruff until he saw it was purple!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/25/f6c401ffcb65fbbab7c6a288d75c2856.jpg

[Trident True]

it looks translucent, love it

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Trident!

So I think I'm ready to share my design with everyone, it is very similar to the one I submitted for Jazz's tail competition earlier this year, with a few modifications. It is very similar to my current fabric tail that I also made. The fluke shape is different now, and I am still deciding on style and placement of extra fins, so I haven't put them on. The colours are also slightly bluer now, as I didn't like the near-pink purple on the design I originally submitted, and these colours will be easier to get with the pearl-ex pigments I am using. Also, I have now decided to reverse the colouring on the fluke, so it will be slightly darker purple at the top, fading to silvery purple at the bottom (gotta live up to my name! :p ).
The stripes on the fluke are modelled after the little catfish you can buy in pet shops, they have the most lovely spots and stripes on their tails :)
23759

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Sorry for the lack of updates everyone, it's been pouring with rain here, and so painting has been delayed somewhat! I've been working on sanding my scale sheet (halfway there, yay!) and also a top :)
I really hope to get this done in the next month or so, I promised a friend that I'd be at her party in my new tail! Hopefully the weather permits!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Today has finally been warm enough to pour some more silicone! I got the rest of the sanding done last night, and so a small test piece is curing in the mould now to make sure everything is compatible! If all goes well, I may be pouring one side of my scale sheet tomorrow!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Here is a colour test on a bracelet I'm making! I love how the pigments have turned out!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/11/0aace5488e19dd8cca2a1a58cda78888.jpg

[Trident True]

OMG I'm drooling, I love the blending did you paintbrush or spray?

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Trident! This was just done with a paintbrush :)
The weird crinkly effect is actually the silicone, I painted the piece I pulled from the crinkled mould and was curious to see what it looked like painted. I quite like the extra texture :)
Sample cured well, so hopefully tomorrow will be scale sheet pouring day!!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

First side cured and pulled, it looks amazing (if I may say so myself :p ) I did a detail layer, let that cure, a thin layer, powermesh and another thin layer to sandwich it all. Seems to have worked well!

Second side started now!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/13/8285a6d0cf5d9644d830c06ecf3df3ab.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Second side pulled, looks even better than the first! Hopefully I'll get a decent start on painting tonight! :) I'm really happy with how it's all turning out!

[Keiris]

WOW!!! It looks fantastic!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Keiris :)

[Mermaid Daenerys]

Wow, Kate, it looks incredible - I love the colours! Can't wait to see the finished product!

[PearlieMae]

This is wonderful! Your scale shape is great and I love your fluke design...and of course, I am completely enamored with another purple tail! We could be part of the Purple Pod! :D

This has been great watching your progress! Very excited to see it finished!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Daenerys and Pearlie :) It means a lot!
Yay, the purple pod! I love how even though there are many purple tails around, they're all different :)

Painted the first layer on the back scale sheet! I think mozzies like the smell of naptha though, I have so many bites and had to keep fishing them out of my paint! This is with two citronella candles and a mozzie coil burning!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Base coat on the back scale sheet. Still needs a lot of blending and more coats, but you get the idea :) I'm not going to do the stripes until after it is all assembled.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/15/91fd792d980cb654474f213e130996c6.jpg

[PearlieMae]

Wow! Excellent!

(What's a mozzie?)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Ah sorry, short hand for mosquito! They are a real problem at the moment, and where I live, potentially dangerous as they can carry Ross river virus, which is really nasty. I seem to be a mosquito magnet though, they always seem to bite me!

[PearlieMae]

:doh: I should have figured that one out! Yeah, here in the states, we have to worry about West Nile virus. Funny, where I grew up, we called them "skeeters"!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I've never heard skeeters before! That's a good one!

[PearlieMae]

Hahaha! Maybe it's a Southern/Northern hemisphere thing...like, you'd say 'lippy', and I would say 'gloss'!

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I'm confused, is that referring to lipstick or lip gloss? They're both very different things here...
I find this fascinating how everyone has different colloquialisms :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Base coat done on the front now! Needs a lot of blending obviously, but I just want to get the main colours down. I hope to be able to airbrush the rest, it's really hard to avoid brush strokes!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/19/a8f3fe437a97cd5fe248741ee6fbb917.jpg

I've encountered two problems however:
1. Bugs love to fly into wet silicone :( I have had so many scales' paint ruined by a bug getting dried into the silicone.
2. One of our cats is crazy over silicone. No matter where I hide it or what heavy objects I put it under, she manages to get to it and play with it! She'll just sit there licking it and playing with it, which I'm not sure is good for her. Also, when I was washing the scale sheets prior to painting, I was drying them on a towel on the bathroom floor, and as soon as she got in, Kaylee (yes, from Firefly) immediately grabbed a scale and started licking... I don't want her getting sick! Now I'm concerned about how I'm going to store my tail if she is this obsessed with it...

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

I've decided to seam my tail before doing the next coats of paint, just to make sure everything lines up. If anyone has advice for seaming, I'd appreciate it very much! I've read through all of the tutorials that I could find on MN, but I still feel a bit overwhelmed!
Here's a photo of the scales wrapped around my duct tape dummy. It's really hard to get it tight around the knee and ankle areas!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/22/0a32350ba46640d6bb48a19f900bda49.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

And so it begins! Only doing a little bit at a time to try to keep it as neat as possible, but I'm still worried it is too obvious :S
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/02/051e6449fe6f8ef916feb5ab3ae116d9.jpg

[Trident True]

Ah sorry, short hand for mosquito! They are a real problem at the moment, and where I live, potentially dangerous as they can carry Ross river virus, which is really nasty. I seem to be a mosquito magnet though, they always seem to bite me!

haha true, just remember its only the females that bight.also tail looks great. coming along well

[Mermaid Leira]

How is your seaming coming along Kate? It's the part I am most nervous about when it comes to that time with y silicone tail project, hope it's coming along xx

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Hi Amy :)
I've pretty much finished the seams, I hope they look okay once painted, they stick out a bit too much for my liking at the moment. I had to turn it inside out to reinforce them yesterday which was quite a lot of work! I've made the tail quite thick (perhaps too much so), but I hope it all works out okay :)
I have a deadline of Saturday evening for the main part of my tail, I promised a friend I would be in my tail for her party :) I think I should be able to make it, though I may not be able to get the final paint job done in time.
I've also tried something that I don't think anyone else has done for sandwiching the fluke, I've sewn a sleeve of powermesh to fit the monofin, then stuck it down with Tarzan grip (similar to super glue) in rows, so there is plenty of unsaturated fabric for the silicone to bond to. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out!

[Mermaid Amelia]

Looking great!


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[deletedaccount]

Wow, this is incredible! I'm afraid to take the plunge and make a tail myself, but this actually gives me hope. You're doing an excellent job so far, can't wait to see the finished product! :D

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks everyone :)
Shelby, this has been an amazing experience for me, and I would definitely try it yourself! You just need a lot of patience, and be prepared for setbacks at every stage, but in the end it is worth it! I use the time that I spend on this to relax; I'm currently at uni doing my honours and this helps me to chill out :) Five weeks to go!
I'll be putting more photos up when I get home to show how I'm getting on :)

[Mermaid Leira]

Can't wait to see it's looking fantastic! I think I've read somewhere about "the lace method" similar idea for sandwiching a fluke I think , searching it might help with your power mesh method :) how thick are your scale sheets? I'm nervous about the thickness of my pours, planning one coat the power mesh then one more :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Yeah, I did read about that, but I have created a whole pocket that is sewn to the monofin shape, rather than just sticking it on.
My scale sheets are quite thick, maybe 0.7cm on the edges, to 1cm in the centre. I would definitely recommend making it thinner, but not by much. What I did was pour one layer, wait for it to harden, then paint a thin layer on, powermesh, then another layer to encase it. My problem was that the initial layer had to be reasonably thick to make sure the powermesh wasn't on the surface of the scales, as my scales are quite deep.

[Mermaid Leira]

Thanks Kate, I did a test where I let the first layer almost cute then added the mesh and then a very thin second, seemed to work without the mesh poking through the front of the scales (did my first test when it was still too wet) not having a tail maker made tail for reference makes it's hard to judge thickness etc huh , good luck with your monofin pocket :)

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks :)
Yeah, I could at least look at my friends' finfolk tails, and I asked a few mers on here about it too :) Thicker pours mean harder seams! I've been snipping the edges of the scales near the seams to make them thinner because they were thicker than I liked.

[Mermaid Adriel]

Very good! :D

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Here's a picture of the fluke pocket that I did, glued to the monofin. I poured silicone on it and attached one half of the fluke, and it seems to have worked great!
Today will be attaching the other half and buying an air compressor and air gun to finish off the paint job, does anyone have any tips about what size compressor to get?
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/08/3954f6b717940f45b4743dcb99658877.jpg

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

So I've been super busy trying to get everything done in time! I got it done bar the final stripes and went to the party last night like this:
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/12/32cf9dc851d6876e0d172e8e9e9daf12.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/12/3819a73547c9d46ee19bc8e65e39ee0e.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/12/49a2e49d2c0bc9a024cec11f3eb24631.jpg

[CowgirlMermaid]

Awesome! Nice work!

[Mermaid Amelia]

It looks amazing Kate! Your so clever :D


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Wow!! Really impressive! O.O
Stunning work!

[Mermaid Leira]

Beautiful, :) how was the party? :)

[Mermaid Daenerys]

That's absolutely gorgeous, Kate! In love with the colours btw

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks guys :)
The party was awesome fun, the stairs were a bit of a problem though! Lucky my mertender partner was with me and managed to carry me between places :)

[Merlia]

Wow this is stunning!
Im truly in love with these pink purple colors :$

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Merlia :)
I went for a swim the other day, and it was absolutely amazing! I have some photos and video, but I have to go through and edit them first. The silicone is so much easier to swim in than my previous fabric and neoprene tail, and it looks amazing underwater! I've also painted my stripes on now, will update with photos soon!
Unfortunately it is slightly too low in the back and slips down my butt when I swim, but I'll just extend it slightly :)
I've also had problems with the paint peeling off, which is really sad because it never looks as good the second time. Does anyone know why this could be?

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Here's my swim video!
I've been so busy lately, I handed in my thesis last Friday! Now I'll have more time to work on it, and also update with more pictures :)

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=367918096722685&set=vb.244492079065288 &type=2&theater

[teeth4u]

Nice! I love your fluke and the way it moves. The silver looks so pretty underwater.

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Thanks Eva :)

[PaolaMF]

hand painted?

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

The first layer of paint was done by hand, the layers after that were all done with an airbrush.

[PaolaMF]

OKS, thank you , you have paint thinner added to the mixture of silicone with pigments? to paint with the airbrush? which is the amount to be added? that percentage? thank you very much

[Mermaid Kate Silverfin]

Yes, I mixed it with naptha (known as shellite in some countries). There is no set percentage, essentially you add enough to get a milk-like consistency. If it doesn't go through your airbrush, add more!

[PaolaMF]

thank you Kate , you are very kindy :)

[Mermaid Keena]

Hi Kate! I'm just starting my first ever Silicone Tail and I'm 100% going to be using this thread to help me out. =D I think I've friended you on facebook haha a while ago! I can't wait to see how your second tail turns out xx