Old Goldy: The Story Of Overhauling A Silicone Tail

[Mermaid Morgann]

Hello merfolk! Mermaid Diona asked me to start this thread (since I'm heading the repairs of her tail) so that you could all watch Old Goldy's journey. Diona recently purchased the tail from Mermaid Lorelie, and when he arrived she was ecstatic! He was in great condition for his age and use, with only a few repair issues needed. However, Diona has some major stuff planned for Old Goldy and that means I've got some major silicone work coming up! I have exactly three days experience working with Dragon Skin so I need a whole lot of luck and perhaps a dash of advice now and again.

Old Goldy got his name from one of our favorite TV shows (if you watch Gravity Falls you might recognize the name). When he's finished, he'll be a beautiful gold tail with white accents. Definitely excited for the finished product! Also, don't question why a sparkly golden mermaid tail is referred to as a "he." Mantis, my personal rainbow tail, is a "he" as well, so no judgement. Only Lagoon is referred to as "she" among our tails.

Rambling aside, I am going to double post so I can add photos of the progress. This will keep all photos in a single place and make finding them much easier! Without further ado, I present to you, the journey that is redoing Old Goldy.

[Mermaid Morgann]

Photos of our progress will be added here as they are taken!

"Before" photos of the tail.
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The fluke was quite thin and the monofin was tearing through. I added our gold pigment to some silicone and have begun to apply it overtop of the fluke in an attempt to add thickness and strength to the fin, which should help prevent future tearing. I apologize for the poor lighting, the sun had already set by the time I had finished tonight's half.
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I taught Diona the ropes of thickening the fluke, and she tried her hand at some herself! Definitely helped get things moving a lot faster.
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[Mermaid Lorelei]

Eeee! I feel like an old auntie watching my tail become someone else's. XD

[Mermaid Jaffa]

They're "he's" because we're females. Just like males calling their cars "she".

[PearlieMae]

OOoh! This is exciting! Let me know if I can offer any advice/opinions!

My first concern would be that the new silicone might not bond well with the original silicone, so watch for peeling issues.

Good luck!

[AniaR]

I'm not sure how Raven managed it but she re-siliconed parts of my tail after it was over a year old and it bonded just fine. Same with when I repair things. I've rarely had peeling issues. Only super teeny tiny ones that you'd need a magnifying glass to see lol. There must be a reliable method!

[Mermaid Morgann]

We are definitely aware of potential peeling issues and any suggestions for a better bond are greatly appreciated! The silicone bonded well to Lagoon so I'm wondering if the tail's texture has some sort of effect. So far haven't had any issues, but I'm sure they will pop up in the future and we will have to repair them again when they do.

[Chrissy]

I am excited to watch this transformation!!!

[Mermaid Jaffa]

In other crafts where the two pieces are slippery, I have sandpapered one side, cleaned and dried it, then glued on the other piece, it stayed on better.

Does that make sense? Maybe you could try something like that?

[Mermaid Morgann]

In other crafts where the two pieces are slippery, I have sandpapered one side, cleaned and dried it, then glued on the other piece, it stayed on better.

Does that make sense? Maybe you could try something like that?

It completely does! Funny enough, that's the method we are trying. It worked on Lagoon so I'm hoping it also works here.

Also, I added another photo.

[Trident True]

in regards to peeling, I would say that the silicone was prepared using some sort of Alcohol to remove residue. dirt particles etc so that the silicone would bond. I personally used white vinegar not diluted and then used a cloth and the hose to wash it off, my silicone stuck just fine. I urge you to do tests first though. after washing the vinegar off, you can have a vinegry smell, it does dissipate over time. hope this helps. or use a cleaning alcohol.

[PearlieMae]

I'm going to Smooth On on Monday...so if anyone has questions, let me know and I will ask them!

[Mermaid Jaffa]

can try it one patch at a time, that way if you make a mistake, you only have a tiny bit to fix instead of the entire section.

[PearlieMae]

creating a rough surface for the silicone to grab onto and a thorough cleaning to remove oils/dirt makes perfect sense with any adhesion techniques. I did have a bit of an issue with a topcoat of silicone peeling from abrasion on the high edges of a few scales, but it was a very thin coat. Where the silicone is thicker (pooled into the low areas where scales meet), it has bonded solidly with the body of the tail.

[Mermaid Morgann]

I tested the silicone on another tail, Lagoon, and so far it is bonding. Granted, if you try and peel it off it will come off, but I'm hoping once the paint coat is added to smooth over any peel-able spots, it should smooth things over and solidify them well. That and if you try to peel the original silicone off it also comes off so I think that's just normal for the tails we have.

We we have also been adding silicone individually to each divided section of fluke so if we have any issues it will be much easier to fix!

[Seatan]

Did you use gold Pearl Ex to make the color?