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Once the curing process has ended (like 48 hours after you are able to demold) silicone will no longer truly bond with more silicon.
What does this mean?
This means your seams will not stick and your paint will not be permanent.
Fxck!
It sucks, but it is true. I've been on the phone with artists and distributors all morning, the experts agree that everything really needs to be done within 48 hours if you want any kind of permanent bond.
Who has two thumbs and shares trade secrets?
Great I'll probably be having trouble then.
You'll have to buy some silicone bonding glue which I think smooth on sells... I think.
E600 doesn't work.
You can use glue though.
Sil-Poxy Silicone Adhesive.
Also it doesn't not stick at all, it just doesn't become permanent.
Paint will kinda peel off and seams don't hold as well.
Your tail is not ruined if you cast the scales weeks ago, just next time do everything within 48 hours.
Interesting, so how is it that they can repaint, for example, Raina' s tail, and the paint sticks?
I wonder...
That is disappointing to hear though.
I think I remember hearing that repaints, or any paint done later than 48 hrs I suppose, would flake off over time and you'd have to get it repainted. As I understand, silicone tails still degrade, need repairs, and eventually may need to be replaced, if you're swimming in it. Saltwater and chlorine seem to be evil to most things over time haha...
Thanks for the insider info, Firemaid! I'll keep that in mind whilst designing my dream tail :)
that makes no sense to me because my tail has been re-seamed and I've fixed stuff with new paint and new silicone and it's like brand new? I'm not having any problems with my merbellas tail, and I've patched it up lots along the way anytime I've gotten a small hole or tear for the past 1.5 years.
That being said, I certainly see that problem in my other tail. It's practically separating from itself.
That is strange. I know I read MVD has a sort of sealer or something so his can't be repainted but MerBellas' tails like Raina's has has been repainted and I'm sure others have too. Maybe it's a difference in curing or something? It seems like it'd be hard as a tailmaker to make sure the paint is perfect within 48 hours not even considering re-painting it or anything.
That seems a little weird. My nephew accidentally tore one of my fins on my mertailor tail. i bought some 100% aquarium grade silicon and used it to fix the tear. You literally cant even see it as if it was never torn at all and I've tugged on it... it's just as secure as if it had never happened.
This is truly important information!! Thanks for posting, I'm taking my time with this project and now I know that molding and demolding, seaming and painting need to be done all very quickly and closely together! This has saved me from a world of anger!! :)
I don't think this would really effect a touch up paint job or repair so much, but it's important to know for a big project.
I found out because a scale sheet I casted a year ago refused to behave, the seams would de-laminate and you could pull the paint off. So I called around and all the experts agree that it is best to paint and make large seams as soon after you de mold as possible.
Here is a letter from Smooth-on about this issue:
Our recommendation here is based on if the casting is being painted with our Psycho Paint, which customers color themselves.
The best time to achieve the highest quality of adhesion of the paint going onto the casting surface would be to paint as soon as possible after de-molding the casting from the mold.
We recommend the casting to be painted be not more than 2 days old; we state this on the technical bulletin for the product; here is a link to this document for review:
http://www.smooth-on.com/tb/files/Psycho_Paint_TB.pdf
We regard our Technical Bulletins as bible and do not deviate from the information stated as often customers will foul up a process due to human error and blame the product or company.
Furthermore, ultimately the end user determine suitability of the product for their application. Some people may let a casting sit for days or weeks and possibly get good or great adhesion; Others may not. It also depends on the application in whether or not the finished piece will experience constant contact or friction or is it a static display piece like a museum mannequin. In cases where the piece is constantly being handled then adhesion quality is paramount.
I think this information is important to keep in mind if you are making yourself a tail. Like the said in the letter Some people may let a casting sit for days or weeks and possibly get good or great adhesion; Others may not. It's not like you have to start over if you let a casting sit.
Also, though not mentioned here I was told on the phone that the issue is compounded if the silicon is dirty.
Hmmm...that puts the kibosh on my idea of making small sets of individual scales and adhering them to a model of my legs. I wanted to make a few sizes of textured scales, make molds of them, probably out of resin, then cast, using GE silicon caulk, then build it up at my leisure. Now it looks like I would have to make and color the whole thing over a weekend!
I think the tails using foam circles look great, but I don't care for the 90° angle on the scale edge.
If you're not into the defined angles of foam, why not sculpt a scale sheet out of clay? It'll take a lot more time, but that way you can make them exactly as you want them (different sizes and all).
I kept meaning to add to this, sorry if my tone came off wrong I wasnt trying to accuse you of being wrong or lying or anything, I just genuinely was shocked :p
I would like to do that, but - and I should have mentioned - I want to use the supplies I already have on hand :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mermaid Melaina
I think I will try some small scale tests (haha! Pun intended) and try out my proposed techniques on stuffed mermaid dolls. I'll share the results!
(When I post from home, it's from my phone and typing is not as easy, so I try not to be as verbose...thus the lack of clarification.)