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Thread: Revamping a fabric tail using Seatan's method

  1. #41
    Nice! How much silicone have you used so far?

  2. #42
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hellocourtney View Post
    Nice! How much silicone have you used so far?
    Not much. Coating the scale-print fabric of the body really doesn't take a lot, but the ordinary swimsuit fabric of the fluke soaks up silicone like mad. About half of the silicone went into the fluke cover alone.
    Used up one 0.9kg sample-pack-size (the one in the picture at the start of the thread), and just need about half or three-quarters of another one to finish, I guess.

  3. #43
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Quick update on my to-do list for this weekend:
    New silicone has arrived, same type and amount as the previous one. Will do another coating set on Friday. Two more sessions at most and I'll be done, I guess.
    On Saturday I'll probably not work on my tail, because I'm going on a monofin swimming (or more correctly diving) workshop!
    As usual, update pics will be posted when available.
    Sent from my phonebrick using Tapatalk.

  4. #44
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Wohoo! The front and back are finished!



    Next step: Take out the separator and coat the side seams.

    And as a side note, the monofin course was great. The focus was on an efficient style, and that style looks so fluent that it will look really good in the reworked tail .

  5. #45
    So shiny!
    Almost finished now, can't wait to see it swim!

  6. #46
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Well, it has been quite a break I took on that modification. The mental hurdle to permanently "sacrifice" a monofin to the tail was quite a thing, but now the drainage tubing is glued onto the fin blade. I used simple superglue and am hoping for the best that it doesn't interfere with the curing of Dragonskin.

    Next step: Waiting until the superglue sets completely, then gluing the fin to the rest of the tail. Hopefully that last step will take place next weekend.

  7. #47
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Well, not sure if using Dragonskin directly on the polypropylene blade of the monofin without primer of any kind was such a good idea. It doesn't stick that well, and what's more serious, I ran out of silicone...
    On the bright side, the superglue and Dragonskin seem to be compatible. At least I didn't note cure inhibition yet, so that should be a good sign.

    But the longer the refit takes the more I am inclined to say, screw it and make (or get) another fabric one. The feeling I get is that the finished result will have still some kind of fabric tail appearance for the cost of tail care issues of a full silicone tail. The only advantage I see up until now is that it is way lighter and way cheaper than a full silicone one. I think I'll finish it, but I'm not sure if it will perform that well in the end.

    So lesson learned so far: There is no such thing as "the perfect one-for-all" tail. Every construction method has its very specific advantages and disadvantages, and even the (sometimes - it seems - looked down upon) fabric tails have their place, and it seems to be no small one. So be proud of the tail you have and love and don't think you absolutely need a silicone tail because "only that makes you a mer". They are beautiful, stunning and absolutely gorgeous, but on the downside they need a lot of maintenance and take up quite some storage space, apart from the price tag. A fabric one on the other hand is quickly washed, dried and folded up in your closet drawer. And what's important, even for fabric tails there are a plethora of really beautiful designs for an affordable price out there made by professional tailmakers. It really depends what you want, not what you think you need for being taken serious.

    Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to play silicone tails against fabric ones. For me there is no either-or, but just a both-and. But unless you are a really gifted craftsmer (like so many here in the community ), buy your tail from a reputable artist. They are really worth their money.

  8. #48
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Just a short update on a really long-running project: Ordered a new batch of silicone to finally finish what I started. I really want to see if my drainage concept works, and furthermore I really want to be able to swim in a tail again!
    Currenly only the tailskin needs to be glued down, then it is finished. For the tail being my first attempt in working with silicone, it is a test piece with several issues which appeared during the process and a lot of learning. But it will always be my first tail.

  9. #49
    Senior Member Pod of The South
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    Looking forward to the tail's completion, I always wondered how it turned out
    ~Merman Rett Of Georgia~

    (Formerly Known as Risingmermaid)

  10. #50
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    The fluke is sealed! Just waiting for the silicone to cure, but here is a first impression:

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    There are several points I would definitely do differently next time, but for my first try in working with silicone I am quite ok with the result. Probably the tailskin will come lose, as the monofin blade is made of plastic, and literally nothing sticks to that kind of plastic, especially no silicone, but I'll see. Furthermore the silicone coating is very uneven, but that is now how it is.

    To do: Cut the drainpipes, fine-tuning of the edge, some clean-up work. But there is progress at last!

  11. #51
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Fluke is finished, but still a little messy at the edges, and here are the first dry pictures (swim test will follow probably next Friday):
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    As previously pointed out, it is my first try working with silicone, and there are several points which didn't work out, but I take it as a test bed what works and what doesn't, especially when doing the fluke.
    The tail is quite comfy on dry land, hopefully it swims at well and the drain system works when in the water. Let's see, I'll keep you all updated!

  12. #52
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    So, the final results after two swims are finally here:

    • The tail feels a lot different in the water than fabric alone
    • Drainage sort of worked
    • The tailskin at the fluke separated from the monofin, creating a huge water pocket, but that was to be expected (Polypropylene fin blade, literally nothing sticks to it, especially no silicone). Drainage must have worked, though, as swimming was in no way hampered
    • Swimming in it was lots of fun and even drew attention to two aspiring mers (I tested it in a pool after SCUBA class, we had a lot of fun with my spare monofin (they are really talented with the swimming style) and scheduled a photoshoot with them and the SCUBA instructor, who brings his underwater DSLR on the last day of the lessons, but that is a whole different story )
    • Draining and drying the tail after the swim is close to impossible due to the water pocket which formed at the fluke

    Finally I decided to cut the fluke open and remove the fin, to avoid losing it to mould.
    It was a good experiment, and I learned a lot in that process, but the best thing for my swimming profile will be a fabric tailskin. The whole process of making the tail into a silicone hybrid one takes far more than slapping silicone on a fabric tail. Especially the fluke needs lots of attention.

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