Peeling Top Coat on Silicone Tail

[Mer Coralia]

I purchased a pre-made silicone tail from Finfolk Productions and the top coat has been peeling both on the tail and bra. I've tried emailing them but they left me hanging. I had a friend who had the same issue and it ended up just being a defective product; she sent back the tail, received a refund, and purchased another from someone else. It's really making me question ordering another if it is a defective product. I'd really love someone's input if they've had this issue or know of it.

It looks like a bad sunburn where the top layer is peeling off; it's mostly on the fluke and the waist portion of the tail.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

It would help if you post some pics. I'm pretty sure other merfolk with silicone tails can help you repair it.

[Fifi Tigg]

I know a couple of mermaids that have this same issue with Finfolk.

[MermaidBrandie]

This is likely to happen in a lot of Tails eventually since they airbrush the silicone on top. It just delaminates over time. You should be able to fix it by cleaning it really well with dawn dish soap, drying it and then putting a small layer of platinum silicone on top.

The standard silicone used it Smooth On's Dragonskin 10.

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[AniaR]

Pics would help.

Finfolk uses top of the line products, so it's unlikely anything more than a defect. But that being said if the original buyer didn't exchange it, I am not sure if they will for someone who bought it used because who knows what the original person did to it. Some people try to change their silicone color on their own. If it's an older tail I know they had bad assistants for a time who compromised a few tails.

It's sort of a tricky area because you bought it used. So I doubt they can exchange or refund you (I doubt any tail maker would) but might be able to fix it.

But for sure, show us! I'd be cautious in taking any online advice until you've exhausted all options. Silicone has a green period and after that slopping more on top will just peel too.

[Mer Coralia]

It's never been worn or used so while it was pre-made its brand new.

And for some reason it's not letting me post photos. It keeps saying I've exceeded the limit even though I've resized the pictures three times.

Dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4f8wii4mi...StBkhTYEa?dl=0


Interestingly Finfolk did finally respond and said sil-poxy would help...

[MermaidBrandie]

Sometimes if you add large photos as files instead they post them. I've fixed peeling on old tails so with pics I can definitely confirm if my above advice would work.

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[Mermaid Aerial Princess]

I can barely see what you are describing. It doesn't look like the paint is peeling per say but maybe the top coat is beginning to wear down or maybe there was a tiny bubble in the silicone that has rubbed down.

I see a bit of this on my year and a half old MerNation tail. I have a glitter top coat and on some of my fluke ridges where it has been scraped a bit on the pool I can see something like this. It looks like the glitter top coat is peeling around the scrapes.

I'm actually going to try some tail repair this weekend. I have some smoothon psycho paint and I found a good match for the pigment. Then I have some silpoxy to cover it if needed.


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[Mer Coralia]

I never get good lighting in my room. Plus I have been picking it off -which I know isn't the best thing since it can make it worse- but it's a lot less flakey.

I'm assuming its just the top protective layer. It just sucks cause this is a brand new tail. They said sil-poxy would help but I'm not sure when I'd be able to sit down and fix it for a while.

[MermaidBrandie]

I never get good lighting in my room. Plus I have been picking it off -which I know isn't the best thing since it can make it worse- but it's a lot less flakey.

I'm assuming its just the top protective layer. It just sucks cause this is a brand new tail. They said sil-poxy would help but I'm not sure when I'd be able to sit down and fix it for a while.

Silpoxy will fix that. It is just the top protective layer. Silpoxy will have a strong smell to it but will cure quickly (within five minutes I believe). Be sure to wash it really well before hand. Don't pick at it, you'll make it bigger. You can order silpoxy on Amazon I believe or at Smooth On's website.

This is honestly just part of the standard maintenance of a silicone tail. So it's honestly not that big of a deal, I would expect this sort of thing to happen even if it wasn't swam in much, due to scraping on things as it's moved around or shifted on the floor. And you bought it second hand, so even if they didn't swim in it, this could have happened depending on how they handled it.

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[PearlieMae]

I can attest that Brandie knows her stuff.

[AniaR]

Some of my merbellas tails are 7 years old + and I've never ever had the silicone peel off any of them. And I use mine constantly, so I have to challenge the idea that it's normal.


I'm also really not seeing what you're saying on these photos. I don't see anything that looks like peeling silicone. I see a few scuff marks and that's it. I agree that you probably just have some scuffs on the clear top layer in which as suggested, a little bit of silpoxy should fix it.

[MermaidBrandie]

Some of my merbellas tails are 7 years old + and I've never ever had the silicone peel off any of them. And I use mine constantly, so I have to challenge the idea that it's normal.


I'm also really not seeing what you're saying on these photos. I don't see anything that looks like peeling silicone. I see a few scuff marks and that's it. I agree that you probably just have some scuffs on the clear top layer in which as suggested, a little bit of silpoxy should fix it.

I'm surprised by the merbella one, because a friend of mine has a merbella that she hardly uses and the coloring started coming off after just a couple of pool swims.

And yea, I think she's talking about the scuffs you mentioned.

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[MermaidBrandie]

I can attest that Brandie knows her stuff.

️️️

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[PearlieMae]

Top coats either fuse completely or they don't. One of my own tails peeled terribly with virtually no use and another has been used roughly in both pools and ocean, stomped and scraped across rough surfaces and barely shows wear.

Its my experience that some pigments make silicone susceptible to damage than others...and not necessarily the colors, but the pigment composition.

[Mer Coralia]

Silpoxy will fix that. It is just the top protective layer. Silpoxy will have a strong smell to it but will cure quickly (within five minutes I believe). Be sure to wash it really well before hand. Don't pick at it, you'll make it bigger. You can order silpoxy on Amazon I believe or at Smooth On's website.

This is honestly just part of the standard maintenance of a silicone tail. So it's honestly not that big of a deal, I would expect this sort of thing to happen even if it wasn't swam in much, due to scraping on things as it's moved around or shifted on the floor. And you bought it second hand, so even if they didn't swim in it, this could have happened depending on how they handled it.

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THANK YOU! Of all the stuff I've read up on maintenance, peeling wasn't something mentioned and considering what happened to my friend's, it just terrified me.

And that's awesome it doesn't take long to cure. I'm hoping to fix it Tuesday.

Some of my merbellas tails are 7 years old + and I've never ever had the silicone peel off any of them. And I use mine constantly, so I have to challenge the idea that it's normal.


I'm also really not seeing what you're saying on these photos. I don't see anything that looks like peeling silicone. I see a few scuff marks and that's it. I agree that you probably just have some scuffs on the clear top layer in which as suggested, a little bit of silpoxy should fix it.

It basically looks like a bad sunburn, like when that top skin layer is peeling in bits.




But thank you everyone who answered. I'm so glad it's really a solvable problem and an easy one at that. I feel way better about it now.