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Thread: Finfolk Mythic—fixing scales, drying and maintenance?

  1. #1

    Question Finfolk Mythic—fixing scales, drying and maintenance?

    I bought a Finfolk Mythic (“Midnight Magic”) from a girl a few months back. It glittered at me and my magpie soul was instantly in love. Luckily she was close enough that I could visit and try it on before committing, which was good—this poor baby has been through two other owners that found it was too small before it passed to me, and I am physically incapable of zipping myself into it. Minimum I need one other person to zip me in, two is best so one person can hold it shut. If I gain like 3 pounds I’ll be unable to get it closed over my butt. Super tight!! I’m not too fussed about this because it’s definitely not a tail that would be safe to swim in without a buddy anyway, between the hook & eye closure, zipper, and Finis Foil heel straps.

    I would show pictures but there’s no album option on my user control panel for some reason and also the permissions as I make this post say I am not allowed to add attachments?? Sadness

    So my main issues here are (of course) scales falling off, and also drying. To a certain extent, also maintenance.

    Today I swam in my mythic for the second time for about an hour, and three scales fell off. This may be partially my own fault since I’d noticed a loose thread and didn’t insist on immediately doing anything about it. I had laboriously tied off a different loose thread between my two swims but apparently not well enough. My mythic is gen two so theoretically the scales are falling off less, but it’s quickly becoming apparent how easily they do fall off. (Gen one must have been a nightmare!!)

    I’ve been doing some thorough browsing of the forums and found a piece on the accessories forum that mentioned that fishing line could be tightened with pliers, so that might be a good idea. There was also the idea that the knot could be further secured with super glue. However that’s pretty brittle and I don’t know if that would hold up.

    Today though one of my pod members said, “why don’t you put a dab of sil-poxy underneath the scales? Semi-glue them to the neoprene, and if the knots come undone the scales won’t immediately start falling off with the line having to slide out through the glue.”

    That to me sounds like an excellent idea—can anyone think of possible concerns if I were to literally glue each and every scale down as well as dabbing some on the knots? It seems to us so far that the fishing line isn’t snapping so much as the knots are all just coming undone, and we feel like gluing the scales down would cause less rubbing and tension on the line.

    I‘ve seen lots of people reviewing the mythic and saying that it wasn’t worth it, save up for a full silicone... but my good friend and podmate Mermaid Paige has a full silicone, and after some good use silicone tails also need regular maintenance and patch-ups. For how absolutely beautiful and unique the mythic is, I’m willing to put in the effort. But I want to work smarter, not harder.

    My other issue is drying. Being a neoprene tail with a silicone fluke, it needs to be very thoroughly dried, but I’m unsure of the best way to do it. I was looking into the type of stand that comes out of a wooden base, has a pipe go up, and then fork out to fit into the foot pockets. But when I went to measure the tail, I reached my hand in and realized that, of course, the Finis Foil inside doesn’t have totally enclosed pockets, and the toes are entirely open. A forked stand like I was thinking of would have the weight of the tail resting on the inner pocket of silicone in the fluke (seems like a really bad idea) or on the separator of the foot pockets in the monofin. It can’t just be a thin square-type top like the PVC tube stand linked to by the care thread on this forum—the silicone fluke is extremely heavy compared to the neoprene body.

    So then I was thinking the J hooks, drilling them into the wall, but I’m kinda worried about how the neoprene is attached to the silicone. Will the weight of the body cause it to pull away from the silicone fluke??

    And to top it all off, it has hip fins. They’re gorgeous and I’m in love but the very first time I went swimming with it, I tried to carry it over my shoulder in that classic Finfolk pose, and Mermaid Paige was quick to point out to me the stress that was putting on the hip fins. If I go the J hook route she suggested a towel bar to lay the hip fins over. But they can’t be allowed to hang loose upside down.

    Finally, care. I thoroughly read the care and maintenance thread, but to my distress a lot of the products listed were for silicone tails or neoprene tails, and mine is both.

    Never use a silicone based lubricant on a silicone tail. Just the same, never use a petroleum based lubricant on latex or neoprene!

    Water based lube is an okay solution for that, but

    Tails made from lycra, neoprene, tin cure latex, and slip casting latex will degrade over time. Another thing you can do to help slow that process is to use a spray protectant. It will need to be reapplied every so often to maintain protection. We recommend McNett Silicone Spray Lubricant Protectant

    Ahhhh but I can’t use silicone spray on silicone!!

    The tail is currently in the bathtub soaking in water and baking soda, (though I’m a little confused about if the soaking is necessary... isn’t an acid-base reaction pretty instant?) I’m hoping it can continue to soak overnight without damage so I can run out and get J hooks in the morning.
    Last edited by Mermaid Maira; 02-11-2019 at 12:09 AM. Reason: Typos

  2. #2
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Jaffa's Avatar
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    Using braided fishing line, hand sew the fallen scales back on with a zigzag stitch.
    Formerly known as ireneho

  3. #3
    I know a mer who used E6000 under each of her scales, and it loses some of the stretch-ability, but she said she has never lost another scale. She also saturated it in glue. I am sure if you did a small dab it would be okay!
    "Swim this way, we'll dance and we'll play!"


  4. #4
    So I went through the long tedious process of rescaling literally my entire tail after resizing it down from an XL to XS and learned a lot along the way. I personally wouldn’t glue them due to the aforementioned loss of flexibility, especially since you’re already having issues zipping it up. (I think that’s really just how the mythics end up being because I also require help zipping it once it gets to my butt and everyone I know that has one also requires assistance) That, and sil-poxy is not cheap. Like, at all. If you have the cash and really really wanna make sure the scales never fall off I’d say go for it but I personally wouldn’t because of the flexibility loss. Especially since the scales won’t move that little bit around the curve of your legs so you may end up with weird gaps at points when you’re wearing it.

    Fishing line or monofilament thread work well for reattaching scales. I originally went with the thickest thread I could find figuring it’d be more durable, but I wasn’t able to tie the knots super securely. I switched to a thin thread and thickened it by twisting 4 strands together for durability and because it was twisted it sort of “locked together” better when tying off the knots. A few of my scales with the thicker thread have fallen off, but none of the ones with the thinner thread have. Use a surgeons knot when tying to reduce the likelihood of the knot coming undone as well. I limited how many I would sew with a length of thread to 3-5 scales so that way if a knot did come undone, at least a whole row of 20 wouldn’t be affected.

    As for drying, I highly recommend laying it flat. Hanging it by the fluke will cause stress on the fluke and will eventually cause it to pull away from the neoprene. (And then you’ll be really, really sad) What I do is lay it flat and aim a box fan at it from the top. I then shove two pool noodles inside to keep it open so air flows from the fan all the way down to the fluke. Finally I shove a handheld USB fan down in it at the base of the monofin to ensure that the foot-pockets and the fluke dry out completely.

    Hope this helps!!


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  5. #5
    I heard from Mermaid Paige that she knew someone who used E6000 and it wasn’t perfect but it worked alright. She thought silpoxy would work much better. She said also that there’s a store not too far from me that sells a 3oz tube of silpoxy for $40 that should be enough to do the whole tail.

    Is the thread you’re talking about thinner than what Finfolk has used? My tail is sewn with four threads, when a scale pops off I quickly separate the four threads into two each and tie a double knot to prevent more from falling off until I can repair it. Do you know what gauge you used?

    i don’t plan on flying down the whole scale, just putting a dab behind the holes to hold the fishing line, and give it a little bit of adhesion to the neoprene. The plan is that the scales won’t be significantly more attached to the neoprene than they already are, but you think this will lose stretch?

    i took a really close look at how the fluke was attached—any stand that had the monofin holding the weight definitely wouldn’t work, but the J hooks would be holding the sides of the fluke just below where the neoprene ends—so on the scales, which isn’t ideal, but I covered the J hooks with insulation pipe foam so hopefully it won’t hurt them. This way there is no weight being put on the place where the silicone meets the neoprene. My dilemma now is figuring out how to mount the J hooks in drywall, when there’s only one stud that they’ll fit on. I am nervous about keeping it hung due to stretching the neoprene but I simply don’t have a way to dry it flat. I’m in a tiny apartment, so.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod
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    If you have about $15-$20 on hand, you could craft a pvc frame that you can secure the J hooks into and have two rods from the base that holds the body open from the inside - perk of this is you can move it around, and break it down to store when you don't need it.

    One thing I should mention about fishing line is that it's designed to break down over time - something I picked up working at an outdoor sports chain for a while from the guys who worked the fishing department. If you go with the monofilament and similar heavyweight fishing line - expect to do repairs within the year or sooner depending on how much the tail is used as chlorinated pools will eat through that stuff quick. Your probable best bet long-run is using Nylon and Polyester outdoor threads for your anchoring lines - better able to withstand poolwater, and they're not going to be visible anyway. They're generally a heavier thread than your standard all-purpose sewing brands, so less likely to snap quickly from abrasions against the resin scales.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Jaffa's Avatar
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    Braided fishing line is stronger than monofilament.
    Formerly known as ireneho

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Ocoree View Post
    One thing I should mention about fishing line is that it's designed to break down over time - something I picked up working at an outdoor sports chain for a while from the guys who worked the fishing department. If you go with the monofilament and similar heavyweight fishing line - expect to do repairs within the year or sooner depending on how much the tail is used as chlorinated pools will eat through that stuff quick. Your probable best bet long-run is using Nylon and Polyester outdoor threads for your anchoring lines - better able to withstand poolwater, and they're not going to be visible anyway. They're generally a heavier thread than your standard all-purpose sewing brands, so less likely to snap quickly from abrasions against the resin scales.
    This makes me feel... mildly enraged?? Fishing line breaks down over time? It’s DESIGNED to do this?! This is excellent news environmentally but for the implications that has for mythics... I sincerely hope that Finfolk has absolutely no idea that this is a thing, in which case someone should inform them immediately so they can stop making mythics with fishing line. They’re releasing a whole new line of them in, like, a week.

    Seriously planned obsolescence has no place in mermaid tails that we pay this much for.

    Also! I’ve been inspecting it and I’ve found a number of other places where knots have come undone, and the resistance of the neoprene is the only thing holding the line in. Wow. And after quite a bit of searching I think I’ve discovered why: the knots they used aren’t KNOTS. They are... I don’t know the term for it but if it was thread you were tying off after stitching a piece of fabric, it would be fine. Doing a couple small stitches and then looping the loose end through the stitch. But for this? Holding a thread that has a lot of tension and stress put on it? Next to useless. Absolutely floored, no wonder my mythic has all these undone threads everywhere.

    And I STILL can’t figure out how to make pictures work on this forum! It keeps telling me that there’s a size limit of 19KB. Or I would show you this terrible, lousy knot.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod Trade Winds's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Liung View Post

    And I STILL can’t figure out how to make pictures work on this forum! It keeps telling me that there’s a size limit of 19KB. Or I would show you this terrible, lousy knot.
    Try uploading to a place like imgur and linking to the pic from there.



  10. #10
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Jaffa's Avatar
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    Tie a surgeon's knot. It never comes undone.
    Here's a how to video from one of my fave beaders.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHICbjdVF_Y
    Last edited by Mermaid Jaffa; 02-17-2019 at 08:26 PM.
    Formerly known as ireneho

  11. #11
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod
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    Quote Originally Posted by Liung View Post
    This makes me feel... mildly enraged?? Fishing line breaks down over time? It’s DESIGNED to do this?! This is excellent news environmentally but for the implications that has for mythics... I sincerely hope that Finfolk has absolutely no idea that this is a thing, in which case someone should inform them immediately so they can stop making mythics with fishing line. They’re releasing a whole new line of them in, like, a week.

    Seriously planned obsolescence has no place in mermaid tails that we pay this much for.

    Also! I’ve been inspecting it and I’ve found a number of other places where knots have come undone, and the resistance of the neoprene is the only thing holding the line in. Wow. And after quite a bit of searching I think I’ve discovered why: the knots they used aren’t KNOTS. They are... I don’t know the term for it but if it was thread you were tying off after stitching a piece of fabric, it would be fine. Doing a couple small stitches and then looping the loose end through the stitch. But for this? Holding a thread that has a lot of tension and stress put on it? Next to useless. Absolutely floored, no wonder my mythic has all these undone threads everywhere.

    And I STILL can’t figure out how to make pictures work on this forum! It keeps telling me that there’s a size limit of 19KB. Or I would show you this terrible, lousy knot.
    T_T Yeah, unfortunately sounds like they're going the route of cheaper materials to cut down on their own costs vs better grade stuff, but HOLY COW that is one of the worst ways to secure something that's going to bear a lot of movement stress! Only thing I'd do that kind of finish-stitch with is freaking embroidery!

    I second Jaffa that the surgeon's knot is your best friend in securing things - I do it in almost all of my stitching with my thread doubled up, so if one line snaps, there's still the other thread holding it all together. Plus doing even just a second loop through before tightening makes a significantly bigger knot that won't be easily yoinked through neoprene without significant force. For sequin/resin scales, I would do three to four passes AT LEAST through each hole before tying off and moving to the next scale on the chain. Heck I use it on my beaded dragon necklaces as well - no one wants things suddenly shattering and scattering material everywhere due to a faulty line than the actual material giving out.

    As far as pics - try hosting them on free sites like Imgur, then copy/pasting the image link onto here. They disabled on-site image hosting to save space, hence the issues embedding images here through the reply features.

  12. #12
    Senior Member Pod of Oceania Mermaid Jaffa's Avatar
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    Do several passes of zigzag stitch in each scale hole and tie it off with surgeon's knot. This way, you still the flex and movement and the security of the scales staying on.
    Formerly known as ireneho

  13. #13
    just found this post. I can feel your pain. I have yet to wear mine, got it and put it up and it has already dropped a scale. (the pool I swim in banned them because of the scale sheading issue and they don't want thier filter damaged). I can see a specific stitch pattern used so they lay flat but can not make out the whole pattern without taking the whole thing apart. But now it looks like that is exactly what I am going to have to do it (did not know they used fishing line). Jaffa's right about the surgeon's knot. (but I would still re-enforce the knot with e-6000. After all, person who was sutured, was not met to take the kind of strain as a mermaid tail swimming takes and could still "pop' ). Yup I am feeling very ripped off right now.

  14. #14
    It’s been almost a year since that first post and I’ve learned a lot.

    Drying: the J hooks worked fine, I positioned them so the tail was resting on the J hooks just before the neoprene ended and the silicone started, so that the weight of the tail was hanging from the neoprene body, not the fluke. You have to be very careful to never put excess stress on the join between the body and fluke or they can start to pull away from each other.

    However, very quickly the J hooks were not working fine, because the foil is so flexible that the weight of the tail caused it to bend inward and then the entire tail just slipped through the hooks! I gave the hooks to Paige to try with her silicone, but she tried it with her medium mythic and it worked fine. I think probably because the monofin was larger and so didn’t try to bend and squeak through.

    I now dry the mythic flat on the floor, using pool noodles to keep the body open and with a Honeywell circular fan that fits perfectly in the waist. It works well.

    Still haven't figured out a way to clean the chlorine well, other than a soak in the bathtub with baking soda. I don’t feel like this is a good solution, the backs of the scales are developing white residue. Unknown if it’s from the chlorine or the baking soda.

    Fishing line: still an awful choice for thread because the stresses it’s made to take are not what is being put on it, but the comment earlier that fishing line is made to degrade is not true for all fishing line. You can now get fishing line intended to degrade so that it’s better for the environment, but standard monofilament is not intended to break down.

    The knots are absolutely, 100% the problem. I’ve asked and looked and I don’t think anyone has reported scales falling off due to a line BREAKING. The knots come undone, or in rare cases manage to pull through the neoprene.

    To anyone who has a mythic: 10/10 would recommend cutting out the lining. It stops sliding so much, is so much easier to get on, and you can BLOODY SEE the stitches and repair and maintenance becomes SO MUCH EASIER.

    If you go through and dab E6000 on all the knots, the scale loss basically stops. I’ve lost a couple more scales from knots I missed, but considering how fast they were dropping when I started the difference is night and day.

    The hip fins have started to fall off but honestly I’m not even mad, I was considering taking them off to move them more to the side anyway. Oh well.

  15. #15
    Thanks Liung, How it the comfort with the lining out?

  16. #16
    Totally fine. I questioned the Pod Squad to see if anyone had a reason to NOT remove the lining... as far as anyone can tell, the only purpose of the lining is so that the fishing line inside doesn’t rub against your skin. Well, I always wear leggings under my tail anyway, so that’s not really a concern, is it?

    I let a friend try my tail on and swim in it so she could decide if she wanted to get her own mythic, and if XS is the size for her (it is, she’s precisely the same size as me) and she didn’t wear leggings. I asked if she could feel the fishing line at all and she said no.

    She just bought an XS gen 1 teal ^_^

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Liung View Post
    Totally fine. I questioned the Pod Squad to see if anyone had a reason to NOT remove the lining... as far as anyone can tell, the only purpose of the lining is so that the fishing line inside doesn’t rub against your skin. Well, I always wear leggings under my tail anyway, so that’s not really a concern, is it?

    I let a friend try my tail on and swim in it so she could decide if she wanted to get her own mythic, and if XS is the size for her (it is, she’s precisely the same size as me) and she didn’t wear leggings. I asked if she could feel the fishing line at all and she said no.

    She just bought an XS gen 1 teal ^_^
    Awesome, and thank you so much. !!!!

  18. #18
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod PearlieMae's Avatar
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    I'm surprised no one has mentioned sewing the scales on with dental floss. It's the strongest because it is many strands of thin monofilament. Use a surgeon's knot to tie them off. It's basically a square knot, but when you tie the second part of the knot, you loop it twice instead of once. When it tightens down, it locks the knot. You never hear of surgical stitches coming undone! If you feel the need for a dot of glue on the knot, use epoxy. It's more work, but hardens like a champ. E6000 isn't meant to be In water for long periods of time.

    Dental floss for the win.

  19. #19
    Senior Member Euro Pod MermanOliver's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PearlieMae View Post
    [...]Use a surgeon's knot to tie them off. It's basically a square knot, but when you tie the second part of the knot, you loop it twice instead of once.[...]
    Hm. I always thought you loop the *first* half of the knot twice. But maybe I got it wrong all the time (and frankly, I haven't used that knot a lot in the past, most of the time it is other sailor's knots...)



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  20. #20
    Senior Member Undisclosed Pod PearlieMae's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MermanOliver View Post
    Hm. I always thought you loop the *first* half of the knot twice. But maybe I got it wrong all the time (and frankly, I haven't used that knot a lot in the past, most of the time it is other sailor's knots...)



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    You're right! I've been using the overhand followed by the surgeon's knot for years tying off beading, so I know it works, but have been doing twice the work!

    http://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkl...eons-knot.html

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