Posts: 578
12/03/10 22:12:13 |
Disclaimer:The material known as ALEX is not made of approved skin safe material. It is discussed as a cheap alternative, but if you choose to purchase or make a tail out of ALEX, do so at your own risk. A barrier of neoprene is highly recommended to act as a barrier between skin and a non skin safe material. Therefore ALEX + spandex creations are not recommended - make/use at your own risk.
The other thread is getting very long, so I'm starting a new one.
In one of my other posts I said not to use ALEX for tails. In saltwater and chlorine there is attack of the material resulting in whitening of the material. While we can't prevent all of it, we can prevent most of it with silicone spray. In freshwater there is very little attack and the spray will help there as well.
The Material.
ALEX PLUS is a product of Dap Products Incorporated. It is a blend of acrylic latex and silicone. It comes in both squeeze tubes and in 10.1 oz cartridges. There is a range of colors: clear, crystal clear, white, antique white, almond, cedar tan, brown, dark bronze, slate gray, and black. The material can be purchased in single cartridges and in 12 cartridge contractor packs. The contractor packs only come in white and clear. The price per cartridge is $2-3, and the contractor pack goes for $23-25.
Coverage is about 1 tube per square foot. Depending on the amount of area and thickness of application, you may need more. Mermaid Raven used about 2 contractor packs for her tail, but one can do the job.
ALEX clear dries with a glossy to semi-gloss finish. The factory colored versions may dry with a matte finish. The almond color would match light skin tones, and the cedar tan, dark tanned and light negroid skin tones. Brown would be very dark negroid tones. The colors can be mixed to match any skin tone.
Since ALEX is both latex and silicone it has unique properties. Clear ALEX out of the tube is a white creamy paste. It does have some smell similar to acrylic latex paint. This is ammonia. While not very heavy, it can be annoying in enclosed spaces. It can be thinned with water to a milky white liquid and painted on surfaces, where it will dry as a clear rubber identical to the cream. It can also be pigmented with acrylic paint, airbrush paints, and other pigments. ALEX will adhear to cured ALEX, allowing multiple layers to be built up. ALEX will stick to Lexan, but any material protruding over the edge will be easily damaged. It will pull up from Lexan if the material is pulled at a low angle to the Lexan. However, if this material terminates at the edge of the Lexan, it will be secure, but do try to protect it from edge scrapes. Glitter may also be mixed in for sparkle effects.
MSDS http://www.dap.com/docs/msds/00010019002_english.pdf
Use.
Do remember that for making mermaid tails with ALEX, we are using this material outside of the manufacturers recommendations.
http://www.dap.com/docs/tech/00010019.pdf
Neoprene
Do color mix tests before applying on a tail!
In these following instructions, I'm assuming that color will be applied on top of the scales. If the effect you want is clear scales over the color, apply color over the thin coat between steps 2 and 3.
1. On fabric coated neoprene, start by first laying down the material in strips with a caulk gun. With a wide putty knife, work the material into the fabric. You may let this layer dry.
2. Next lay a thin layer of material down just thick enough to obscure the neoprene color. You may let this dry.
3. Lay fishnet down and strech it out and press into the last coat. Various types of netting will give differnt scale effects.
4. Begin filling the net holes with the material and spreading it out with a wide putty knife. Just the tops of the knots should be visible. Too much pressure at a high angle will make waves as the knife jumps over the knots. If glitter is used, mix it with the filler.
5. Once the netting has been filled it is time to remove the netting. Begin at the tail and lift the net off the neoprene pulling toward the waist. This will make the bottom of the scales higher than the top. Let the scales dry.
6. Mix equal amounts of water and ALEX and stir until there are no lumps of material. This mix will be thin enough for airbrushing. You may use less water for thicker mixes. Add your background color to the mix, and stir well until everything is blended. Paint the tail, and let dry. Repeat for all colors you want to use.
7. For irridescent pigments, as a top layer, mix the pigment directly with ALEX, and apply to the tops of the scales with your finger. Very thin coats work well.
8. Once painting is complete, dust the scales with talcum powder, corn starch, or spray silicone to prevent sticking. Untreated scales will stick to themselves, and if left long enough, will cause damage when pulled apart.
This method will produce scales in which the pigment is embedded in the scales, and will not easily be damaged like paint would.
In the picture:
1. Bare neoprene.
2. Working ALEX into fabric. STEP #1
3. Thin coat. STEP #2
4. Laying down netting. STEP #3
5. Filling the netting. Note waves from knots. STEP #4
6. Filled netting
7. Netting removed. Step #5
8. Experiment with heat gun (ignore)
Lexan covered with ALEX. (ignore top pic)
Paint over ALEX after rub test.
Embedded glitter. Scales are still drying.
Pigments used in various layers, and embedded netting.
Liquid ALEX mix of 1 drop color mixed in 1" puddle of liquid.
Last Edited By: Winged Mermaid 03/27/11 18:39:05. Edited 1 time. |
Posts: 578
12/04/10 09:07:06 |
Alex can also be used on spandex. With spandex you will want to somewhat strech the fabric and secure it to a frame before applying. The fabric is not as ridgid as neoprene, and will move and bunch if not held down. For fully dyed fabric, you may use either side, but for prints you will have to use the front side. Coating is the same as for neoprene. You will loose a lot of the strech in the fabric, and it is probably best to coat the fabric before sewing. Coated spandex, such as hologram and wet look, may not coat properly due to the surface coating.
Before coating, measure, and lay out your seam allowances on the fabric. Coat the fabric up to the edge of the seam allowance with the worked in and thin coats, but keep the scales back from that line about 1/2". Once the seam is sewn, you can go back and coat over the seam with a scale coat to hide the seam.
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Posts: 578
12/04/10 09:30:32 |
I have found that silicone spray will help protect Alex against saltwater and poolwater, and also against the material sticking to itself. The spray does cloud quite a bit when spraying, and anything it lands on will become slippery. Use this outdoors if possible. Items sprayed will not need to be recoated after swimming, but if you notice things sticking, it's time to recoat.
Do not use hardware store silicone sprays, as they may be blended with petroleum. Buy online, or from your local dive shop.
http://www.mcnett.com/Silicone-Spray...tant-P255.aspx
Cleaning may be done with wetsuit shampoo. The shampoo listed below is good for both neoprene and lycra fabrics.
http://www.mcnett.com/Wet-Suit-Dry-S...mpoo-P239.aspx
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Posts: 92
12/04/10 13:23:24 |
hiim not so sure about step 4. what i understand is that you press the net in the alex and then you put another layer again on top of it all?
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Posts: 578
12/04/10 19:57:39 |
meremily wrote: hi im not so sure about step 4. what i understand is that you press the net in the alex and then you put another layer again on top of it all?Yes. This will give scales almost 1/8" of relief when the netting is removed. (depends how thick the knots are) The thin coat also helps hold the netting in place while filling the scales. Pulling off the net from fluke to waist will give somewhat of a tilt to the scales. The highest part of the scales will be in the direction of the fluke.
Do some practice samples before attempting a tail. It will give you the hang of things. It's really quite easy to get good results.
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Posts: 578
12/07/10 21:33:27 |
I tried airbrushing tonight. I used the sample used in the pictures above using the silver/pearl undercoat finishes and gold/copper/blue/natural surfaces. I mixed up a 50/50 batch of liquid ALEX, and used a 1 ounce airbrush jar 3/4's full. To this I added 25 drops of Createx airbrush paint and mixed.
I used 3 of what looked like heavy coats to get the blue scales in the picture. The undersides of the scales are still translucent through the coats. I also sprayed the blue against the grain of the scales. Between coats, I used a heat gun to speed drying. I then mixed the same mix in magenta, and sprayed with the grain of the scales. This gave a purple cast to the tops of the scales but lets the blue show through in the valleys of the scale pattern. In the light, the blue is seen better than on camera. Spraying will fill in some of the surface features of the scales. A top coat of clear would further protect the colors, but was not used here.
Upper Left. Whole sample. Silver/pearl undercoats with copper followed by gold surfaces right, and blue surfaces left, with natural in the center. Magenta sprayed on right and upper sections.
Upper right/lower left. Blue/Magenta coats over natural tops. Some translucent effect showing on lower left.
Lower right. Blue over natural.
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Posts: 540
12/09/10 09:47:13 |
I wanted to post this video a while ago but it went down with the rest of his stuff. and I couldnt find it again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reCFBIp0-JE
Its a pretty old video I remember watching it before I was even friends with eric but I wanted to point out the tail in the back (yes its the same "NEW" tail he was posting) he told me this was one of his new silicone tails the first time I went to his house. well look at how its turning white and flaking off almost in the tank. I would think since they were doing a photoshoot she was probably in the water for a VERY long time and so the tail started turning white and stuff. think this video might pretty much 100% confirms Eric IS using this alex stuff. Im so glad he posted it cause you can clearly see the tail turning white.
I remember asking him about what that was and he told me his silicone tails do that but he actually liked it cause it reminded him of splash. Ive seen the tail after this and it looked fine, I'm sure he just lets its dry and then repaints it. he used this tail when he swam in the springs with us and it didnt do it, so just like our conclusions you have to be in the water for a long time for this to happen.
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Posts: 578
12/09/10 12:42:13 |
I'm concerned about the tail whitening as it is a form of damage. Salt and chlorine damage over time may shorten the life of the tail. In the video, the tail was white and flakey just like the first test I did in salt water. He must of had the tail out before, or the shoot was a awfully long one.
At least we found out how to fix or slow down those problems!
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