Resin, silicone pigment, and other advice please.

**Hydra1337** · 03-17-2016, 08:39 PM

Any samples I get will go toward making a small scale version of what mine will look like. That way I can get the trail and error stage over before working on the full scale version.

My plan is to use resin with sheets of resin cloth for strength as my mold. I'm going to use Monster Clay (not sure what grade to use) for my individual scales. Has anyone used this brand of resin for tail making? If it's not recommended does anyone know of a different resin I should use?

For my white pigment I picked out Pearl Ex 650 Micropearl or Smooth-On Silc Pig White. For black I narrowed it down to Pearl Ex 640 Carbon Black or Smooth-On Silc Pig Black. I read in a tail making thread (not sure which) that certain black pigments can slow/inhibit silicone curing so I want to make sure neither of them will do that before I go buying them. I'm fine with getting either white pigment; the black was my main concern since that will be my tail's primary color. Also, what size jars of pigments would I need for a full tail?

Attaching the monofin to the fluke is where I start to get a little lost. I don't know if E6000 would work but I've seen all kinds of posts about it being used for accessories. Would something like this work or would I need something else entirely?

Any advice is greatly appreciated since this will be my first silicone tail.

**Mermaid Lorelei** · 03-21-2016, 01:56 PM

I'm at work so I can't answer in full, but I just want to let you know that E6000 won't stick to silicone. Only silicone will stick to silicone.

**Hydra1337** · 03-21-2016, 03:45 PM

Accidentally deleted my reply. I blame my phone.

Anyway, thanks for the reply, Lorelei.

I talked with my husband a bit more and I'm actually going for a fabric backed neoprene silicone hybrid now. I'm also planning on using the gypsum cement on Monster Maker instead of resin since from what I saw gypsum is compatible with silicone. Plus the cost of the gypsum is the same as a container of resin and the resin won't make a whole scale sheet let alone a fluke.

I'm going to look around the forum for some hybrid threads to take a more in depth look.

**PearlieMae** · 03-21-2016, 04:30 PM

Pearl Ex Carbon Black doesn't inhibit, but it's not BLACK black...it's the darkest of charcoal grey, but not pure black.

**Hydra1337** · 03-21-2016, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by PearlieMae

Pearl Ex Carbon Black doesn't inhibit, but it's not BLACK black...it's the darkest of charcoal grey, but not pure black.

Oh that's pretty cool. I think I'll go with that black then. Thanks.

**Mermaid Wesley** · 03-22-2016, 12:11 AM

I have had issues with monster clay and resins. You might want to use a different clay. (It's also a really hard clay and I prefer something softer.)

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**Hydra1337** · 03-22-2016, 12:30 AM

Thanks for the heads up. That made me look around for different clay. I ended up finding a cheaper clay on dickblick.com called Van Aken Plastalina that comes in 1lb blocks. According to Mermaid Nerissa (I think that was her YouTube name) that clay works well with plaster molds (which is what I plan on using now instead of resin). I haven't sculpted for a long time so I'm not sure what hardness what I'll like. Trial and error I guess. Lol

**Mermaid Amelia Pond** · 04-18-2016, 12:08 PM

I look forward to seeing your creation! Have you a sketch yet?

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**Hydra1337** · 04-18-2016, 03:24 PM

Thanks, me too. lol

I went with this design because I love the Water Tribe in Avatar: The Last Airbender. For those that aren't familiar with the show the design is inspired by the mortal form of the ocean spirit (the black one in the screenshot; the white one is the moon spirit). Since my tail is going to be a hybrid I'm probably not going to attempt putting the extra fins on but I couldn't resist sketching them out.

Unfortunately the money I earned from my tail design commissions had to go towards food and bills so my project has been put on hold yet again...