Latex for Dreads

[yodasmeagol]

Hello guys. First post on here, but been lurking and getting lots of info for a while. I've finally got a problem that needs to be asked specific to my situation.

I'm working on making dreads. I'm doing it by dipping a tapered-ended wooden dowel into a tube of liquid latex. I do two coats of that, and I can then work them off the end (I covered the dowel with vaseline). They have great weight and feel too them, the only problem is the latex doesn't go on very smooth. It has air bubbles and lumps on the surface. I'm using latex that's like for mask casting. Is there a different type I should be using? Is it possible to water down the latex and make it smooth out better? I've seen people use latex paint before, would that go on smoother?

So basically, any advice on how to get rid of air bubbles and lumps (probably by getting a new/better material) would be appreciated. I really would rather stay within the bounds of my method, as it's been working well for me so far. Just one little hurdle I can't get over. Thanks.

 

[smasher]

Hello guys. First post on here, but been lurking and getting lots of info for a while. I've finally got a problem that needs to be asked specific to my situation.

I'm working on making dreads. I'm doing it by dipping a tapered-ended wooden dowel into a tube of liquid latex. I do two coats of that, and I can then work them off the end (I covered the dowel with vaseline). They have great weight and feel too them, the only problem is the latex doesn't go on very smooth. It has air bubbles and lumps on the surface. I'm using latex that's like for mask casting. Is there a different type I should be using? Is it possible to water down the latex and make it smooth out better? I've seen people use latex paint before, would that go on smoother?

So basically, any advice on how to get rid of air bubbles and lumps (probably by getting a new/better material) would be appreciated. I really would rather stay within the bounds of my method, as it's been working well for me so far. Just one little hurdle I can't get over. Thanks.

right i made some like this but i brushed to print coats on then useing latex thicker brushed to coats on that then pulled them off slow which will turn them inside out making them smooth then i filled them up with tissie and foam

 

[smasher]

Hello guys. First post on here, but been lurking and getting lots of info for a while. I've finally got a problem that needs to be asked specific to my situation.

I'm working on making dreads. I'm doing it by dipping a tapered-ended wooden dowel into a tube of liquid latex. I do two coats of that, and I can then work them off the end (I covered the dowel with vaseline). They have great weight and feel too them, the only problem is the latex doesn't go on very smooth. It has air bubbles and lumps on the surface. I'm using latex that's like for mask casting. Is there a different type I should be using? Is it possible to water down the latex and make it smooth out better? I've seen people use latex paint before, would that go on smoother?

So basically, any advice on how to get rid of air bubbles and lumps (probably by getting a new/better material) would be appreciated. I really would rather stay within the bounds of my method, as it's been working well for me so far. Just one little hurdle I can't get over. Thanks.

right i made some like this but i brushed to print coats on then useing latex thicker brushed to coats on that then pulled them off slow which will turn them inside out making them smooth then i filled them up with tissie and foam

 

[yodasmeagol]

Yeah, I thought about turning them inside out, but can't really seem to get them to do that. With the length, and lack of elasticity (enough to be able to pull it all inside out), I don't think I can do that (at least with what I'm doing now).

I've seen other options like spray latex. Would something like that work? Or another option I know of is using an airbrush with tinted latex. I have a cheap airbrush (with propellant can) and that probably wouldn't be good enough, right? I could get a more expensive airbrush, but don't have an air compressor, and my budget is not big enough for one.

What are my options?

 

[Guan Thwei]

Depending on what you're budget is you can always go to Craigslist.com under arts & crafts and see what you can use as far as airbrush if that is what you still plan on doing. I was thinking about just using modeling clay and rope to use as templates and then casting that in silicon rubber type of material I think that would work best. Just a thougtht!!

 

[biohunter76]

Use a spay bottle with some water to pop bubbles before they cure. To get the chunks out of your latex you should get another bucket or other type of container and cover the opening with some type of wire mesh screen. Dump your latex into the new container through the screen to filter out any chunks. Your latex might need to be thinned a little, you can use a small amount of distilled water to thin it down. If all else fails, you could try swithing to balloon grade latex. Good luck!

 

[Jim N]

Check out this link,

I made some dreads in a similar way and turned them inside out, it's very easy to do:

Dread making tips

 

[yodasmeagol]

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. My recent dipped dread looks a bit better than my first ones, so maybe I just need to be more patient with them. Also, I probably will try to water down the latex a bit (thanks biohunter). Not too much, though, as I've seen it can get too thin and I would have to dip it several times more to be thick enough. They're not perfect, but on my budget, and what my costume is, I think they'll work fine. They work for the "10 feet away" rule, so that's good enough for me. Heh.

 

[adonian1]

Check out this link,

I made some dreads in a similar way and turned them inside out, it's very easy to do:

Dread making tips

Jim, that is a genius idea, thank you, I plan on giving that a try.