Saving Your Dreads!

[Canalien]

Hi Hunters
My first set of Dreads for my DBP1 Head was hez's dreads.After many Hunts and time they faded,battle damage.And all though there are Excellent Dreads out there "Joe" and others. I wanted to keep these , they are longer a little fatter and liter!So I attempted to coat them with liquid latex .Sorta bring back the shine and smooth them out.The results where shocking they look killer new and haven't lost there flexability ! Thanks for watching
cheers
Rhonda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ckNHpIYeEc

 

[PredatrHuntr]

I like the "only 46 more to go!" comment haha!

I thought you were crazy when you said you were going to do this but after seeing the results...wow! Great job Rhonda!!

 

[REYALS1]

Hey... I watched this when you first posted it. Yeah, it seems to have worked. Are they still holding up?

 

[Canalien]

Thx Jas I am still crazy though lol
Reyals I have only posted 2 days ago.The difference in my foam matting dreads and these ones. My foam matting is made with the matts then coated in latex and yes they still hold up after 2 yrs. These dreads are real dreads made by Hez's but unfortunely he doesn't make them anymore.So I wanted to keep them and used my method from 2 yrs ago and it work They look really good, now if I damage a dread I can repair it.They are flexible and don't add to much weight to my head.

 

[made007]

Thanks for sharing, i wouldnt thought of doing it with latex, but i was thinking of coating mine with plastidip when they get damaged

 

[roninpredator]

Great Job Rhonda! it gives me hope in redoing my display head. thanks for sharing!

 

[Canalien]

Thx for the nice words Hunters!Glad to help
cheers
Rhonda

 

[Mr Fett]

Way back in the day in the earliest times of the Lair, most cold foam dreads came in white and we had to color them black. I remember Pete Mander just airbrushing his black, but with mine to give it that "look", I did what you did using black tinted latex...BUT I didn't use the thicker mask latex like you did, I used what Monster Makers calls "Dipping Latex", which is a thinner consistency latex used for making balloons and such. They have nowhere near the weight of a full set of dreads that are coated in Mask Making Latex.

I did probably like 300-400 dreads using a 5 gallon pail of Monster Makers Dipping Latex (and still had latex left over). Just went to a friends garage and hung up rope across the place, and dipped each one into the pail of Dipping Latex, then hung up by clothes pins onto the rope and let dry a day or so. Here's a picture from the experience. LOL

 

[Canalien]

So cool thanks for that Mr Fett! My first set I did 2 yrs ago still look new and because I get the Micheals Latex it is thin when mixed with latex paint. I use 1/2 and 1/2 hardly any weight difference.Didn,t know about MM dipping latex more for volume, that is so awesome thank you so much. One jar of Michaels will do a set of 52 dreads.I will check this out. Thank YOU!
cheers
Rhonda

 

[Usurper]

Great that it worked Rhonda.

and Andy, you look kinda creepy/demented there lol

 

[Badgerhunter27]

I just used this method last night as my dreads were kinda faded from rubbing on the armor and such, and when I got them they never had a nice dark black look to them but now they are nice and dark with a nice shine so thank you very much for this. I was normally going to use just regular black acrylic paint thankfully I didn't do that.

 

[Bovine13]

I learn something new everyday I come to the Lair. Nice work lady! Dread rejuvenation is something we can all benefit from. I see a familiar face in the background!

 

[Canalien]

So glad it helped you out Badgerhunter27.I simply love Hez's dreads that I have and had to save them
Thanks Scott
You can see how happy he is LOL First and Last thing I see before turning in
cheers
Rhonda

 

[Eaglewood]

Rhonda,
I just did something similar on my new sectioned dreads just for experimenting --
I used the mask making latex--too thick.
I used the same stuff you are using, full strength-- looked good but a pain.
I thinned it down and dipped the dreads in it--looked good but a while to dry
I used plastidip brush on-- looked awesome but a pain.
I used plastidip spray-- looked the best but too expensive for the amount of dreads you could cover with a spray can
So I am going to the balloon latex and even though the new dreads I am doing look great anyway, I am going to skin them in this just cause I want to put out the best product I can. I will probably do a coat inside the molds first with the latex, then fill with the foam to see how that works.
Thanks for the hints. Maybe you will get to the studio sometime!.

I am also working on a new way to attach dreads where they are removeable and replaceable so you can change up the style if you want-- still in the works!!!