Stuck on a display idea - clear fluid that won't mess up latex?

[hydin]

A friend of mine is a huge lovecraft fan, and was hoping I would make him a "lil dweller" in a specimen jar. Well, that's a good bit out of my league, so he asked for anything that is "lovecraftian and cool".

I figured a set of eyes would work pretty well, and started working out a display idea. I plan to use some bouncing balls or filled ping pong balls as the eyeballs, some paint, and some liquid latex mold builder to get the whole "EWWW THAT'S GOT EYEBALL BITS ON IT" effect. Maybe some yarn as well for the nerves.

My question is... what liquid would work as a good inert medium that won't mess up the paint or latex? I plan to paint it with acrylics, but mostly in an off white color since it is going to look like something from the 20's that he found in an attic somewhere. The jar itself is plastic and sealable (old spice rack jar), so I am not too worried about the jar having issues with the paint, but I can't figure out a good liquid that won't mess with the rest of the prop pieces.

I was thinking maybe mineral oil? Rubbing alcohol sounded good but I am scared with will degrade the latex and also dry out. I do plan to seal the jar, but we all know what happens to the best laid plans

Any helps appreciated on this one!

Chris

 

[jonny5]

Modeler's Resouce magazine Issue #58 Fall '04.
had an article about building a 'stasis tube' for display of an Alien facehugger that had a double wall of acrylic tubes with water between the inner and outer layers, and a fish tank pump to make bubbles in the water.

The item displayed was kept safe and dry in the inner tube.
Article covered such concens as leaving a weep hole for refilling evaporated fliuds.

Cover has a pic of a life sized Gollum statue repaint.

Perhaps you could fashion a wall of PETG from a soda bottle to hold back the fluid from your display piece. Granted it won't waft in the motion of the fluid.

 

[TridCloudwalker]

Just use water. It's as tame a substance as you're gonna find. To play it extra safe, use distilled water.

I have had a resin alien in a specimin jar that was painted with acrylics for over 17 years, and it still looks just as good as the day I painted it. I just used plain old tap water. Latex and acrylics and thread and whatever else you put in there will be safe as a button.

 

[propologist]

they also have that clear liquid that hardens for floral arranging.

 

[LizardJedi]

Unless your area has really funky (as in hard or soft) tap water, just use that. Or Distilled Water if you're really worried about it. The latex will degrade on its own, the water won't do anything to it.

 

[TridCloudwalker]

When it comes down to it, the only thing that hurts latex is petroleum based products, ultra-viloet light, and oxygen. Keep it in a sealed jar, out of direct sunlight, and don't fill it with gasoline, and it'll be fine

 

[Wicked]

When it comes down to it, the only thing that hurts latex is petroleum based products, ultra-viloet light, and oxygen. Keep it in a sealed jar, out of direct sunlight, and don't fill it with gasoline, and it'll be fine

I wonder how it would do with mineral oil. There was this short-lived trend in computer case modding where people would build acrylic motherboard racks and submerge computers in mineral oil inside aquariums. I can't imagine that it would be safe for a running computer and be volatile enough to damage the latex, though admittedly I know absolutely zero about it in any real capacity. It would probably give a really nice sludge consistency though as compared to water I would think.

 

[dropshipbob]

Oil and latex don't mix...oil rots rubber. But I'd go with Propologists idea.

 

[Wicked]

Haha see this is why I come here. I had no idea.